Earlier this year, I received an early copy of @cciccone’s reported memoir, NOWHERE GIRL. I wasn’t sure what to expect as someone who had, at that point, not yet been diagnosed with ADHD, but by page 15, I knew it was time to book the psychiatrist appointment I’d been avoiding for years. I’ve suspected I’ve had inattentive ADHD since college, and things just got worse as I entered the workforce. I chalked it up to personal failings—if I was better, this wouldn’t be a problem—until I read this book. As Ciccone writes “many of my most reviled traits weren’t personal flaws, but symptoms of early traumas and undiagnosed ADHD.” I cried my way through NOWHERE GIRL, each chapter reflecting my own struggles back to me in a way I’ve never had validated before. I wonder what my life would look like if I’d known I had ADHD as a kid. I wonder if I’d be on track to becoming an editor-in-chief instead of working miscellaneous freelance jobs to keep my mind stimulated but not overwhelmed. I wonder if I’d be happier. Or want kids. Or a million other things that having an answer too late might bring forth. But, instead of getting hung up on the what ifs (if you’re my therapist and you’re reading this, aren’t you proud?), I’m grateful that I know now—and that there’s books like Carla’s that are helping destigmatize and validate the experiences that so many other young women have gone through, especially when it comes to neurodivergent burnout. #mentalhealth #adhd #girlswithadhd #burnout #neurodivergentburnout