Delivered from Distraction or Cancer

Delivered from Distraction: Getting the Most Out of Life with Attention Deficit Disorder

Author: Edward M Hallowell

In 1994, Driven to Distraction sparked a revolution in our understanding of attention deficit disorder. Widely recognized as the classic in the field, the book has sold more than a million copies. Now a second revolution is under way in the approach to ADD, and the news is great. Drug therapies, our understanding of the role of diet and exercise, even the way we define the disorder–all are changing radically. And doctors are realizing that millions of adults suffer from this condition, though the vast majority of them remain undiagnosed and untreated. In this new book, Drs. Edward M. Hallowell and John J. Ratey build on the breakthroughs of Driven to Distraction to offer a comprehensive and entirely up-to-date guide to living a successful life with ADD.

As Hallowell and Ratey point out, “attention deficit disorder” is a highly misleading description of an intriguing kind of mind. Original, charismatic, energetic, often brilliant, people with ADD have extraordinary talents and gifts embedded in their highly charged but easily distracted minds. Tailored expressly to ADD learning styles and attention spans, Delivered from Distraction provides accessible, engaging discussions of every aspect of the condition, from diagnosis to finding the proper treatment regime. Inside you’ll discover

• whether ADD runs in families
• new diagnostic procedures, tests, and evaluations
• the links between ADD and other conditions
• how people with ADD can free up their inner talents and strengths
• the new drugs and how they work, and why they’re not for everyone
• exciting advances in nonpharmaceuticaltherapies, including changes in diet, exercise, and lifestyle
• how to adapt the classic twelve-step program to treat ADD
• sexual problems associated with ADD and how to resolve them
• strategies for dealing with procrastination, clutter, and chronic forgetfulness

ADD is a trait, a way of living in the world. It only becomes a disorder when it impairs your life. Featuring gripping profiles of patients with ADD who have triumphed, Delivered from Distraction is a wise, loving guide to releasing the positive energy that all people with ADD hold inside. If you have ADD or care about someone who does, this is the book you must read.

Publishers Weekly

This follow-up to the authors' 1994 manual, Driven to Distraction, has the advantage of personal testimony regarding adult Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)-the authors themselves have ADD-as well a very readable presentation of the latest research in the field. Defining ADD as a collection of traits, some positive, some negative, the authors intend to encourage those who have this condition or are raising children with it and advise on how to maximize their abilities and minimize characteristics, such as procrastination, that may hinder them at school or work. In a comprehensive overview, Hallowell and Ratey provide a new screening questionnaire for adults and list methods that physicians, parents and educators can use to diagnose and treat the ADD child. Of primary importance to readers are the recommended steps for living a satisfying life with ADD; these include developing personal relationships and engaging in creative activities that will foster self-esteem. The authors also separate nutrition fads from what is known about how diet can affect brain functioning and discuss whether to take medication. Overall, this is an excellent resource. Agent, Jill Kneerim. (Dec.) Forecast: Driven to Distraction has sold more than one million copies over 10 years; the market should be equally promising for this sequel. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

Here are two different but successful takes on attention deficit disorder (ADD). Psychiatrists Hallowell and Ratey (Harvard Medical Sch.) follow up their successful Driven to Distraction, which dispelled myths about ADD, with this comprehensive guide to living a successful life with ADD. The authors cover new medications; dietary and nutritional suggestions; approaches to diagnosis, including quantitative electroencephalography and single proton emission computerized tomography; and understanding of the characteristics of ADD. A concise Q&A chapter on the basics of ADD is followed by reader-friendly sections organized around actual stories of patients with ADD who have all been successfully treated by the authors. The authors' professional clinical background is further enhanced by their firsthand experience with ADD, which results in an important contribution to ADD collections in all libraries. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 9/1/04.] Only 19 when he wrote this book, which was first self-published in Australia in 2003, Polis has lived with ADD all his life. In his distinctive writing style, he shares what it's really like inside the mind of a child/adolescent with ADD and provides encouragement for parents and educators who strive daily to reach children and adolescents with ADD. Through his great determination and use of self-taught concentration techniques, along with timely intervention by the right medical team, the author managed to complete high school, attend university, and create this remarkable firsthand account. Polis's youthful perspective is a significant contribution to the growing ADD literature and includes a foreword by Edward M. Hallowell (see review of Delivered from Distraction, above); highly recommended. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 9/1/04.]-Dale Farris, Groves, TX Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Book about: Beyond Soap Water and Comb or Making the Connection

Cancer: A Second Opinion: A Look at Understanding, Controlling, and Curing Cancer

Author: Josef Issels

Dr. Josef Issels cured cancer, but not just any cancer. He cured advanced, recurrent cancer--cancer that had laughed at radiation and thrived on chemotherapy. And he used different, gentler treatments.

The people whom Issels had snatched from the fist of death loved him. But he had opponents as well. Rather than rejoice at the lives he saved, these medical professionals attempted to discredit Issels through slander, sanction, and lawsuits. They had him arrested, jailed, and put on trial.

But the courts acquitted Issels and the media trumpeted the story. Independent scientists verified his groundbreaking cures and medical journals published his work. A BBC London documentary made him an overnight international medical hero. The German Government awarded him a position on its Federal Cancer Commission.

Long before the terms "alternative" and "complementary" were part of American medical culture, Dr. Issels created the world's first fully "integrative" cancer therapy. Issels hypothesized that primary and recurrent malignancies result from a tendency of the body to produce tumors--a tendency built on underlying problems that are potentially curable through comprehensive immunotherapy. Guided only by his desire to cure the patient, Issels made use of every weapon in his arsenal to reduce tumors, to strengthen the immune response, and to heal tissues. He brought together potent treatments from conventional medicine, holistic medicine, and marginalized medicine. In Cancer: A Second Opinion, the Father of Integrative Medicine describes the treatment that produced the most remarkable, independently verified cure rate in medical history--and explains why this approach can improve worldwide cure rates today.