Nowhere Girl

Nowhere Girl is at once lucid, captivating, poignant, terrifying, and ultimately uplifting. Once I opened it, I literally could not put it down. In captivating prose, Ciccone conveys four-decades of non-diagnosed ADHD, replete with unanswered questions, shame, trauma, dashed efforts at coping, and periods of despair, deftly interweaving current science into the story. This lifespan account surges with pain but also with hope, given that an accurate diagnosis after becoming a mother has forged a hard-won sense of peace and acceptance, along with finding optimal supports. Five stars, highest recommendation. * Stephen P. Hinshaw, Ph,D., Distinguished Professor of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley; author, Straight Talk about ADHD in Girls: How to Help Your Daughter Thrive *We live in a mainstream and health culture that demands us to ‘fit in.’ This is the opposite of living an authentic life. Our bodies and minds are speaking to us and doing their job in raising their red flags. The question remains: are we truly ready to listen? Carla’s candid memoir about being diagnosed with ADHD after years of feeling lost and ignored shines a light on the inconvenience of truth. That in itself is a sacred gift to make sure we head somewhere together instead of nowhere. * Sophie Grégoire-Trudeau, bestselling author of Closer Together *A journey through a realm of neurodivergence we explore reprehensibly seldom and address—still!—with a negligence that would be astonishing were it not so routine. Truly eye-opening. * Anna Mehler Paperny, journalist and author of Hello, I Want to Die Please Fix Me: Depression in the First Person *A powerful, vulnerable testament to the necessity of empathy and understanding when navigating ADHD. This book made me feel seen, heard, and not alone. * Anne T. Donahue, author of Nobody Cares *Ciccone’s in-depth research…opens up space for the hard, messy and complicated truths of life with ADHD for girls and women. * Julie S. Lalonde, author of Resilience is Futile *Funny, wise, infuriating, and deeply moving. I wanted to press this book into the hands of every woman who has ADHD, or knows someone who does—in other words, all of us. * Elizabeth Renzetti, author of What She Said *Written with a lightness of touch belying the wealth of information it contains, Nowhere Girl is likely to become a handbook for any woman navigating an adult diagnosis of ADHD * Emma Forrest, author of Your Voice in My Head *It is the answer to the question “What has it been like to be you?” If you’re a late-diagnosed woman with ADHD, if you are a neurodivergent Nowhere Girl who has been overlooked and ignored for decades, or if there is a Nowhere Girl somewhere in your life, then this is the book for you. * Gina Rippon, author of The Lost Girls of Autism *

Carla Ciccone is a freelance writer who has written essays, reported features and humor pieces for Harper’s Bazaar, The New Yorker, The Cut, Catapult, Bon Appetit, Romper, Chatelaine, Elle Canada, The Walrus and more. Originally from Toronto, Carla grew up near the Rocky Mountains in Alberta, and now lives in Toronto with her partner and daughter.