I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Daniel Amen, M.D., so I was happy to see him at the opening of his newest Amen Clinic, just south of San Francisco, and welcome him to Silicon Valley, my backyard. 
If I hadn’t lucked upon his book Change Your Brain, Change Your Life more than 11 years ago, it might have taken me far longer to discover the impact of Adult ADHD not only on society but also on my personal life. Thanks to that book, my husband was diagnosed with ADHD and I went on to help further this critical message: ADHD is real and ignorance of ADHD has real consequences for all of us.
Thanks to a subsequent book by Dr. Amen, Healing A.D.D., I learned even more and gained tremendous validation about the tough relationship issues I was experiencing (along with hundreds of people in the online support group that I lead for the partners of adults with ADHD). As far as I know, he was among the first (if not the first) to detail these interpersonal challenges, including those around sexual intimacy. Moreover, Amen balanced this validating narrative with compassion and optimism about our ability to take better care of our brains and, in so doing, elevate our lives.
At the open house, I noticed one of Dr. Amen’s recent books, Change Your Brain, Change Your Body: Use Your Brain to Get and Keep the Body You Have Always Wanted. Since the author looks remarkably fit and I sat for way too many years at this desk (writing, editing, and answering e-mail ), I figure I should take his advice and delve into this one, too!
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Hey G,
Great to see you two together, and to hear about you finally meeting Daniel out there. Each time we talk about our mutual development paths traveling through ADHD-land Amen comes up for both of us – as he does for so many people who are concerned about brain matters.
No matter how anyone slices it, brain evidence does matter, and Amen is a thought leader who stood up to be counted with that new information, that new perspective, those new questions about underlying issues with ADHD and how they looked from a neurophysiologic perspective rather than simply guessing at appearances.
As time passes we continue to find even more interesting insights, but credit to Daniel for a lifetime of diligent, intelligent inquiry and reportage. And credit to you, Gina, for taking the details to the public in even more specific ways for relationship management and everyday ADHD practice.
cp
😉 thanks Chuck!