Episode 107: [BOOK CLUB] ADHD For Smart Ass Women by Tracy Otsuka

I recently read a book that stopped me in my tracks: ADHD for Smart Ass Women by Tracy Otsuka. I picked it up out of curiosity. I did not expect to see so much of myself in its pages.
As a woman who just turned 50, I grew up in a time when ADHD in girls was rarely part of the conversation. If anything, we were given vague explanations about learning differences or processing challenges, but very little insight into what our brains were actually doing.
Reading this book reframed so much of my own story. Instead of treating ADHD as a deficit, Otsuka approaches it from a strengths-based perspective. Curiosity. Creative intensity. Hyperfocus. Pattern recognition. The ability to notice things other people miss. When I read those descriptions, I immediately thought about writers. So many of the traits we associate with ADHD are the exact traits that make someone a powerful storyteller. Writers are curious. Writers observe people closely. Writers connect ideas in ways others might not.
And when something truly captures our interest, we can go deep. Many writers worry that they are not disciplined enough to finish a book. They start a project with enthusiasm, life interrupts, attention shifts, and the manuscript sits for months. It can feel discouraging.
But what I have started to understand is that this is often not a motivation problem. It is a systems problem. Different brains need different structures. For me, that has meant learning when my brain is ready to write and taking advantage of those moments of deep focus. It has meant finding environments that help me concentrate. Coffee shops have always worked for me. It has meant using tools like body doubling, where simply being in a room with other writers helps my brain settle into the work. And it has meant embracing the reality that writing does not have to be a solitary experience. Community changes everything. 

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Transcript

Stephanie 0:00

Hello writers and welcome back to another episode of The Inspired Writer Collective. If you're just joining us for the first time, welcome. I'm so glad that you've discovered us, and I hope you'll take the opportunity to explore more episodes that we offer, and if you're joining us again, welcome back and we're so glad you're a part of our community. So it's Stephanie here today just by myself because I'm gonna be sharing with you insights from a book I read recently called A DHD for Smart Ass Women by Tracy Otsuka. And I'm sharing this with you because this book just absolutely stopped me in my tracks. I didn't expect to find myself in the pages of this book to have it resonate with me so solidly. And what I appreciated most about this book is that she approaches a DHD from a strengths-based perspective, meaning that. DHD is your superpower. And I love having that perspective going into this conversation and thinking about this book because I think too often, uh, we look at it from the way it's labeled a deficit disorder and it's really not. It's really something that when you begin to understand yourself and what it means to. Have an A DHD brain that you feel so empowered about that piece of yourself. And that's what I loved about this book is that it allowed me to reflect back on aspects of my life growing up because as a woman who just turned 50 last year. I was not part of any generation where it was commonly talked about that maybe some of my own learning challenges my own ways could possibly be A DHD. There were other pieces. It was, oh, you have an auditory processing disorder and. That didn't even really make sense to me, and there weren't accommodations that I was offered for that. But what I know about my brain is that it offered me strategies that I didn't even know existed. And I was able to compensate really well, which is what is so common for women who are in the perimenopause, menopause stage of life right now. And having that awareness and recognizing that, wow, I'm actually pretty damn awesome for having accommodated so well for so long. And a lot of people who know me have said, wow, I would've never thought that You are so organized. You have everything together. You have everything so put together and really. I struggle with getting things started. Sometimes I struggle with finishing things staying on track or remembering to do things. And so I've had to work really hard to present myself as expected. And what this book, A DHD for Smart Ass Women really brought to the forefront is that. My struggles are not struggles. They're just things that point to my brain being an A DHD brain working differently. I came to this book as a mom, a writer, a former classroom teacher, a book coach being married to somebody who has a DHD. And so I have a very broad perspective on this. I have teenagers with a DHD, and so i've seen the whole spectrum of what it can look like and it can look so different for everyone. And I think what was really powerful about this book is that it created a lot of validation for who I am. And when I think back on a lot of things, I think, if I had known this sooner, I might've made some different choices, but. What I love about having an A DHD brain that Tracy Asuka points out is that you have a real drive for curiosity. There's a creative intensity to the way you are your mind is overactive and that one of the things that is awesome about that is that as a writer, those are all of the things that come together to help you create and write your stories. Because when you're able to hyper focus, because you have a story that you're meant to tell, that's an absolute A DHD superpower. And that is what is so cool about reading this book is that you start to take on this feeling of, wow, I'm pretty awesome and. A DHD is not holding me back. It's actually what is gonna fuel my creative journey and my desire to finish my book. And while I know I've struggled with starting and finishing and in fact I'm not even sure I like using the word struggle, but it's the first one that comes to mind right now. But it's definitely been a challenge for me. Um, I've had multiple ideas. I start with one storyline and then something else strikes me and I go with that and. What I learned in this book is that that's okay. It's okay to have multiple projects going. It's okay to explore multiple different avenues, but when you have a goal for yourself and you have a task to complete, it's important to choose one and allow for your A DHD brain to go into the hyperfocus mode, which is what is often referred to as getting into a flow state. You might have heard other writers talking about getting in the flow and getting into this place where the ideas are flowing, and that's one of the great gifts that you have if you identify as having an A DHD brain, is that you're able to drop into that space a lot more easily than some of your peers who are what are more neurotypical. Whereas A DHD is considered neurodivergent and both have their strengths in their own right. And that is what is so great when you read this book, is that you really begin to discover how many strengths you have as a writer who maybe you don't know that it's a DHD, but maybe you feel distracted or you have a hard time finishing what you've started and having the awareness of how your brain works is what is so powerful about reading this book is, it brings that to the forefront and this is such a missing conversation amongst women. Now, of course, if you go onto a platform such as Threads where I spend some time, you will find that if you start talking about A DHD, the algorithm swings very strongly in that direction and your feed will start being filled with all kinds of conversations around it. And while I appreciate that, there's so many conversations about A DHD, sometimes I find that it's often women who are beating themselves up or saying negative things about themselves or making having an A DHD brain kind of a joke and i've been trying to show up as saying, Hey, this is your superpower we've learned to mask our symptoms for so long, and one of the things that is important to remember with your A DHD brain is that it's just about, your brain is processing information differently and you approach your work in a different way, and that's a beautiful thing to embrace and to recognize in yourself. That's what really comes forward in this book, and I'm not gonna give away a lot of details of the book because I really. Want you to go pick it up and discover it for yourself. But what I hope is that what I'm talking about resonates with you so much that you go and pick up the book. And I've had conversations with other writers in my life who have been so excited to hear about this book and just the other day I got a text from a friend who was so excited that she had found the book on Spotify and was diving in to listening to it, and so it really will offer you a comfort that you might not have found before, which is what I've really found and what I love about the book is that you don't have to read it, cover to cover. It's not one of those books that's divided up into different chapters that address different aspects of A DHD and where you might be finding challenges such as there's a chapter about A DHD and nutrition. There's a chapter about getting more movement. There's a chapter about how to handle aspects of overwhelm and so on. So there are a lot of different perspectives that the author Tracy Otsuka addresses in the book, which makes it really accessible to wherever you are in your journey as a writer with an A DHD brain, your brain is wired for interest, not information. So while I've thought to myself like, oh, I love learning new information, it's not really about the information. It's about having the interest in something and then I can do an absolute deep dive into that. Get lost in searches and books and articles and all kinds of things, and it makes sense to me because I think back to when I was in graduate school and I've been in graduate school a couple times, I'm definitely a school nerd in that sense, and I take great pride in that and I love that for myself now, knowing that I have an A DHD brain. Thinking back on all the things that I've accomplished, because oftentimes with our A DHD brain, we don't always think about the things that we've accomplished. And so writers, I want you to think about what have you accomplished, even if it's not related to your writing goal. Now, my graduate work. Which it's been a while since I wrote my dissertation and earned my PhD, but I recognize now that part of the reason that I was able to complete that while being a mom of two under two at the time, with a third one on the way was because I was so deeply invested and I just went full force into that project, and that's what I'm also doing right now with my own novel is I'm in the middle of a 90 day sprint and I offer this as one of my coaching pieces for women fiction writers is helping you get through the first draft in 90 days. And I'm gonna tell you, I don't write every day, but when I do write I go deep and I write and I am fully focused. And that is one of the great characteristics of having an A DHD brain is that ability to say, okay, I have this block of time. I am ready to write the characters won't leave me alone. I'm going to sit down and write and I write. And I think that's one of the things to recognize is when to work, when your brain is really on. And I had never thought about that before, but it came to the forefront after reading this book. And a couple of things that are also strong gifts and writers, you probably relate to these, is having a really strong sense of interpersonal intuition that you're able to go into a room, read it really quickly, you observe people, you recognize the way people are and then you're also really able to come up with creative approaches to different problems that you've come across. And I think of when I was in school and I was struggling with learning a different subject and I came up with strategies for how to study for it, how to learn it for myself so that I could remember, because one of the things that I thought was, uh, only me challenge, but turns out it's an A DHD brain challenge is that sometimes when we read things, we don't always remember everything that we've read. And that's why writing things down is such a strong strategy if you identify with having an A DHD brain. And I thought it was something that I needed to do. And now thinking back in school, I think, wow, I wish I had known that it was actually the aspect of how my brain worked as opposed to feeling like I wasn't as fast as my peers when reading a passage and trying to summarize it or come up with what I just read or remembering it. And so if you struggled with that you're not alone and it's really about your brain and it's not about you. And I've been really fascinated by learning about the brain and learning about this aspect in relation to writing, which has taken me in other directions, which is what I love about having discovered this book. And the other piece is that as writers we're curious people. We notice things other people might not notice and connect things in unexpected ways. And that's also one of the magical pieces of the A DHD brain. So one of the things I often hear, and I've often thought this myself, is that I've wanted to write for a long time, but I've always thought, well, I'm not good enough at this. I don't have the discipline. I don't have the focus, which isn't true. What I needed was this sense of myself, of embracing what I am interested in and really going deep with that and opening up to people who do encourage and raise me up and that has helped to push my writing forward, and is why here at Inspired Writer Collective, Elizabeth, my co-host and I talk about this all the time, about the value of finding the rooms where you feel that you get the support, and we offer that during the week. We have writing sessions that you can join if you're interested. You can send us an email at hello@inspiredwritercollective.com. If you wanna be added to those emails. It's really one of the great ways to show up for yourself if you identify as having an A DHD brain, because there's something called body doubling that is a powerful strategy, which means that when you need to get something done, simply being in the room with someone else, even if they're not even doing the same thing that you're doing it encourages your brain to get focused and get to work. And it's been really incredible for our writing progress. Elizabeth has finished her memoir. I'm working on my 90 day sprint and getting my draft done for my novel that I'm preparing to pitch this summer at the Romance Writers of America conference. And so knowing that I have an A DHD brain has allowed me to find structure for myself because even though you might feel distracted and scattered and all over the place, truly when you find the right structure for yourself and for your brain. Everything begins to click, and that's what's so magical about having that awareness. And sometimes with an A DHD brain, maybe you've had the thought that writing feels really impossible, and you might recognize some of these pieces, that you have so many ideas that you start a project with so much enthusiasm and you're going and you're all in it. And then. You've left it sitting for months or life interrupts and your attention shifts and all, and other things get in the way, and you begin to wonder if you can actually finish the book. Well, writers who are listening, I have been there and I know that feeling of, well, maybe I'm not gonna get this done, but really it's not. A character flaw. It's not something that you can't accomplish. It's actually something that you are really capable of accomplishing because it's not a you problem. It's a systems problem. You need to figure out exactly what system and structure is going to work for your brain, and it's not going to be the same for everyone. The other piece is sitting down to write when I know that my brain is ready to write, and oftentimes it's what I've really discovered recently is this approach of getting into the body first before getting into the mind with having an A DHD brain and having such an overactive mind, there are a lot of thoughts and feelings and aspects of life that can get in the way. But if I allow myself to take a few minutes to close my eyes, take a deep breath and this comes from work I've done on our email list with the Embodied Writing Experience, I've also recently discovered an approach called the Gateless Writing Method, and then from my own yoga practice and when I'm on my yoga mat I'm able to calm my mind and my body with some simple meditation and breathing exercises. And so all of those pieces have been really powerful for providing structure for my A DHD brain. One of the great things about reading this book is about building self-awareness for yourself, and instead of forcing yourself into someone else's system, as you read Tracy Otsuka's book. You'll start to create systems and find patterns in your own life, and you'll get curious about, well, how do I focus the best? What are the best environments for me to write in? What structure is going to keep my momentum going? And when you discover those yourself, it. Encourages you more. And you might also have found that so much of the writing advice that's out there in the world just doesn't fit for your A DHD brain. And that's what I didn't realize that I've actually been struggling with. And well, it's a nice idea to say sit my butt in the chair every day and write, but that's not always realistic and it's not always realistic as a, as a mom of teenagers, as an entrepreneur and not only needing to be on the creative side, but on the business side and just all the aspects of life that can happen and throw curve balls. And sometimes we need to give ourselves grace as writers because I think too often there's this sense that you need to do it alone. That's what the writing life is. It's alone. And really it's not. It's about finding community. It's about finding the people who fit with you and who you fit with, and that's where having this awareness, now that I have an A DHD brain, it's like, wow, I feel like the entire world has opened up to me as a writer of thinking I can do this. And even though I've been telling myself I can do this, I still have thought that I need to sit down at my desk and I need to know exactly what to write, and I need to know exactly what to do at every moment and that's just not the reality, and that's not what I've actually needed. I've just needed to have this awareness of when are the best times for me to sit down and write What are the best environments for me to write in Now, coffee shops will always be one of the best environments for me and that doesn't work for everybody with an A DHD brain. Some people's brains can't have that focus with a lot of noise and everything going on around them. But for me, that's been one of the things I've always done as a strategy for helping me get work done. And so it's always worked. And when I think that it's not gonna work, I have to remind myself that yes. Take yourself to the coffee shop, sit there for a couple of hours and you will get so much work done and without fail, that always happens. And so writers, I recommend picking up this book, A DHD for smart ass women, especially if you feel like you are a little bit different than your peers or that strategies that work for your writing peers are not working for you, or maybe you are diagnosed with A DHD and you're hiding because you feel that it's something that's wrong with you because we create this deficit model of A DHD, and especially if you're a parent and you have children who've been diagnosed with A DHD, there's no doubt about it. Since I've been in the school systems, I know that too often the school systems create this whole narrative around it being something that is wrong with your child. And there's nothing wrong about the A DHD brain. It's understanding the magic of how the brain works and saying like, oh, wow, like I am so awesome that I accomplished all these things, or that I've done all these things for myself. With a brain that works differently than. What everybody expects, and it's what makes you unique. It's what's gonna make your story unique. It's what's going to really allow you to embrace your writing life. What do you want your writing life to look like? It's not what every famous New York Times bestselling author's writing life looks like. It's what does your writing look like? And if you're needing some inspiration and support around it. Tracy Otsuka's book is such a gift to those of us with an A DHD brain because it is about the fact that A DHD is your superpower and there's so much that you can accomplish. And writers, if this resonated with you, I'd love to hear from you. You can send a text through the app for the podcast. I love seeing your messages. If you're curious about what it looks like to do a 90 day sprint with me as your coach, I'd love for you to reach out hello@inspiredwritercollective.com or go to our website inspired writer collective.com and you can find information there and again. I know I didn't go into all the details of the book, but certainly everything that I talked about, and for those of you who are watching on YouTube, you're seeing the cover of the book, A DHD for Smart Ass Women, how to Fall In Love With Your Neurodivergent Brain by Tracy Otsuka, and I highly recommend this as a resource to yourself. It's one that you can go back to time and time again