DIRTY LAUNDRY: Why adults with ADHD are so ashamed and what we can do to help

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The crux of their ADHD_love_ videos highlights the day-to-day of a couple where one of them is an adult with ADHD (diagnosed late, as an adult) and feeling their way through it. Also they depict how a relationship works when one of you is neurotypical and the other one isn't. These are funny, true, and sometimes unexpectedly touching, and the book brings all of this to the table. If anything, it's even more nurturing. It's clear they've both done a lot of work in therapy (separately and probably together) and they pay it forward to people (like myself) who are fresh on their journey and still processing. I am so glad I had the opportunity to read this book! This author is highly talented and I cannot wait to read more of her books in the future! And there’s earth mother Lauren Doyle, born, bred, and the butt of jokes in their village. With her disheveled partner and children who run naked in the yard, they’re mostly a happy lot, though unsurprisingly ostracized for being the singular dysfunction in Ciara’s immaculate world. When Lauren finds an unlikely ally in Mishti, she decides that her days of ridicule are over. Delicious and devious. Bose takes a scalpel to suburban family life, expertly drilling down through the Insta-perfect surface to its dark, messy core. I loved it' Tammy Cohen, The Wedding Party What Didn't Work: Towards the end of the book, it became quite clear who was primarily responsible for the death Ciara. While Bose attempted to throw curveballs to distract readers from the responsible individual, it was pretty obvious. Additionally, Ciara isn't a likeable character. She does horrible things to the other characters and exhibits no remorse. When she does die, I can't say that I actually cared and I'm not sure whether that was Bose's intent or not. By creating such an unlikeable character, I ended up not caring about her death which almost led to me not caring about the book as I got closer to the end. I think it's a hard balance to the balance between keeping readers invested in the story and introducing unlikeable characters and centering the narrative around them.

Mishti is a woman from India, living in an arranged marriage with Parth, but pining for another man from her hometown of Calcutta. Her husband treats her like property, and she’s made very few friends since being in Ireland. Her daughter is about the only thing keeping her going, as she really doesn’t have much else in her life. I liked that these mom's each bring something different to the friendship circle, so that was nice that they each have their own personality, but that's not to say they have a great one. Ciara has it all - a loving husband, well-behaved children and an immaculate home. But behind the filters, her reality is far from what it seems. What Worked: I love a messy story! And to be quite honest, the foundation of this story is built upon the messiness of each character. I appreciated that Bose took the time and effort to carefully develop the personality of each character. They were well rounded, interesting, and perfectly imperfect. As a result, I was extremely interested in the revelation of the character responsible for the death of Ciara and learned some not so great things about their husbands along the way. Clearly, this is a testament to Bose's skills as a writer. She was able to drag me into this town and get me invested in their drama as if I was a part of the community.

Mishti, Lauren& Ciara are our main characters and I did not like or care about what happened to any of them, not a one. That goes for the husbands, too. Lauren has always been a bit of a loner, and she definitely feels like an outcast, even in adulthood. She’s in somewhat of a common-law marriage with Sean, who seems to think they are in an open relationship (although Lauren never agreed to those terms). They have three children together, and while life together used to be good, their relationship has now flatlined.

From the viral TikTok duo, @ADHD_Love comes a tried-and-tested, no-guilt and no-shame guide to self-love and navigating relationships with ADHD

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Ciara has it all – a loving husband, well-behaved children and an immaculate home. But behind the filters, her reality is far from what it seems.