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Because I Come from a Crazy Family: The Making of a Psychiatrist Hardcover – June 12, 2018
From the bestselling author of the classic book on ADD, Driven to Distraction, a memoir of the strange upbringing that shaped Dr. Edward M. Hallowell's celebrated career.
When Edward M. Hallowell was eleven, a voice out of nowhere told him he should become a psychiatrist. A mental health professional of the time would have called this psychosis. But young Edward (Ned) took it in stride, despite not quite knowing what "psychiatrist" meant. With a psychotic father, alcoholic mother, abusive stepfather, and two so-called learning disabilities of his own, Ned was accustomed to unpredictable behavior from those around him, and to a mind he felt he couldn't always control.
The voice turned out to be right. Now, decades later, Hallowell is a leading expert on attention disorders and the author of twenty books, including Driven to Distraction, the work that introduced ADD to the world. In Because I Come from a Crazy Family, he tells the often strange story of a childhood marked by what he calls the "WASP triad" of alcoholism, mental illness, and politeness, and explores the wild wish, surging beneath his incredible ambition, that he could have saved his own family of drunk, crazy, and well-intentioned eccentrics, and himself.
Because I Come from a Crazy Family is an affecting, at times harrowing, ultimately moving memoir about crazy families and where they can lead, about being called to the mental health profession, and about the unending joys and challenges that come with helping people celebrate who they are.
A portion of the author's proceeds of this book will go to NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness).
- Print length416 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherBloomsbury Publishing
- Publication dateJune 12, 2018
- Dimensions6.45 x 1.44 x 9.6 inches
- ISBN-10163286858X
- ISBN-13978-1632868589
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"Edward Hallowell was conceived only because his father tried to kill his mother. His work helps make sense of his ‘crazy family.’ " - The Guardian
"Psychiatrist Hallowell (Driven to Distraction) handily illustrates in this entertaining memoir the adage that people go into psychiatry because they want to understand themselves and their families . . . Hallowell is earnest in his assessments about his search for his life’s calling." - Publisher's Weekly
"Hallowell’s memoir unfolds in a humorous manner that entertains and enlightens." - Booklist
"Hallowell's many followers will seek out this account. Those unfamiliar with his work will find much to appreciate and absorb in his clear-eyed retelling of a life path that easily could have gone a different way." - Library Journal
"[A] wonderfully rendered memoir . . . One wisely observed story with personal delivery and engaging prose follows another." - Washington Independent Review of Books
"Poignant storytelling with a purpose, and a treasure for those either new to or familiar with [Hallowell's] work." - BookTrib
"[Because I Come From a Crazy Family is] Hallowell’s extraordinary account of overcoming seemingly insurmountable challenges to arrive at the top of his profession . . . I think many readers would find this one hard to put down. Highly recommended." - The Bowling Green Daily News
"Rarely does enlightenment about the complexities of brain, mind, and heart meet such empathy . . . This is a book you won’t want to end, since early in the course of it you’ll wish you’d known Hallowell throughout his life. But when you finish it, you’ll feel you have." - Paul Farmer, M.D., Ph.D., University Professor, Harvard Medical School, co-founder, Partners In Health
"We are all the products of our families--and all as crazy as they are. So the real power of this great book? Proving that none of us is alone. Powerful, harrowing, and outrageously reassuring!" - Brad Meltzer, bestselling author of THE ESCAPE ARTIST
"Poignant, unexpectedly funny, and a brilliant read, this book is thoroughly relatable for anyone who has loved a complex person, worked to learn life lessons, and tried make the world a better place. In short, all of us." - Ken Duckworth M.D., Medical Director, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
"Dr. Edward M. Hallowell has done more than any other physician and author to help us understand the creative, complex and challenging inner worlds of children and adults with ADHD. Now, in Because I Come from a Crazy Family, he grants us access to his own life and mind with his signature warmth, humor and insight. Moving, inspiring, and sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, his memoir will bring enormous pleasure and relief to anyone with a "crazy" family--that is to say, to absolutely everyone." - Judith Warner, author of PERFECT MADNESS
"It's one thing to turn the hardships you face into fuel for doing good for others. But it's quite another, even braver thing to reveal details about those hardships publicly. Ned Hallowell has written a brave and illuminating book about overcoming odds." - Ann Curry
"A very readable, highly informative and helpful book." - The New York Times Book Review on DRIVEN TO DISTRACTION
"The first comprehensive book on the subject for the lay reader." - The Boston Globe on DRIVEN TO DISTRACTION
"Clear-sighted wisdom . . . Those in search of practical, concrete advice for creating and saving marriages will find what they need." - Publishers Weekly on MARRIED TO DISTRACTION
About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing; 1st edition (June 12, 2018)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 416 pages
- ISBN-10 : 163286858X
- ISBN-13 : 978-1632868589
- Item Weight : 1.6 pounds
- Dimensions : 6.45 x 1.44 x 9.6 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #1,506,900 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #781 in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity
- #3,930 in Popular Psychology Pathologies
- #45,057 in Memoirs (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

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Edward (Ned) Hallowell, M.D. is a board-certified child and adult psychiatrist and world authority on ADHD. He is a graduate of Harvard College and Tulane Medical School, and was a Harvard Medical School faculty member for 21 years. He is the Founder of The Hallowell ADHD Centers in Boston MetroWest, New York City, San Francisco, Palo Alto and Seattle.
He has spent the past four decades helping thousands of adults and children live happy and productive lives through his strength-based approach to neurodiversity, and has ADHD and dyslexia himself.
Dr Hallowell is a New York Times bestselling author and has written 20 books on multiple psychological topics. The groundbreaking Distraction series, which began with Driven to Distraction, co-authored with Dr John Ratey in 1994, sparked a revolution in understanding of ADHD.
Having successfully managed both ADHD and dyslexia himself, he has famously said, “I don’t treat disabilities; I help unwrap gift!” When “disabilities” are seen instead by their mirror traits, these attributes can be channeled toward turbo-charged success. His Hallowell Centers offer comprehensive mental health diagnostic and treatment services to patients and their families.
Dr. Hallowell is the host of his new podcast called Dr. Hallowell’s Wonderful World of different where he celebrates the world of different in its many and varied forms. In celebrating the many differences that adorn humanity, he hopes to break down barriers of stigma and misunderstanding and show how all of us benefit from the differences between us.
Dr Hallowell has been featured on 20/20, 60 Minutes, Oprah, PBS, CNN, The Today Show, Dateline, Good Morning America, The New York Times, USA Today, Newsweek, Time Magazine, the Los Angeles Times, the Boston Globe and many more. He is a regular columnist for ADDitude Magazine.
Dr. Hallowell’s practices his trademark strength-based approach and always comes across as genuine, humorous, transparent and passionate whether he is practicing working with clients in the Hallowell Centers or addressing a wide range of topics in his writings and public appearances.
He's married to Sue Hallowell and they have 3 children.
He loves to hear from readers. You can visit his website at www.drhallowell.com
Customer reviews
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Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find this memoir engaging, with one describing it as a captivating read. They appreciate the author's honesty, with one noting how he masterfully shares his complex experiences, and find it informative and insightful. The book features compelling personal stories and an enjoyable writing style, with one customer highlighting its focus on love and hope. Customers also appreciate the humor and resilience portrayed in the narrative, with one mentioning how it helped them remember a sense of safety.
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Customers find the book readable, with one describing it as a fantastic memoir and another noting its hopeful tone.
"...AMAZING and thoroughly enjoyable!!" Read more
"...As he mentions more than once, he's lucky to be where he is today. A good read, written as Dr. Hallowell usual does, with honesty and empathy." Read more
"...Excellent book." Read more
"A captivating read due to the way the author so deftly paints the picture of the myriad of challenges he faced at a very early age...." Read more
Customers appreciate the book's honesty, with one noting how it masterfully shares complex stories and situations with vivid detail.
"In this memoir, Dr. Hallowell masterfully shares his complex, often wildly chaotic, yet priveleged life story with such vulnerability, humility,..." Read more
"...Dr. Hallowell has the most amazing ability to tell a story with total honesty, yet also so much humor, compassion and wisdom...." Read more
"...It was an open and honest view of his life's journey to date. He had experienced many odd stops and interruptions in his early life...." Read more
"...significant life events and his “crazy” family are written with such vivid detail, heart, and humor...." Read more
Customers find the book insightful and informative.
"...chaotic, yet priveleged life story with such vulnerability, humility, optimism, and grace that by the end, you feel like his good friend...." Read more
"...a story with total honesty, yet also so much humor, compassion and wisdom...." Read more
"Enlightening as well as entertaining and humorous...." Read more
"...speak on many occasions which is a real treat since he is so honest, hopeful and humorous when speaking of people's foibles, including his own...." Read more
Customers find the book's narrative compelling and thoroughly enjoyable to read, with one customer noting that the author writes as he speaks.
"...masterfully shares his complex, often wildly chaotic, yet priveleged life story with such vulnerability, humility, optimism, and grace that by the..." Read more
"This book was sensational! Dr. Hallowell has the most amazing ability to tell a story with total honesty, yet also so much humor, compassion and..." Read more
"...Without spoiling the narrative, we learn that Ned Hallowell has developed a strength and resiliency uncommon at such an early age...." Read more
"He is a great writer and I enjoyed many of his books. I read some of them more than once...." Read more
Customers appreciate the heartwarming stories in the book, with one customer highlighting its themes of love and hope, while others mention the compassion throughout the narrative.
"...ability to tell a story with total honesty, yet also so much humor, compassion and wisdom...." Read more
"...A good read, written as Dr. Hallowell usual does, with honesty and empathy." Read more
"...life events and his “crazy” family are written with such vivid detail, heart, and humor...." Read more
"Dr Hallowell ‘s memoir is all about love and hope. Under every sparkle of craziness laid the best outcome out of his goodness...." Read more
Customers find the book humorous and entertaining.
"...most amazing ability to tell a story with total honesty, yet also so much humor, compassion and wisdom...." Read more
"...and his “crazy” family are written with such vivid detail, heart, and humor...." Read more
"...This strength coupled with intelligence and a great sense of humor carry him to great heights with many fun and not so fun anecdotes to keep us..." Read more
"...occasions which is a real treat since he is so honest, hopeful and humorous when speaking of people's foibles, including his own...." Read more
Customers appreciate the book's portrayal of resilience and vulnerability, with one customer noting how it helped them remember a sense of safety.
"...complex, often wildly chaotic, yet priveleged life story with such vulnerability, humility, optimism, and grace that by the end, you feel like his..." Read more
"...This book allowed me to remember the safety I felt despite the crazy family...." Read more
"A life story of love and resilience..." Read more
Reviews with images
Personal, Authentic and Inspiring
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2019In this memoir, Dr. Hallowell masterfully shares his complex, often wildly chaotic, yet priveleged life story with such vulnerability, humility, optimism, and grace that by the end, you feel like his good friend. As a child psychologist, ADHD specialist, and memoirist myself, I can say with authority that this memoir is a one-of-a-kind jewel. It is rare that we get to learn, in such great detail, about the makings of a man who has devoted his career to helping lift up and enlighten those in need.
- Reviewed in the United States on August 29, 2018This book was sensational! Dr. Hallowell has the most amazing ability to tell a story with total honesty, yet also so much humor, compassion and wisdom. Dr. Hallowell is the least pathologizing doctor I have ever come across, and can frame anything from a position of finding the strength and positivity. He writes as he speaks, and though out the book I imagined him sitting across the table and telling these stories from his life. AMAZING and thoroughly enjoyable!!
- Reviewed in the United States on October 22, 2018Okay, as another person with ADHD, it took a while to finish Dr. Hallowell's memoir. It was an open and honest view of his life's journey to date. He had experienced many odd stops and interruptions in his early life. As he mentions more than once, he's lucky to be where he is today. A good read, written as Dr. Hallowell usual does, with honesty and empathy.
- Reviewed in the United States on July 4, 2018Enlightening as well as entertaining and humorous. I found myself reading Dr. Hallowell’s memoir as if it were a novel that I couldn’t put down — I had to remind myself that these characters are REAL people in REAL places, that this is Dr. Hallowell’s REAL life story, and that these things really DID happen. The stories Dr. Hallowell tells about significant life events and his “crazy” family are written with such vivid detail, heart, and humor. I did find Dr. Hallowell's family tree in the front of the book very helpful when being introduced to the many family “characters”. Excellent book.
- Reviewed in the United States on June 29, 2018A captivating read due to the way the author so deftly paints the picture of the myriad of challenges he faced at a very early age. Watching him face these essentially on his own, the reader wonders what can possibly slow him down next. Without spoiling the narrative, we learn that Ned Hallowell has developed a strength and resiliency uncommon at such an early age. This strength coupled with intelligence and a great sense of humor carry him to great heights with many fun and not so fun anecdotes to keep us interested along the way. A wonderful book guaranteed to stimulate discussion within families and mental health professionals. Just to be clear, this is a rave review for a great book - Thank you Dr Hallowell..
- Reviewed in the United States on August 14, 2018I have been a follower of Dr. Hallowell for twenty plus years since everyone in my family has some form of ADHD. I have heard him speak on many occasions which is a real treat since he is so honest, hopeful and humorous when speaking of people's foibles, including his own. He has helped millions of people by sharing his knowledge and optimism with so many of us. I picked up this book just to skim it, since it isn't specifically about leaning disabilities or ADHD, but I found myself fully engaged in it after only about 50 pages--couldn't put it down. A very hopeful book and also very informative.
- Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2019I am surprised to see so many glowing reviews. This book needed to be edited by half. The author goes into details that are not at all interesting or relevant.
- Reviewed in the United States on May 25, 2021He is a great writer and I enjoyed many of his books. I read some of them more than once. His depth of knowledge is impressive but more importantly is his humanity side of it. His story is compelling and inspiring.
Top reviews from other countries
DaniellyReviewed in Brazil on December 14, 20205.0 out of 5 stars Great history.
Amazing history.
Sebastian shaun TurkingtonReviewed in the United Kingdom on March 12, 20205.0 out of 5 stars Good.
Good book
Tesla85Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 30, 20185.0 out of 5 stars Great read
A good read
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