I've never thought I'd write a children's book. I've always written stories inspired by my own experiences as a Middle Eastern woman. Serious issues, heavy stuff, and even taboos.
I started writing in high school and my stories and poems reflected just that, a teenager's struggle to find her place in a world that oppressed her very existence.
My writing was and still is the only way I can express myself. I've always thought that one day I'd share my stories with the world, and now I enjoy sharing my experiences as an immigrant parent of two in a local mom blog.
Racing Mind is my first published book. It is one of those stories. And very close to my heart. It's my child's story. It also happened to be a serious one.
My two children were diagnosed with ADHD. One is inattentive and the other is combined. One was diagnosed relatively early on, and the other was diagnosed later in her life. One is on medication and the other is not. One struggles socially and the other is a social butterfly. One soared academically and the other can get stuck sometimes.
One's room is chaos and the other's? More of an organized chaos. One forgets her chores and basic hygiene and routine and the other has it more consistent. One just started college and the other just started middle school.
Both are very creative, artistic and sensitive. So, as you can see ADHD is a big part of our lives.
Even more now that I was diagnosed with ADHD recently, almost a year after I wrote Racing Mind and at age 42.
Their diagnosis was such a journey. ADHD impacts different aspects of your well-being; we are still working on everything together and it's still challenging and sometimes even feels impossible and hopeless. But I do understand their struggles and support them 100%. I advocate for them, and they learned to advocate for themselves too. I'm so proud of them both.
When I wrote Racing Mind, I was sleepless one night heavyheartedly thinking about my younger daughter’s struggles. She was struggling emotionally and socially at the time. I was searching the web for solutions, when I realized that we have already done a ton and saw no relief. I found myself writing her story instead. I wanted to tell her "Hey, I see you; I feel you and I'm here for you". I wanted to tell her that her condition isn't a curse and that she is doing OK!
I just wanted to share with her this story, and I wanted to document her heroic journey, the way I did before when I wrote silly stories inspired by them for her and her sister.
But when she read it, she said that other kids with ADHD would benefit from reading it too, they would feel they are seen, understood and represented. "I've never felt so understood like that before" were her exact words.
I'm not an expert or a medical professional, and I'm not here to give any advice. I'm just a mom telling my child's story and maybe share what worked for us. I want to help my children thrive and ease their everyday struggles every way I can. And now I extend that to all the children in the world who have similar struggles.
I hope that Racing Mind can be a good resource for kids, families, teachers, and professionals working with ADHD.
Find Racing Mind a Story of a Girl with ADHD on social media platforms and share your stories with us! We love to get connected and relate to each other!
Racing Mind a Story of a Girl with ADHD will be released August 6th 2024.
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