Now It All Makes Sense – My Honest Review

ADHDSelf-Help
Written By Ian Sebesta
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Book Snapshot

What This Book Is About

Now It All Makes Sense is Alex Partridge’s brutally honest, deeply relatable, deep-dive into ADHD, Known for his successful online social media brands UNILAD, LADbible, and being the founder and host of @adhd_chatter_podcast, Partridge turns his personal experiences with ADHD into a book that feels like a conversation with someone who gets it: the overwhelm, the self-doubt, the pressure to succeed, and the feeling of never quite fitting the mold. He also writes about helpful tips & information from experts in the field that he’s brought onto his podcast.

The book is not a step-by-step guide to fixing your life, but rather tips on living with ADHD and a reminder that you're not the only one trying to make sense of it.

Why Did I Buy This Book?

As someone who was diagnosed with ADHD 19 years ago, but only really exploring what ADHD actually means within the last year, I picked up this book to learn, to understand, and to find out what others’ experiences may be like. I am always looking for that next tip, hack, or comment that improves my life, and this book had many of those! Continue reading to discover what they were for me.

Some Thoughts.

 

Favorite Insights & Notes

I started trying to write down in the moment when I read something that made me feel something, but I forgot to keep doing that after Chapter 2, so most of these are going to come from those early chapters.

The first thing I wrote was right from the beginning. Alex shared the feeling when you unintentionally finish someone’s sentences. This hit the nail on the head for me. I constantly do this, mainly to my partner, and after doing it, I feel so guilty, especially when she responds with “Well, yes, that but also _____” (Meaning I was wrong). She’s very kind and understand, which helps, but I still feel the guilt from doing it.

He wrote somewhere in chapter 1 (according to my note, didn’t write a page number, of course) about having friends who also have ADHD. This made me think, I actually don’t have any. I don’t think I have one person whom I know personally with ADHD that I can reflect, crack jokes, or discuss ADHD with, who also may share the same or similar experiences. I’ve always been the “ADHD” person in my life, or as my partner likes to say, “Super ADHD” 😂.

In Chapter 2, Alex talks about how people with ADHD forget about their acomplishments. This one is super relatable to me… Even when people tell me I should be proud of myself, in my head, there is still more that needs to be done, better things to do. I should try focusing on what I’ve accomplished and use that to fuel my energy to keep going, rather than brute-forcing it. Alex shares some ways to help remind yourself of your accomplishments. This includes: hiring a coach (I’d love to, but can’t afford it right now), using your journal (I used to do this a lot, but recently have stopped, I should get back on this), celebrating your wins, and writing yourself a letter. As I mentioned above, the ADHD coach sounds amazing, and I actually tried that before, but couldn’t find an actual coach, only an ADHD therapist, which I actually started going to every week for about 2 months. My lack of employment (and me going all in on trying to grow my personal brand) has made me need to be more carful with my money, so I’ll stick to the free option of using my journal for now.

One thought I wrote down, which I want to write here to remind anyone reading that everyone has different experiences, and for me at least, all I need to do is ask someone, and they’ll instantly agree that I definitely have ADHD. The thought: Being diagnosed at such a young age (7 years old), when I read other people’s experiences with ADHD, and I don’t relate to them, I sometimes wonder, Do I even have it? Maybe I was just a weird, different, and hyper kid…

Alex mentions to study your knee-jurk reactions, the moments where you get intense emotional feeling from something happening. I want to start doing this, I just need to remember to actually pay attention now haha. On top of that, he mentions listing “the small things” that lead to burnout, something I have suffered with a lot in my life. I want to start paying more attention to that. All I want for Christmas is not to burn out!

The final actual note I wrote (except for the next two things I remembered at the end of the book) was this: Page 47: This really hit home, I want to share it with Zoe (my partner). On this page, Alex talks about how people with ADHD just “do” things; we don’t overanalyze it. This couldn’t be more true for me. It’s why I started my business at 20 years old, and also why I completely made a shift 5 years into it to build my personal brand and follow my passion when I could’ve continued building my already somewhat successful business. My “just start” attitude towards big life changes scares Zoe. I hope that by sharing this, it helped make her more comfortable with that.

Now, as I finished the book, there were two things I wanted to write: the first was a sticky note I placed on Chapter 5: Our Love Languages. The reason for the sticky note was that after reading the chapter, I needed to get Zoe to read it (Which I haven’t got her to yet). Not because she isn’t doing things “the right way”, but because I feel that she doesn’t know much about ADHD, and I thought this chapter would really be useful for her in understanding how I operate, maybe even help me by learning ways to help me function better. She’s been amazing, especially considering she hasn’t studied ADHD at all. She’s learned what triggers me and how to help me when things get tough, but there have been times when I do something that may bother her, or ask her for help in an unconventional way, only for her to do it once. I ask a lot from her, so I can’t be mad, but sometimes I think she doesn’t get how much I need her to do it for me.

Let’s add another note here, because when looking back at Chapter 5, I noticed Chapter 6: Dodging the ADHD Tax. I’ve read about this before, maybe I just forgot what I read, or they weren’t useful, but in Alex’s book, he mentioned a few things that I am definitely going to try, especially the pre-chopped veggies. It may be more expensive, but it’s better than not eating any vegetables because I’m not in the mood to chop them up (and letting them go bad).

The final note is related to the very end. This is a “hack” or “tip” I’ve never seen before, and I think it’s genius! The tip was “The Task Braclet System”. Zoe and I attend raves quite often (not much recently, since trying to save money), and in the rave community, there are bracelets called “Kandi”. You make these to share with people as a friendly gesture (Search up PLUR). Zoe LOVES making Kandi, she jokes, “I’m into raving for the crafts.” I personally hate the feeling of wearing kandi bracelets, maybe it’s the arm hair pulling, or just the feeling of something tight on my wrist. Now, when reading this part of the last chapter, I thought: “Maybe I should task Zoe to make some bracelets for the small & big things I need to do”. Not only would this be super effective because I’d want them off my wrist ASAP, but it would help A LOT with remembering to get the small things done. Such as in the last week, I forgot to: Brush my teeth (I know, gross), change my underwear in the morning, for the second time (I know, really gross), take my ADHD meds (for 3 frick’in days). Those are the things that come to mind in the moment, but I’m sure there were a lot more, so this system I am definitely going to try! (and Zoe will be excited to help with this one)

Would I recommend it?

Yes, whether you’re someone who has ADHD, know someone with ADHD, or want to learn about ADHD, get. this. book.

This isn’t a “how to fix ADHD” book. It’s about understanding it, accepting it, and learning not to judge yourself for having a different operating system. If you want a perspective that feels honest and human, it’s perfect.

Personal Verdict

📖 Now It All Makes Sense is a 10/10 read.

It’s validating, funny, vulnerable, and incredibly easy to relate to, especially if you’ve spent years wondering why you struggle with things that seem easy for others. It holds many good tips and information that is useful to everyone, with or without ADHD. I was a bit surprised there wasn’t any mention of medication, but that can be an iffy subject for some. Some chapters didn’t relate to me at all, especially since taking medication, but I still read them, and they validated some old memories of how I acted pre-medication.

Final Note

Have you read Now It All Makes Sense? Did any of Alex’s experiences mirror your own? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

If you plan on buying this book and want to support me, you can purchase it using my affiliate link at no extra cost. Check it out here on Amazon

And if you’d like to see more of my non-fiction reviews, you can find them all here.

Ian Sebesta
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