Permission to Tell Your Tale
The Weekly(ish) Five: five things for creatives with ADHD...and those without
Permission: The New Memoirist and the Courage to Create
Elissa Altman is an extraordinary writer and an equally exceptional teacher—both skills on display on every page of her latest book, Permission: The New Memoirist and the Courage to Create. There, the three-time memoirist addresses questions that virtually all creative nonfiction writers ask themselves: Who am I to tell this story? What right do I have to write about others? Can I go on if I’ve been told not to?—concerns that stop many writers and other artists cold and prevent them from revealing their stories and telling their truths. Altman’s deep inquiry into the ownership of stories offers writers clarity and inspires in them the courage to show up in their art authentically. It’s a book that belongs on the shelves of all memoir writers—all artists, really. Also, take a look at her always interesting Substack, Poor Man’s Feast.
Reading the Obits
In “The Creativity Hack No One Told You About: Read the Obits,” Dr. Keith Sawyer, host of the podcast The Science of Creativity, argues that a regular practice of reading the obituaries in the New York Times can fuel creative breakthroughs. Hat tip to @AustinKleon for sharing this fascinating article from The MIT Press Reader on his Substack.
ADHD Redefined
Brooke Matson’s 2022 TED Talk, ADHD Redefined, flips the script, reframing common characteristics from negative to positive, from disordered to “creatively superpowered.” While not everyone embraces the notion of ADHD as a superpower, Matson makes a convincing case that people with ADHD have gifts that give them a creative edge. A successful professional diagnosed in her mid-thirties, she initially felt oppressive shame, but after deeply researching the neurobiology of ADHD and tracing the extraordinary achievements of neurodivergent individuals, pride crowded out shame. Without denying the challenges, Matson demonstrates how behaviors labeled “disordered” are the same as those that drive people to be “relentlessly” imaginative and innovative. She points, in fact, to an explorer gene overrepresented among people with ADHD and shown to be linked to increased creativity and divergent thinking. The ADHD brain is “wired to take bold, audacious risks,” Matson insists, to explore, to see possibilities others don’t. She urges viewers to embrace both the potential and the disruption ADHD brings.
The Creative Brain
In the documentary The Creative Brain, neuroscientist and author David Eagleman interviews innovators in a range of disciplines from architecture to cooking to illuminate the creative process and the essential nature of creativity—“our crowning glory as a species.” Among the participants are novelist Michael Chabon, musician/composer Nick Cave, actor/writer/director Tim Robbins, and Game of Thrones co-creator D.B. Weiss. The artists talk about what creativity means to them and how they tap into it, while the director offers insights about the neurobiology behind all creative endeavors. Eagleman, with Anthony Brandt, is the author of The Runaway Species: How Human Creativity Remakes the World. The documentary is available to rent or buy on Amazon Prime and to buy on Apple TV.
Dog Talk
Ending on a lighter note, there’s this—not about creativity and only related to ADHD because I discovered it doing what people with ADHD do—mindlessly scrolling Instagram—but Enzo the Blue Staffordshire makes me laugh every time. You’ll either thank me for it or hate me for it. Maybe both. You’re welcome. I’m sorry.
Love these! I also had a late diagnosis of ADHD and I have a kiddo with ADHD too. It's been so important to me to not just teach him (and myself!) how to manage it but also to show him all the good things that come along with it, and there are definitely good things!
I’m loving these little tidbits, especially this: “an explorer gene overrepresented among people with ADHD and shown to be linked to increased creativity and divergent thinking.” The idea of an explorer gene makes me smile, like some little critter in me carrying a backpack is always pushing me into new territory.:)