Is It You, Me, or Adult A.D.D.?

Gina Pera is an internationally recognized author, speaker, and educator on adult ADHD, especially as it can affect relationships. Her mission for twenty years has been empowering adults with ADHD and their loved ones-and raising the standard of care through her books, blog, presentations, and now online education. She was a veteran award-winning print journalist when, in 1999, her thirty-seven-year-old husband was diagnosed with ADHD. The couple learned of the possibility not from their repeated attempts at couple therapy but by her chance reading of a neurobiology book. This discovery-and the positive difference it made in her husband's life, her life, and their marriage-launched her desire to educate the public on this poorly recognized condition. She began by volunteering locally, in California's Silicon Valley, organizing lectures and moderating discussion-support groups. After eight years-and seeing the desperate need for a comprehensive guide-she produced Is It You, Me, or Adult A.D.D.?. She also launched her award-winning blog, ADHD Roller Coaster, the first website of any kind of adult ADHD, still running strong. Endorsed by a Who's Who of preeminent ADHD experts, this seminal book broke new ground, garnered four national book awards, and remains popular in 2021. It is available in Turkish and Spanish translations. Russell Barkley, PhD, invited Gina to contribute the first-ever chapter on couple therapy to his clinical guide: Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Handbook for Diagnosis and Treatment. With veteran ADHD expert Arthur L. Robin, PhD, Gina was asked by a Routledge to produce a clinical guide: Adult ADHD-Focused Couple Therapy: Clinical Interventions. This is the first guide based on the evidence of what works for couple therapy and for adult ADHD treatment. It is endorsed by preeminent experts in both fields. By invitation, she has presented to public and professional groups worldwide, including as plenary speaker for the 2013 International Congress on Psychopharmacology and the 2017 CADDRA conference. She has also had the pleasure of presenting to several CADDAC conferences and is a great admirer of the organization. Gina has spoken about adult ADHD in several documentaries, along with numerous news programs and articles. Recently, she has launched online instruction, for professionals and consumers.

Pam Ward has had many incarnations, including private detective, classical musician, television talk-show host, and actress, having performed in dinner theater, summer stock, and Off-Broadway, as well as in commercials, radio, and film. But she found her true calling reading books for the blind and physically handicapped for the Library of Congress Talking Books program, for which she received the prestigious Alexander Scourby Award from the American Foundation for the Blind. An AudioFile Earphones Award winner, her many audiobooks include Dancing in the Streets by Barbara Ehrenreich, Breaking Free by Lauraine Snelling, The Second Journey by Joan Anderson, and Lion in the White House by Aida D. Donald. She now records from her studio amidst the beauty of the Southern Oregon mountains.