Matt McAvoy Book Review

This interesting, entertaining book is a very enjoyable way to kill an hour or two.  Written by an ADHD sufferer, its very simple format tells us first about the condition, then about the healing power of music generally, before finally combining the two topics in its third part, to suggest how music can help those affected by ADHD to manage their mental health.  I, for one, was in no doubt about this suggestion before I even picked the book up, so Luz had no need to convince me.  Music is unique in how it influences our emotions, in a way that no other creative medium can come close to.  In the very first pages, the author describes music as a “basic human need” – if you doubt this, imagine being stranded on a desert island and listing the things you would shortly come to miss the most: I guarantee that music would be high on most people’s list.

With fantastic summary of the condition of ADHD itself, and particularly useful for those with no knowledge of the subject, this book may be hugely helpful for parents with questions about their own child.  Galindo is a superb writer, who presents the information she has conscientiously gathered beautifully – simply yet professionally.  You don’t doubt her credentials to deliver this book, even from the patient side.  More so, in fact, because as a sufferer she shares revealing insight into how the condition affects the lives, mindset and self-image of those which have it.  The book and all of the information within are well-researched and sourced, and her views of music as a form of treatment are not just well-presented, but she provides firm psychiatric evidence of its effectiveness, with as much certainty as the pharmaceuticals she compares its merits to.

This book is not comprehensive; it is concise, but that suits it perfectly.  It doesn’t need to be loaded with jargon: it isn’t academia; it is information – advice, plain and simple – for the layman.  That said, however, I was left feeling a little unsatisfied overall at the end, as following the excellent, promising build-up, the third part of the book is particularly brief, and then it is over.  This is frustrating really, because the book is pretty much all about its Part 3 premise: the effect of music on this particular condition.  In its current, somewhat abrupt form, when this part comes around it really only seems to present the author’s theory and invites the reader to consider the same; I felt that it could have achieved something more.  I think it would be of huge benefit and credit to the title if this section was significantly extended, supported by well-researched studies and planned applications or field-expert proposals for the future.  I felt, in this respect, perhaps the book betrayed its promise a little.

Still, otherwise I really liked it.  I read it in virtually no time at all, and actually learnt a thing or two.  I highly recommend the book for parents and perhaps teenagers trying to manage ADHD in their lives, though I would suggest with this particular book to expect perhaps more self-help and inspiration than anything empirical or officially informative.

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