Meet Kristyn: Against All Odds

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I recently did a review of a wonderful book called “Easy to Love but Hard to Raise – Real Parents, Challenging Kids, True Stories”.

This week the editors of the book, Kay Marner and Adrienne Ehlert Bashista, are doing a blog tour to promote the book. Oh and be sure to visit the book’s blog here.

Against All Odds is the essay that Kristyn’s mom, Janet Schraw Solie wrote about her. It deals with Kristyn’s determination to get into the college of her choice, despite her lower than required grade point average.

There are so many moments in this story that I can relate to and that I’m sure you can as well. Kristyn’s mom talks about all the work and effort that they put into helping her succeed in school; finding tutors and mental health professionals for her, acting as her coach and advocate, and getting through those awful “academic concerns nights”.

Ms. Schraw Solie also talks about Kristyn’s other ADHD classmates. Some left the private school she attended for an easier curriculum at the public school. Still others dropped out and turned to drugs or alcohol – a greater than average possibility for kids with ADHD.

Kristyn, however, who “marched to her own beat” was determined to succeed and see her dreams come true. Her college entry essay started out outlining why she didn’t fit the school’s student profile and went on to say why she should be accepted.

Here is one of my favorite quotes from the essay:

She concluded her essay by saying that ADD was indeed a burden, but it was also an energy force that equipped her with creativity, passion and determination.

Don’t you love that – comparing ADD to an energy force? I think that is an amazing and pretty accurate way of looking at ADHD in a positive light.

As I said, as a parent, I related to so much of Kristyn’s story and I am sure you will too. If not, there are 31 more parents and kids to meet in “Easy to Love but Hard to Raise – Real Parents, Challenging Kids, True Stories”. Be sure to stop by the blog and check it out.

Lacy Estelle

Lacy Estelle

Lacy Estelle is the writer of Lacyestelle.com and the Podcast host for An ADD Woman.

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