How to ADHD Book Review: Jessica McCabe’s Guide for Brains & Hearts

When I first heard that How to ADHD was becoming a book, my inner Brain (hi!) did a little victory dance. And then promptly forgot why it was dancing. Typical.

If you're already part of the Brains & Hearts community, you probably know Jessica McCabe from YouTube — bright-eyed, red-haired, talking with us, not at us, about the rollercoaster that is life with ADHD. Her videos have always felt like safe checkpoints in the messy open-world quest that is adulting while neurodivergent. But this? This book? This is a full-on strategy guide — and a vulnerable one at that.

From Actress to Advocate

Jessica didn’t set out to become the face of ADHD support on the internet. She wanted to be an actress. And in a way, she still is — just not the kind she expected. Instead of scripts, she delivers scripts of survival: how to get through a day, how to manage your time, how not to drown in shame.

What hit me hardest was her story of being 32, divorced, broke, and living with her mom. Not exactly the life goals we're told to aim for. But she tells it because it’s real. Because ADHD isn’t just forgetfulness and late homework. It’s years of feeling like you’re broken when you’re actually just playing life on nightmare mode with no tutorial.

That transparency makes the book feel less like a self-help guide and more like a co-op campaign where you’re not the only one dropping the ball.

So what’s in the book?

How to ADHD is part-memoir, part-toolkit, and all heart. Jessica breaks down ADHD’s greatest hits — executive dysfunction, time blindness, rejection sensitivity — and offers tangible strategies for dealing with them. She writes like she speaks: warm, funny, and straight to the point (well, sometimes — she does have ADHD).

What I really appreciated was how many voices she brought into the book. It’s not just “here’s what worked for me” — it’s “here’s what worked for me, and here’s what worked for others, and here’s what definitely didn’t.” The quotes from Brains all over the world gave the book a cozy Discord-server energy. Like a global support group printed in ink.

Brains & Hearts

If you’re new to her terminology: “Brains” = those of us with ADHD. “Hearts” = the people who love and support us. The book speaks to both. That dual focus is one of the most unique and valuable things about Jessica’s work. She knows ADHD doesn’t exist in a vacuum — it affects relationships, jobs, school, friendships, self-worth.

That makes How to ADHD not just a guide for managing symptoms, but for rebuilding the life ADHD can tear apart.

It’s in Czech — but still not easy to read

I read the Czech edition of Jessica’s book, and I’m genuinely glad it was translated — especially since it landed around the same time as Alex Partridge’s Now It All Makes Sense. Czech readers don’t always get access to neurodivergent resources this fast, so this felt like a win.

That said... even though Jan Melvil Publishing stayed pretty faithful to the original layout, I didn’t always find it ADHD-friendly in practice. Some chapters dragged on longer than they probably needed to, and the short inspirational quotes — while well-meaning — often pulled me out of the flow. I kept scanning the page trying to match them to the full paragraphs instead of staying grounded in the actual reading. Classic ADHD detour.

But even with that friction, the message came through loud and clear. The voices of the community, Jessica’s honesty, and the overall tone made it worth the effort — even if I had to take a few side quests (and naps) along the way.

A side note on Alex Partridge...

Earlier this year, I listened to Now It All Makes Sense by Alex Partridge. It’s a great audiobook if you’re into ADHD storytelling from a British media perspective. But Jessica’s approach is something else entirely. While Partridge focuses more on personal realization, Jessica gives us a map. Not a perfect one, but one that says: “Here be dragons. Also, you’re not the dragon. You’re the bard trying to get through a boss fight with half your stats scrambled.”

A book worth glitching through

This wasn’t always an easy read. Ironically, a book about ADHD challenged my ADHD more than I expected. But it’s the only book so far that felt like it understood me, without judgment, without sugarcoating. It’s not just information. It’s a companion. A vulnerable, hilarious, slightly chaotic co-op partner who has been through it and wants you to win, too.

And that? That’s pretty glorious.