Listen free for 30 days

  • Scattered Minds

  • The Origins and Healing of Attention Deficit Disorder
  • Written by: Gabor Maté MD
  • Narrated by: Daniel Maté
  • Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins
  • 4.9 out of 5 stars (38 ratings)

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo + applicable taxes after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Scattered Minds cover art

Scattered Minds

Written by: Gabor Maté MD
Narrated by: Daniel Maté
Try for $0.00

$14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $32.05

Buy Now for $32.05

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Tax where applicable.

Publisher's Summary

INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER • The breakthrough guide to understanding, treating, and healing attention deficit disorder, from renowned mental health expert and speaker, Dr. Gabor Maté.

With a new preface by the author.

From the bestselling author of When the Body Says No and The Myth of Normal, Scattered Minds explodes the myth of attention deficit disorder (ADD/ADHD) as genetically based—and offers real hope and advice for children and adults who live with the condition. In it, Maté, who himself is diagnosed with ADD:

• Demonstrates that the condition is not a genetic "illness" but a response to environmental stress, and how "distractibility" is the psychological product of life experience;

• Explains how ADD/ADHD can arise when circuits in the brain whose job is emotional self-regulation and attention control can fail to develop in infancy—and why;

• Allows parents to understand what makes their children with ADD/ADHD tick, and helps adults with ADD/ADHD gain insights into their emotions and behaviours;

• Expresses optimism about neurological development even in adulthood;

• Presents a program of how to promote this development in both children and adults

…and much more.

Maté gives voice to the painful realities of ADD/ADHD and its effect on children as well as on careers and social paths in adults. Moving beyond "genetic risk," he focuses on the things we can control: changes in environment, family dynamics, and parenting choices. He draws heavily on his own experience with the disorder, as someone diagnosed with ADD and as the parent of three diagnosed children.

Providing a thorough overview of ADD/ADHD and its treatments, Scattered Minds is essential and life-changing listening for parents and the millions of diagnosed adults in North America today.

©1999 Gabor Maté (P)2023 Knopf Canada

What the critics say

"Maté—has done us a great service.—He tells those of us who do not have ADD—what it is like to have [it]. Those with ADD, their loved ones and physicians will profit from reading this book. People who do not yet know they have it will have their lives transformed."—Canadian Medical Association Journal

"One of the most comprehensive and accessible books about ADD. [A] well-documented but sure to be controversial book."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"[A] rare and—richly textured explanation of the complex and subtle interactions of nature and nurture in the developing personality. You won't find a drug chart or Seven Easy Steps to the Road Less Scattered here. You will find family stories, an accessible description of brain development and sound information. You will also find hope."—The Globe and Mail

What listeners say about Scattered Minds

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    35
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    28
  • 4 Stars
    4
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    29
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Very helpful perspective

I appreciate that he comes from a personal perspective. Most of what he says makes a lot of sense. I have not been diagnosed myself, but this book points out some things I can work on.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Eye-opening for an ADD Adult

Thank you so kuch Mr. Maté, it was truly revealing and thoroughly explained, in all aspects of my life and behavior. I am so grateful!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Important reading

A beautiful book, so insightful and informative. Required reading for anyone with ADHD and/or with children who have it. Wish I had read it a long time ago.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

compassionate, educational, and vulnerable

This is an excellent read for parents of children with ADHD and those looking to understand their own ADHD minds alike. Offering as much by way of scientific education as it does narrative entertainment, it's easy to see why this book maintains its best seller status year over year.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Insightful, heartfelt, and fact-filled

Very personal and factual. I especially appreciated the emphasis on consent, on being authentic with nature, and while applying the appropriate best of modern science.

Next instalment? The dyslexic mind?

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing

My partner diagnosed with ADHD recently (at the age of 42) and I had no clue how to deal with it. This book helps me understand and even start discussing it with my partner.
Thank you!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Helpful for a person who needs to know, what is me

Out of date, of course. Some of the language is troubling. However, the neuro-bio approach Mate takes is not only helpful, but affirming as well. I live with CPTSD, started out in life with immediate, PTSD engendering abuse. Preverbal abuse. I have a deep need to know who I am from a strength's-based inquiry. I am not what was done to me. I am Neurodiverse AND the person that was under bodily invasive coercive control through all developmental years. I'm also me. Selves survived the damage, no matter that it's been by survival-based fragmentation. I'm sharing me, because potential readers are likely looking for them. I saw a lot of consistency with my experience in this book. Because we are sensitive, voice matters. This is read out well. I hardly spaced out at all listening to it and I happen to be in a crisis with ADHD right now, as an adult. I think that says something about the book. But also the reader's readiness of attention. It's a lot of information and we do have to admit to ourselves some pretty hard truths. But our experience is affirmed. I need that so much. I hope this helps someone decide!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

eye-opening

so grateful to find this book, allowing myself to better understand myself and better equipped to help my child ❤️

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Mind opening explanation of adult adhd

Totally recommend if you have been diagnosed with Adult adhd and almost explained my whole childhood in this book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Helpful and informative

This book is an amazing resource for people that are wanting a better understanding of ADHD.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!