A story for everyone—about embracing your strengths, understanding your differences, and learning to love who you truly are.

I never imagined I’d be a published author. Growing up, I loved writing stories and poems, drawing, making things, and moving my body, but I spent a long time trying to follow the path I thought I was supposed to. I tried to be who I thought the world expected me to be, instead of just being me.

The Girl Who Always Could is my first book, written during the first lockdown in 2020. It just flowed out of me - partly inspired by my own experience growing up as a girl in a world that didn’t understand ADHD or neurodiversity, and partly from my time as a teacher, and the journey I’ve been on since discovering my own neurodivergent brain at the age of 30.

This story is for anyone who’s ever felt different. It’s especially for girls and those who don’t fit the stereotypes of what ADHD or other labels are “supposed” to look like. Sometimes, finding out you have ADHD can feel like a relief, because it explains why everything has often felt harder than it should. It can feel better than being called lazy, rude, stupid, or broken.

My dream for this book is to help more people, children and adults alike, start the journey of understanding themselves better. Of unlearning the harmful messages we’ve picked up, and seeing the strengths that were there all along. I want everyone to feel proud of who they are and supported to grow in ways that work for them. Because the truth is: what’s often essential for ADHD brains is actually helpful for everyone.

This book wouldn’t exist without the amazing illustrator, Tilly Paterson, another brilliant ADHD brain. Her artwork brings Bea’s world to life, and I’m in awe of her patience, creativity, and determination. I’m so proud of what we’ve created together.

Buy The Girl Who Always Could here

Stay tuned whilst I work on my next empowering book.