Soundtrack of a Misfit (The Remix)

Adventures in ADHD & Addiction

By: Rachel Leigh Wills

Narrated by: Rachel Leigh Wills

This is an enhanced edition of the author's original memoir published in 2021. It includes an updated Author's Note, as well as a glossary of ADHD and recovery related terms and a Resources guide designed to educate the listener and provide support. The memoir was inspired by the author's struggles with misdiagnosed and misunderstood attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), as much as it was fueled by her passion for adventure and escape through music and (later) alcohol and marijuana.

Rachel Leigh Wills is a Washington, D.C. area native who came of age in the mid-eighties amidst the local punk scene and the rise of MTV. "I wanted to be a rock star, but wasn’t brave enough to stand my ground. ‘Good ‘Jewish girls didn’t pierce their noses or wear ripped fishnet stockings with safety pins down the sides. I always felt like a misfit; a disorganized, lone wildflower shoved into a tidy bouquet of orderly roses. But eventually, I found my way.

The author was told by a psychologist, that the severity of her ADHD would preclude her going to college. Yet, she possesses two vastly different graduate degrees (the first, an MS in environmental education from Lesley University and the second, an MA in rehabilitation and mental health counseling from the University of the District of Columbia).

"My ‘otherness’ led me to drink, job hop, and live on both coasts. I’ve been a barista, a Montessori Elementary school teacher, and a Recycling Specialist. Today, I’m proud to call myself a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, an avid and skilled gardener, a poet. I’m still not the most organized but I am grateful to be able to use my experience with disorganization, escapism and alcoholism to help others find their way and proclaim themselves resilient wildflowers.

©2025 Rachel Leigh Wills (P)2025 Rachel Leigh Wills