Here is some background information about Stacey before we get to the interview:
Stacey Turis is an adult living with ADHD and giftedness who earned her degree in broadcast journalism from Wichita State University. She co-produced and hosted a TV show for a FOX affiliate before pursuing a career in advertising, then graphic design, then market research, then photography, then IT, then acting, then...
In 2006, she became certified to teach Yoga but didn't, then founded pawsforpeace.com, an online, holistic pet-health site, with an iPhone app called Dr. Shawn's Natural Pet Therapies to match. In 2010, she developed a course to teach families how to live more natural lifestyles, which she taught for about a month. She then started a Facebook page called ADHD - Tales of an Absent-Minded Superhero, for wacky folks like herself. That is still exciting enough to hold her interest. She has, through the years, unsuccessfully started twenty-seven businesses but can't remember most of them.
She lives in Texas with her husband, two kids, a dog, three cats, and eight goldfish. Stacey now spends her time speaking to groups of those same kinds of wacky people, where she’s not afraid to stop in the middle of a speech and ask “What was I talking about?” You can learn more atwww.staceyturis.com.
Facebook – ADHD Superhero
Twitter – ADHD Superhero
Website – Staceyturis.com
And now for the interview:
Do you have a favorite place to write or “must haves” while writing?
Honestly, the dog and pony show I
have to go through to write is borderline-ridiculous. Focus doesn’t come easy for me so I have to use
an arsenal of must-haves during each
writing session. Mostly, I need to be in
a semi-confining space with little or no stimulation. I have an office that I adore, but it’s
painted a lovely shade of creativity-inspiring orange, and has tons of shelves
overflowing with books and tchotchke from all over the world. That kind of environment is pure eye candy to
me, and I’d much rather look around at all of my fun stuff than to face a
computer, trying to wrench words from my unresponsive brain. Instead I lock myself in my less “energizing”
bedroom and bang my head against the wall until a sentence tumbles out of my
brain, where I hurriedly type it before I forget what the heck I was even
thinking about. That’s on a good day.
Is there anything that has surprised you about writing, publishing or
touring with your books?
I never realized how tough book
signings can be! I was lucky enough to
get on with Barnes and Noble, and I’m not sure if I thought I was a Jersey
housewife or what, but it wasn’t what I expected. I was there with two other authors, set up
right in the entrance to the store yet no one was clamoring to buy a signed
copy of my book, let alone forming a line around the parking lot. I
finally stood up and went around to the other side of my table so I could get
closer to the innocent shoppers, and formulated the lamest sales pitch in
history. “Hi…ummmm…do you know anyone
with ADHD?” When they said no, the best
thing I could come up with was “Oh, I’m sorry.”, like I felt bad for them that
no one in their life had been afflicted with a neurological condition. It was awkward for everyone involved, but at
the end of the day I sold out, so it was all good.
Do you have a favorite quote?
I have a vast collection of
favorite quotes, with a page on my blog dedicated to them. I even have a page of quote notes on my phone
so I can write them down as I hear them.
It doesn’t matter who it’s coming from, I can pick
up on a kick-ass quote from even the most mundane sentence if it rings my bell,
though I think one of my favorite quotes came from a friend’s refrigerator
magnet. It said, “Does my fat ass make
my ass look fat?” That never gets old.
Do you have any books on your nightstand right now?
I have six books on my nightstand
right now, so I just went upstairs to write all the titles down and suddenly
realized how weird I actually am.
1 1.
Does Anything Eat Wasps? by New Scientist
2.
Journey of
Souls by Michael Newton, PhD
3.
Dry
Storeroom No. 1 – The Secret Life of the Natural History Museum by Richard
Fortey
4.
Quantum
Wellness by Kathy Freston
5.
Einstein
by Walter Isaacson
6.
There’s a
(Slight) Chance I Might Be Going to Hell by Laurie Notaro
In one sentence, why should we read your book?
Rumor has it that your perspective
on life will change for the better no matter how you put your shoes on.
What is something people would be surprised to know about you?
I’m sure most people would be
surprised to know that I have a wicked temper.
It doesn’t come out that often, and it takes a lot for me to get there,
but when I do - hold on to your shorts!
I have definitely learned to control it better, but back in my wild and
crazy drinking days, you could find me in the middle of a fist fight with
another girl (or guy on occasion) every other weekend. That was back in the grungy 90’s, so my best
friend knew when I kicked the Birkenstocks off, it was her job to grab them and
wait until I was carried out by the bouncers to slip them back on my feet. Good times…
What do you do in your spare time?
Spare time? I don’t know what that is and probably don’t
want any part of it! If I’m not with my
family or animals, you can find me doing one or more of the following
(sometimes at the same time); Yoga, Cross-Fit, Big Foot expeditions, paranormal
investigations, reading, road trips, juicing, studying neuroscience, practicing
aromatherapy, listening to music, meditating, gardening, hanging out with my
friends, cooking, going to movies, and watching my favorite cryptid investigation
shows. Man, I love my life!
Do you have any hidden talents?
I can hypnotize animals and small
children! I’m not sure if it would be
classified as hypnotizing because basically they just close their eyes and go
right to sleep. It only takes a minute
and I have no clue how I do it. A couple
of months ago I thought I should spread my wings and attempt it on a lion when
we were visiting a big cat reserve. That
lion didn’t stand a chance! He was
asleep in exactly forty-seven seconds. I
really need to do something with that.
Talk or text?
Text, text, text! There are a million very-horrible things I
would rather do than talk on the phone.
It just requires more focus than I’m able to dish out. When it’s inevitable, I have to sit in my
garage in the dark so I have absolutely nothing distracting me. Besides all that, a phone ringing feels so
aggressive! “HEY LADY!
ANSWER ME. ANSWER ME. ANSWER ME.
ANSWER ME. ANSWER ME. ANSWER ME.”
Suck it phone – you’re not the boss of me! It used to be a big stressor, but now I don’t
even keep the ringer on so I only see texts and calls when I find wherever the
hell I left my phone that day.
Cat or dog?
Both! One love my friends - one love.
Book Summary
Did you know that if you forget to pay a speeding ticket you WILL get arrested—in front of your kids, the neighbors—the dog—and anyone else who happens to be there? True story. And the thing is, Stacey Turis has a million of them, and she imparts these and other nuggets of wisdom to offer others suffering from ADHD some hope in knowing that they are not alone.
A belly-laugh inducing romp through a life so convoluted and chaotic you know it has to be true, Stacey Turis’s debut gives a voice to the genius yet tormented souls suffering from giftedness, ADHD, or a combination of both (a condition known as twice-exceptional) who are too afraid to speak.
Chronicling her life journey from a state of self-loathing to one of self-acceptance, the stories flow timelessly, always incorporating the resulting lessons and reflections gleaned from each adventure. Including both the tragic, stomach churning details of a horrifically abusive time in her childhood to comic adventures such as deciding to dye her hair plum the day before an important presentation to a bank only to have it turn out purple, her life has never suffered from a dull moment. Though she often thought Karma was the reason she found herself in so many “pickles,” a friend explained to her that when you put yourself out in the world more than anyone else, it’s really just a matter of statistics. Lucky for Turis and the rest of us, putting herself out there all these years allows us all to look at life through her pair of less-struggle-more-sass glasses.
With over three hundred million people suffering from ADHD worldwide and experiencing many of the same debilitating symptoms, Turis’ goal is to share her experiences so that others afflicted can rid themselves of the shame of hiding their behavior. A rip-roaring and bracingly honest look at a twice-exceptional life, Here’s to Not Catching Our Hair on Fire: An Absent-Minded Tale of Life with Giftedness and Attention Deficit—Oh Look! A Chicken! turns the rational on its head in a rollicking depiction of a life that seems to be constantly going off the rails.
A belly-laugh inducing romp through a life so convoluted and chaotic you know it has to be true, Stacey Turis’s debut gives a voice to the genius yet tormented souls suffering from giftedness, ADHD, or a combination of both (a condition known as twice-exceptional) who are too afraid to speak.
Chronicling her life journey from a state of self-loathing to one of self-acceptance, the stories flow timelessly, always incorporating the resulting lessons and reflections gleaned from each adventure. Including both the tragic, stomach churning details of a horrifically abusive time in her childhood to comic adventures such as deciding to dye her hair plum the day before an important presentation to a bank only to have it turn out purple, her life has never suffered from a dull moment. Though she often thought Karma was the reason she found herself in so many “pickles,” a friend explained to her that when you put yourself out in the world more than anyone else, it’s really just a matter of statistics. Lucky for Turis and the rest of us, putting herself out there all these years allows us all to look at life through her pair of less-struggle-more-sass glasses.
With over three hundred million people suffering from ADHD worldwide and experiencing many of the same debilitating symptoms, Turis’ goal is to share her experiences so that others afflicted can rid themselves of the shame of hiding their behavior. A rip-roaring and bracingly honest look at a twice-exceptional life, Here’s to Not Catching Our Hair on Fire: An Absent-Minded Tale of Life with Giftedness and Attention Deficit—Oh Look! A Chicken! turns the rational on its head in a rollicking depiction of a life that seems to be constantly going off the rails.
Stacey is going to be back visiting later this week with a guest post and giveaway and I will be reviewing Here's To Not Catching Our Hair on Fire next week!
