Hallowell, Edward M(cKey)

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HALLOWELL, Edward M(cKey)

PERSONAL:

Married; wife's name, Sue (a social worker); children: Lucy, Jack, Tucker. Education: Harvard University, B.A. (English); Tulane University, M.D.

ADDRESSES:

Office—Hallowell Center, 142 North Rd., Sudbury, MA 01776; 21 Central St., Andover, MA 01810. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Pantheon, 201 East 50th St., New York, NY 10022.

CAREER:

Psychiatrist in private practice. Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA, faculty member; founder, Hallowell Center for Cognitive and Emotional Health, Sudbury and Andover, MA; columnist, Prevention magazine; lecturer.

WRITINGS:

(With William J. Grace, Jr.) What Are You Worth?, Weidenfeld & Nicolson (New York, NY), 1989.

(With John J. Ratey) Answers to Distraction, Pantheon (New York, NY), 1994, published as Attention Deficit Disorder, Fourth Estate (London, England), 1996.

(With John J. Ratey) Driven to Distraction: Attention Deficit Disorder in Children and Adults, Pantheon (New York, NY), 1994, published as Driven to Distraction: Recognizing and Coping with Attention Deficit Disorder from Childhood through Adulthood, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1995.

When You Worry about the Children You Love, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1996.

Worry: Controlling It and Using It Wisely, Pantheon (New York, NY), 1997, published as Worry: Hope and Help for a Common Condition, Ballantine (New York, NY), 1998.

ADHD (Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder): Achieving Success in School and in Life, edited by Barbara P. Guyer, Allyn & Bacon (Boston, MA), 1999.

Connect, Pantheon (New York, NY), 1999, published as Connect: Twelve Vital Ties that Open Your Heart, Lengthen Your Life, and Deepen Your Soul, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 2001.

(With Judyth Reichenberg-Ullman and Robert Ullman) Ritalin-Free Kids: Safe and Effective Homeopathic Medicine for ADHD and Other Behavioral and Learning Problems, second revised edition, preface by Edward H. Chapman, Prima Publishing (Rocklin, CA), 2000.

Human Moments: How to Find Meaning and Love in Your Everyday Life, Health Communications (Deerfield Beach, FL), 2001.

The Childhood Roots of Adult Happiness: Five Steps to Help Kids Create and Sustain Lifelong Joy, Ballantine (New York, NY), 2002.

A Walk in the Rain with a Brain (for children), Regan Books (New York, NY), 2002.

Dare to Forgive, Health Communications (Deerfield Beach, FL), 2004.

ADAPTATIONS:

Driven to Distraction was adapted as an audio recording, Simon & Schuster Audio (New York, NY), 1995.

SIDELIGHTS:

Practicing psychiatrist and Harvard Medical School professor Edward M. Hallowell has written numerous books for the general public on how to lead a happier, more fulfilling life by avoiding the many pitfalls of stressful modern society. One of these pitfalls, money, became the subject of his first book, What Are You Worth?, written with stockbroker William J. Grace, Jr. It focuses more on how to deal with wealth psychologically than about how to get rich. The authors discuss the use of financial advisors and the differing types of approaches people use as investors. They also examine the impact money has on individuals and their relationships. According to a Publishers Weekly contributor, Hallowell and Grace "lucidly dissect the fast-growing financial-advisor service industry" and discuss how to cultivate a healthy attitude about money. Booklist critic George R. Hampton called the book "a unique view of the psychology of money."

When Hallowell joined with colleague John J. Ratey to write about Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), the pair addressed a topic that they both knew professionally and personally, having been diagnosed with adult ADD themselves. Driven to Distraction: Attention Deficit Disorder in Children and Adults defines the condition, offers case studies and anecdotes, and urges readers not to consider individuals with ADD as lazy or unintelligent. Rather, the authors stress that children and adults with ADD are often highly intelligent and creative, despite showing symptoms such as daydreaming, forgetfulness, language difficulties, and compulsiveness. According to Virginia Dwyer in Booklist, Hallowell and Ratey "display a detailed, reassuring familiarity with [ADD's] many expressions" in "an absorbing" book that analyzes the causes and treatment of ADD. Linda Beck remarked in Library Journal, "Best of all are the stories and case studies" of individuals who successfully cope with ADD, and she called the book an "excellent" treatment of a fascinating topic. A Kirkus Reviews critic noted that the authors "stress independence, not reliance on one's therapist" and recommended the book as "a very responsible study for the layperson." Answers to Distraction also covers the subject of ADD in adults and children. This work answers questions from parents and children of all ages, as well as questions from health professionals. Joanne Eglash, a reviewer for Kliatt, recommended this book as "a valuable addition to any library."

Again addressing a general audience, Hallowell published When You Worry about the Children You Love. This work seeks to help parents who are having difficulties with children they perceive to be lazy, manipulative, incorrigible, or to have other conditions that Hallowell calls "moral diagnoses." He urges parents to consider the possible medical diagnoses causing these behaviors and the possibility that there may be important underlying factors. Hallowell discusses "at-home remedies" and professional help. A Publishers Weekly reviewer called the book "compassionate" and "highly readable," adding that it is "an excellent resource." Carol R. Nelson commented in Library Journal that the book "offers hope to parents of children with emotional or learning problems."

Hallowell also offers practical advice for a general audience in Worry: Controlling It and Using It Wisely. Designed to help readers refrain from being overly self-critical, this book provides a means of gauging their level of worry and ways to reduce worry. The author's suggested treatments are numerous and varied, including meditation, prayer, exercise, improved organization, diet, and adequate sleep, as well as therapy and medication. Booklist contributor Kevin Grandfield noted that Hallowell "offers useful advice and entertaining stories," but he regretted that Hallowell did not discuss "today's social, political, and economic realities" that may affect worry. A Publishers Weekly contributor felt that Hallowell has written "in a voice both authoritative and compassionate… [and] thoroughly explores a topic" that affects many readers. A Kirkus Reviews critic liked the book's "holistic approach" and concluded that Hallowell's "style is straightforward and engaging, almost conversational at times, is nothing if not pragmatic."

With many Americans being consumed by the fast-paced world of modern society, Hallowell has also written a couple of books that try to remind readers of the things in life that are more important than achievements in the workaday world. Connect is all about the importance of maintaining human connections in one's personal life, something that is becoming increasingly difficult to do despite innovations in electronic communications, which, ironically, is part of the problem, according to Hallowell. Using some troubling experiences from his own childhood, as well as other case studies, as examples, the author maintains that it is very important to learn how to connect with other people, both within one's family and in other relationships, and that developing this skill is vital to anyone's emotional and psychological maturity. It also goes a long way in making one's life longer, healthier, and happier. Although Library Journal reviewers Yan Toma and Jessica Wolff noted Hallowell's "tendency to sermonize," they concluded that "his anecdotes are usually engaging, often amusing, and frequently moving." William Beatty further noted in a Booklist assessment that "this is not a touchy-feely sermon but a practical and appealing advisor." And a Publishers Weekly critic also appreciated that, although Hallowell is a trained physician and scholar, his "style is easy and will be especially appealing to baby boomers searching for meaning and balance."

The Childhood Roots of Adult Happiness: Five Steps to Help Kids Create and Sustain Lifelong Joy is also a prescription for a better life, though this time it tackles the issue at the root of the problem. Hallowell advises parents and others who work with children on what children need to become happy individuals: time to play, an environment where they feel connected to their families and friends, recognition of their achievements, room to practice their developing skills, and help in attaining mastery in those skills. Alice Hershiser, writing in Library Journal, disliked Hallowell's references to his own children as shining examples of his approach. "It gets tiresome to read how terrific his children are," she wrote. Other reviewers, however, including Booklist contributor Vanessa Bush, found The Childhood Roots of Adult Happiness to be a "useful resource for parents and educators." And a Publishers Weekly writer went so far as to call it "a refreshing look at what children really need in order to grow up to be happy adults." Hallowell, who describes himself as an optimistic and happy adult, grew up in an dysfunctional family that included a mentally ill father, an alcoholic mother, and an abusive alcoholic stepfather. "What saved me," he writes in a passage quoted by Boston Globe contributor Bella English, "is what saves most people who beat the odds: I found positive connections to people outside of my family."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, November 15, 1988, p. 520; February 15, 1994, p. 1045; September 15, 1997, p. 191; September 1, 1999, William Beatty, review of Connect, p. 34; September 15, 2002, Vanessa Bush, review of The Childhood Roots of Adult Happiness: Five Steps to Help Kids Create and Sustain Lifelong Joy, p. 188.

Boston Globe, January 27, 2003, Bella English, "A Guide to Raising Children Who Grow up Happy," p. B11.

Kirkus Reviews, January 1, 1994, pp. 38-39; August 15, 1997, p. 1275.

Kliatt, July, 1996, p. 30.

Library Journal, March 15, 1994, p. 91; June 15, 1996, pp. 85-86; October 15, 1999, Yan Toma and Jessica Wolff, review of Connect, p. 88; August, 2002, Alice Hershiser, review of The Childhood Roots of Adult Happiness, p. 132.

New York Times, November 25, 1999, Perri Klass, "Dr. Dad Gives Thanks for Connections," p. B20.

New York Times Book Review, April 3, 1994, Karen Leggett, review of Driven to Distraction, p. 16.

People Weekly, October 26, 1998, Anne Driscoll, "Consumed by Anxiety? A Concerned Doc Offers Tips on How to Fret without Freaking," p. 145.

Publishers Weekly, November 25, 1988, p. 60; May 20, 1996, p. 257; September 22, 1997, p. 63; July 19, 1999, review of Connect, p. 172; August 5, 2002, review of The Childhood Roots of Adult Happiness, p. 70.