Music for the ADHD Brain

“Well done, Ian! You captured my interest on several levels with your book Stirring My Soul to Sing, Overcoming ADHD Through Song which is an excellent way to attract readers with different gifts. You gently beckon any with particular ADD/ADHD reader to settle in and enjoy your words. If they have an interest in music, playing different instruments or singing, you will win their attention.

Family support is shown vividly which encourages people to share their stories with others. Emotions are a special awareness to identify ADHD or any disability is shared so well in Ian’s writing. I hope readers will pick up this book, and welcome Ian’s journey either for their own lives and for those they know will identify with this disorder. This book can also lead to ministry, it will lead one’s soul to truly sing!”

Donna Mann, Christian Author and Speaker

“Stirring My Soul To Sing, Overcoming ADHD Through Song” is an inspirational story for all to read. It narrates how W. Ian Walker experienced life in the joys, the challenges, and the obstacles, and yes, the failures. The book tells how the Lord opened doors for Ian to meet people who were to be significant in his life. It also tells how God had his hand on Ian’s life during the low periods of deep personal; pain. The Almighty took the ashes of his life and gave him beauty because as the psalmist wrote “Weeping may last in the night; but joy comes in the morning.”

As a family friend and a Baptist pastor, I recommend this book to anyone who faces challenges like Ian, and for others so they can come alongside someone who is struggling to walk with them. Having known Ian and his family, my wife and I were moved to tears reading the book. The book is well worth reading.

This is an inspirational story of faith and healing. Ian has laid bare his soul and life in an easy to read style. How he grew from a broken spirit to a true warrior of faith is difficult to hear but full of hope that with a loving God, all is possible. An excellent resource for parents of ADHD children and anyone who struggles with the challenges of life. Ian’s ability to adapt and connect with people is remarkable and shines through in his writing. The transformation of his life and the ” stirring of his soul to sing ” is a good read. You will be blessed by his writings.

“Ian, worship Me”. I cannot stop thinking about this call to fulfill a life’s purpose; how much that statement characterizes God. As a teacher, when I picked up this book, I was looking for insight into the mind of someone with ADHD. I wanted to see the contrasting perspective of someone who has experienced dealing with ADHD and then being healed of it. What was it like making an important decision while under the influence of ADHD compared to after being healed? Specifically, how music could help benefit someone who suffers from ADHD?

I was immediately disappointed with the statement at the beginning of the book that says, “this is not a simple story of how to overcome ADHD.” I wanted some unlocked secrets. By the end of the book I did, however, get great insight into the mind of someone with ADHD because I found the organization and time jumping back forth hard to follow. Memories would fire off and reappear in different sections…and then I realized that this is how it must be to have ADHD. This is not how I would organize the way the stories are told – but that’s someone who sees the world differently.

I kept reading because if music isn’t overcoming the ADHD than what is? The pattern or theme found in this book is that the relationships we build drive our life’s purpose and fulfillment.

The entire time reading it, I kept wishing for the subtitle to be “Overcoming ADHD through Relationships and Song.” After all, much of Ian’s time in the book is dedicated to the story of how relationships built between family, friends, colleagues, mentors, the Holy Spirit, and God -not to how song overcame ADHD. These relationships reinforced that Ian has a purpose in life, to worship and administer the arts for the glory of God. Ian loved music from an early age, and like most children, we like what we are good at; we want a career out of it.

However, ADHD became a destructive force, straining this life’s purpose. During Ian’s journey, ADHD would interrupt his relationships constantly. In his early school years, the first relationships that became disrupted by ADHD were with his family, friends, and self – three pillars of foundational well-being for any child. What happens when you lose track of your purpose in life? What happens when you have a disability stopping you from fulfilling your purpose? Ian’s story is a wonderful revelation on the many ways God calls us to our purpose – that we are made with one. The relationships we build strengthen us, sustain us, and help us achieve anything we are called to do. You’re left reflecting for days on end after you have finished reading, what is stirring in my soul?

Stirring My Soul to Sing is a book that held my interest because of Ian’s honest and vulnerable approach to his struggles with ADHD and his lifelong desire for success in a music profession; none of which was an easy accomplishment. Ian helps the reader understand the impact of family, friends, and mentors throughout his life. He shares his struggles and perseverance to obtain an academic degree and shows how volunteering can advance a career. His faith and closeness to God is shared openly in the book . The book is also a testament and encouragement to others with ADHD challenges. Ian built on his strengths and found that music was able to dispel dark thoughts and give him hope, self worth, and success in the career he desired.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading W. Ian Walker’s book and I have been friends with the Walker’s for some years.
When I read about Ian’s difficult childhood to teenage years, of being bullied both verbally and physically, I found it amazing that I was reading about the same person I see weekly.
The many years of abuse that Ian had endured would have tainted and scarred someone for life, had he not had a breakthrough experience.
When reading this book, I could see that Ian tackled his ADHD challenges with a positive and encouraging spirit. He learned to accept his weaknesses and embrace his strengths to overcome this disability.
Only by the grace of God, touching and setting Ian free of these past emotional chains, at the conclusion of the book, there is such a demonstration of a transformation, that has taken place.
I would highly recommend this book to family’s or individuals struggling with ADHD, Ian’s journey will be such an encouragement to all!