What do ADHD and ship salvage have in common?
In this episode of the Journey of the Art podcast, Elizabeth Rynecki and I discuss her six-part podcast series, That Sinking Feeling, exploring the similarities between her father’s job in ship salvage and her son’s ADHD struggles.
When Elizabeth completed her non-fiction memoir and began looking for her next project, an unlikely convergence of ideas occurred to her. Sorting through her father’s work in ship salvage, she began to see a connection between the explosive nature of ship salvage and her son’s explosive reactions due to his ADHD diagnosis.
We talk about inadequate school support for children with ADHD, the choice of ADHD medication, the shame and fears associated with parenting children with ADHD, and some of the considerations involved in producing this series.
Show highlights
- The rejection that became the podcast
- Frustrations with the school system
- The choice of ADHD medication
- Processing the shame of parenting children with ADHD
- Navigating the fear of the school-to-prison pipeline
- Producing the podcast and writing for connection
“Shame is real… you feel like you’ve slipped and gone off in a different direction and that can be hard because I think we all compare ourselves. So when you see that they’re struggling with things that for you feel easy, it can feel like you did something wrong.”
Elizabeth Rynecki
Are you a parent of a child with ADHD? Have you been diagnosed with ADHD? Let me know your thoughts on this episode and what resonated with you.
That Sinking Feeling is available now, and you can listen here.
Got any thoughts on this episode or want to suggest authors you’d like to see on the show? Send me a note here.
Listen on Spotify
Listen on other platforms
Watch the show
About Elizabeth Rynecki
Elizabeth’s narrative non-fiction memoir, Chasing Portraits: A Great Granddaughter’s Quest for Her Lost Art Legacy was published by NAL/Penguin Random House in 2016 and received a Kirkus Starred Review. She wrote, produced, and appeared in the documentary film, Chasing Portraits. It is distributed by First Run Features. She’s been featured in the New York Times, been a guest on NPR affiliate stations, and been a speaker at bookstores, libraries, book festivals, and film screenings around the world.
Her podcast, That Sinking Feeling: Adventures in ADHD and Ship Salvage launched earlier this year. She’s working on a novel inspired by real events. Elizabeth has a BA in Rhetoric from Bates College and an MA in Rhetoric and Communication from UC Davis.
She lives in Oakland, California with her husband, two sons, and three black cats.
About That Sinking Feeling
Adventures in ADHD and ship salvage. A multi-generational story about a son’s ADHD, a grandfather’s ship salvage career, and a mother’s struggle to understand the challenges of each. Every episode contains one ship salvage job and explores the life lessons gleaned from those tales. The salvage jobs, as improbable as it may seem, became metaphors for understanding her son’s ADHD. Host Elizabeth Rynecki delves into this unlikely intersection over 6 episodes, talking to her son, her father and people whose lives have been touched by ADHD.
Guest’s links
Listen to That Sinking Feeling: https://www.elizabethrynecki.com/that-sinking-feeling/
Connect with Elizabeth on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/erynecki/
Visit Elizabeth’s website: https://www.elizabethrynecki.com
Host’s links
Book a one-on-one with Lola: https://wordcaps.com/coaching/
Discover more from Journey of the Art
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.