The Gifted Adult: A Revolutionary Guide for Liberating Everyday Genius(tm) Paperback – November 28, 2000

This book is the most important book that I have ever read besides the Bible. I need to repeat that - This book is the most amazing book that I have ever read besides the Bible.As a child I was treated badly and bullied by my peers because of my intelligence. As a result, I tried to hide my gifts from the other kids. I set out to attain the "Perfect C" in a failed attempt to win the approval of my classmates. I did not know that this behavior is a common trait among the Gifted. I tried to project to others that I was just like everybody else, and I told myself that everyone else was just like me. This was a lie and I believed my own lie. My teachers tried to tell me that I was smart, but I didn't want to hear it because in my mind, being "smart" was a one way ticket to "outcastville".The lie to myself persisted into adulthood. So I have lived my first 50 years in turmoil and feeling that I was unbalanced in almost every aspect of my life. All of the counselors that I sought could not give me any insight to my struggles. This left me frustrated and disillusioned with the psychiatric community. Again, I did not know that this was a common experience among the Gifted. The reason for this is that the psychiatrists did not realize that my brain functions differently. I used to think that my gifts were my curses. I used to pray, "God, please take these curses from me."The funny thing is that my children are EXTREMELY gifted, world class artists. Yet, I never recognized the gifting that is within me. Strange how that works. Even within an engineering community I was constantly being belittled by jealous peers - and I believed their jabs even though I was the one coming up with the creative ideas.Several months ago I went through a moment of crisis. Debrowski might call this a moment of "Positive Disintegration". I began to seek out "what was wrong with me". What I found shocked me to my core. I began reading on sengifted.org and other web sites. I found that, indeed, I was a Gifted Adult. I read about Debrowski and others that had done research on how the Gifted mind worked. I read about the OE's and how they worked (I didn't believe them at first). I read everything that I could get my hands on and I still wanted to know more. So I ordered the Gifted Adult by Mary-Elaine Jacobsen and began reading in earnest.Mary-Elaine Jacobsen's book is AMAZING! It seemed like every word was a description of ME. Mary-Elaine Jacobsen takes the reader through a process of self-discovery. Then she will help you to heal the old wounds. Finally, she places you on a path to an uncharted future full of endless possibility and excitement. She helps uncover the "Natural Optimist" that is buried within the Gifted Adult (I was extremely depressed and without hope before picking up this book). The book is full of grace and healing. She is also very clear to point out that Gifted Adults are not better than others - we are just different. We hear things, see things, and smell things that other people don't experience. Our brains are running around inside our heads connecting new dots that nobody else has ever noticed. We observe our world through different lenses.I have read the book through from cover-to-cover. And now I'm reading through it again to find the buried nuggets - each page is full of them. The only criticism of the book would be on page 107 where she makes a math error. It's kind of funny actually to have a book written to Gifted Adults that makes a math error. She forgot to divide by three. lol. But I'm sure that EVERY reader will be able to see the humor there. :-)But I digress... Mary-Elaine says, "Everyday Geniuses spend the first part of their lives trying to be who they are and meeting with disapproval. The second part is spent pretending to be someone they are not in order to fit in. And, if they are determined and lucky, they can spend the third part chipping away at the rock of that created false self and moving closer to being the authentic individuals they were uniquely destined to be." (page 20).I now have a new tool for life. I have a new perspective. I am on the road to a new me. There is no turning back! I don't know what I am going to do with my new-found self, but the future is a wealth of endless possibilities. Thinking that my gifts were curses, I used to ask God to take them away. Now I see myself as God created me to be. Now my prayer is, "Dear Lord, thank you so much for making me so unique!"This is not a "feel good" book. This is a book with real solutions to real problems that the Gifted Adult has to face every day.So, Mary-Elaine Jacobsen, if you ever read my review, I just want to say, "Thank You Thank You Thank You" from the bottom of my heart. Your book is a life changer, and I will be eternally grateful.

Gifted adult magnificently illustrates how people of high intelligence sabotage their relationships, work life and professionalism. It has been very insightful to read and everyone should read this book to see how there positive and negative qualities impact all aspects of their live. Additionally, I really liked the premise and I could follow the hypothesis well enough. In fact, the book made me smile in acknowledgement a couple of times at the how much it described my personality.Instead of identifying giftedness based on IQ scores (or similar metrics), the book provides an interesting and original survey that enables to scale oneself intelligence based on those 3 features (intensity, drive and complexity). The originality of the book is related to the way giftedness is defined, that is people whom the main characteristics are high intensity, drive and complexity. The way the author defines genius as intensity, complexity and drive helped me to understand not what's wrong with me but what's right with me and how to best mange these gifts. Until I read this book these gifts often felt like a liability more so than anything else.On the downside, it's not a page-turning crime novel. I advise reading it whilst not being distracted, but taking the time to read it while your head can focus. Also, It's written from the assumption the gifted adult in question doesn't know they're gifted, so it's not going to be as helpful if you were aware of being gifted as a child. Unfortunately, I wasn't, so this book is indeed a very insightful guide for those of us who did not have an easy time or who didn't attend the right schools. I have definitely found myself floundering as an adult when have found my skills to be a great hindrance at times.If you are a deeply intelligent person and yet you're struggling to function in a world where the rules of conduct seem both stupidly simple and yet infuriatingly difficult at the same time; you should definitely check out the ideas in this book.

The Book is very informitive. And worth the time. I never knew that there is several types of gift people. I believe that their are many undiscovered genius out there. But never knew that others, knew it too. I felt so out place. The things in the book. Was like I talk to the author about it. Myself. I was a child of the late twentith century. For the longest time. I never knew that one of many forgotten of the system they called modern society. The lost of how many minds, how many talents ignored. How many potential discovery unfound. For every gifted person known. There are possible maybe two or three times as many not unkown. It's like putting a child in special educations. And being told he or she is mental tarded. And then told several years later. The child was normal.And he or she could go back regular school. The damage that was to the child. Could very well scar them. In many ways. We need to fix the problems, not sweep it under rug, so to speak. We need to be on equal footing. Basical we need understanding, not the controlers.