Charlotte Gill (b.1971) is a Canadian fiction and non-fiction writer. Her short story collection Ladykiller won the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize and the Danuta Gleed Literary Award in 2006, and was a finalist for the Governor General’s Award for English-language fiction at the 2005 Governor General’s Awards.
Charlotte Gill said “A sequence of events – mostly friends being critical of certain aspects of my personality – and a bit of judicious Googling led me to seek a diagnosis last year. Despite my preconceptions, I’m glad I did. The label of ADHD gave me an answer as to why I found certain things so challenging when others seemed to do them with ease. It has also meant I was prescribed medication, which has made a big difference.
But my ADHD diagnosis is something I’ve decided not to broadcast widely until now – partly because I know how many people see those with ADHD: as silly, attention-seeking middle class people looking to excuse underachieving and poor behaviour. But mainly because I wanted to take time to contemplate what it meant for me.”