No comments about Words for a Deaf Daughter and Gala.

3 comments about My Battle with Cushing's Disease.

1. I read this book hoping for some useful information but all she did was ramble on about what she went through. It would have been better if she had given some useful information for others that may be trying to find some answers to their own health issues. I'm glad I didn't buy this as it wouldn't have been worth the money. If you can find it at your library (which is difficult) it might give you an interesting few hours reading.



2. While I did enjoy reading this book, I realized that I didn't learn anything new that I didn't find out on my own, doing internet searches about Cushing's.
   
   Also, the book was so small (only 67 pages). I was shocked that I had to pay nearly $10.00 for it. Not worth the money.



3. Linda Garnier went through a traumatic experience to get a correct diagnosis. Diabetes, unexplained weight gain of over one hundred pounds--it all was attributed to being "in her head" despite the fact she was eating right and exercising a great deal. Well, the disease WAS in her head--she had a benign pituitary tumor that was causing the dangerous hormonal imbalance of the adrenals. This imbalance is known as Cushing's Disease and can eithe be rooted in the adrenal glands themselves (small glands over the kidneys) or in the brain, in the master gland itself. Tumors of the pituitary can be quite dangerous, causing wild fluctuations of various hormones and also deep depressions. They are a serious matter, though treatable.

   After her diagnosis, Ms. Garnier then had difficulties getting proper treatment in a timely matter. Ultimately, she had an operation and is now in good health again, but her struggle with the medical profession is enlightening.

   If you have an illness, even if it isn't Cushing's Disease, this book is helpful as a very poignant story about how assertive one has to be with one's own doctors. If you do have Cushing's Disease, this is a helpful story to provide hope, information and also coaching for your own treatment.

1 comments about Goals in Sight: The Story of John G. Hodson Sr. and the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America.

1. This book is full of inspiration and hope. What an amazing story. The MSAA does amazing things for people with Multiple Sclerosis. I have given this as gifts because it is invaluable information all MS sufferers need to know.

No comments about Beyond the Yellow Brick Road.

5 comments about Before I Say Goodbye: Recollections and Observations from One Woman's Final Year.

1. I have great sympathy for the family of the author. Living with cancer and losing a loved one to cancer are enormous tests of faith, courage and emotional stamina. This I know, for I, too, am living with cancer. The book is an excellent tribute to a courageous woman; however, I did have a major problem with the book. The book reads similar to a diary. Obviously, the e-mails and messages contained in the book meant a great deal to the author and her family. However, the the messages have little meaning to the book's reader. It felt like I was reading a stranger's mail but only getting bits and pieces that did not connect. The feeling was similar to listening to one side of a telephone conversation. We know nothing of the people who wrote these messages and e-mails; therefore, it was extremely difficult to relate to any of them, other than we all know they had compassion for the author and felt her loss. Overall, the book was a nice way of remembering Ruth Picardie, but it read like a jigsaw puzzle - a piece here, a piece there, but nothing fit together.



2. This book was not the book I had hoped to have bought. I enjoyed some of her emails, the writings by her family, or from readers. However, for anyone who can identify with this statement, it was not an edifying book for me. I expected her to die, of course. That was obvious from the title. I did not expect to find that she was an atheist, as was many of her friends and spouse. Death is difficult, but as a Christian, I know that when our objectives on Earth are fullfilled then our time here is done. I would be totally devastated if I didn't have the hope, the peace of knowing I have a heavenly Father who loves me, hears my prayers, and never allows me to walk thru this journey alone. How sad to find she most likely left Earth without knowing this peace. For me, this book had many positives but sadly, dieing an atheist was not what I had anticipated. Maybe I needed to read it, if for nothing else, but to appreciate what a blessing and comfort my Christianity is for me.



3. I was recently diagnosed with a brain tumor, Grade IV, and given a prognosis that was not exceptionally good. This book helped me put my feelings and emotions into perspective and better understanding, and it has helped family members who have read the book do the same. I enjoyed the book so much that I have ordered an extra copy to give to my Neurosurgeon in the hopes that he will find it worthy of having residents and medical students do required reading of it, in the hopes that they too can benefit from the patient's perspective. An excellent book of great value, but not an easy read for those diagnosed, or their families, with life threatening illness and disease.



4. First of all, I don't understand why so many people believe books should be "life changing". I'm saying this because, when reading the previous reviews about this book, quite a few people have mentioned that they expected this book to be life changing: and it wasn't. Why do all things written by cancer patients & such have to be life changing? That's one question. And why do the things they say have to be relevant to everyone? That's another question.

   Ruth Picardie was a person with her ups & downs, her good qualities & her bad qualities. One thing that should be immediately noted is that she never intended for a book to be made out of her emailing with friends. Or maybe she thought she had more time, which would enable her to continue writing her columns & make a book out of them eventually. Sadly, her illness caught up with her. So "Before I say goodbye" is just a collection of personal emails, letters from Observer readers, & her 4-5 columns for the Observer. The columns are definitely the best writing in the book, & that's how it should be, since it's the only writing intended for publication.

   For some reason, I was more touched by the emailing, maybe because the ordinarity of the messages showed me (as if I didn't know...) that commonplace things happen to people with cancer, even as they do to you & me. If you turn that around, it also means that cancer happens to commonplace people, again like you & me!! Obviouus, isn't it? But denial is a very strong force, & it's so natural to believe things like this cannot happen to you. If for nothing else, then just for this, "Before I say goodbye" is very chilling & terrifying. I for one read it in one sitting, yesterday night, & ended up finding it difficult to sleep afterwards...But on the other hand, this book also gave me a sense of perspective about my life & its problems.

   Another thing I should mention is that there's an interesting afterword by Ruth Picardie's husband, which gives a much fuller picture about the family & the way they all dealt with Ruth's condition. During the course of the book, lots of questions are left unanswered, which is natural since the book, as I said, is not really a book, but a collection of different pieces of writing. So Matt's writing puts everything into place. It's also a truthful & painful piece of writing.

   If you're generally interested in this subject-matter, John Diamond's "C: Because cowards get cancer too" is on the top of the list, & also "Dancing at the edge of life" by Gale Warner. These are much more complete books. It's very sad that Ruth's writing never had the chance of developing into a real book. Time was cruelly stolen from her & from her family.




5. My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1996 and in November of 1998 she died, aged 44. I watched her becoming helpless, obedient, clildlike and frequently found myself wondering "Who is this woman and where did my mother disappear to?"

   Reading this book helped me understand what happened to her and that it was not unusual for a cancer patient to become that way. In other words: She did not become a freak, and obviously that is a great comfort to know. My mother was still in there somewhere.

   This book will make you laugh and cry. It will break your heart and increase your understanding of loss and death.

   This book should be required reading everywhere!

4 comments about Breath: Life in the Rhythm of an Iron Lung.

1. I recently saw a documentary on Martha Mason's life and wanted to know more about her, so bought the book. She tells the story of her life, before polio and after. It is an inspiring story (you think you have problems? how'd you like to live in an iron lung for over 50 years!) -- but it is so matter of fact and straightforward. One might wish for a few more medical details, but that is not the story she wants to tell us. The people who care for her come alive that you get to know them too. A keeper.



2. This is a wonderful book. I absolutely loved it. I grew up in Shelby and today I live not far from Lattimore and I am just in awe that she has lived her life in this iron lung and kept her sanity!

   This book brought out a gamut of feelings, laughing one minute, to sadness,to tears. As I read I think what a terribly sad life, but she makes it like it is perfectly normal, no big deal, she just has a tiny obstacle to get around.

   It is impossible to put this book down when you start reading it , so be ready for no sleep till you finish the book. She is an excellent writer and even though I have never met her in person, she is a beautiful lady! My 15 yr old son has the book now and this will be a book we will keep forever and cherish it.

   I bought a copy and sent to my Sister-In-Law and she read it in one day and called saying how much she loved it.

   I highly recommend it. I think a TV movie of Martha's Life would make a wonderful Hallmark movie and hope some producers out there will get hold of the book and think about that.




3. Buy this book. Read it. When you are finished with it, give it to a friend. Then you will have behaved like Martha Mason. She has taken her life, read it over, and acted on it by sharing herself with others. This is the quintessential Martha. She has given so much to her long list of friends that they regard her as extraordinary.

   I am one of the lucky ones, as I have known Martha all my life. That makes this review, then, unabashedly biased. No matter, because everything Martha writes will generously enrich your life. And she writes well. I was able to wrestle the book away from my father, to whom Martha had given an early release copy. We all were taken away by her writing style, not to mention the stories of early Lattimore, her brother Gaston, her helpers in the home, and many others.

   Not unlike Martha, her favorite doctor has been an inspiration to me for many years. And not unlike him, Martha has been my hero for at least as long. (At least she listens to my stories and jokes!)

   Buy this book. You won't regret it.




4. In Breath, one learns of Mason's survival of 54 years confined to an iron lung as a result of contracting polio at the age of eleven. This courageous woman survived beyond all odds and has excelled beyond belief. She graduated first in her class (at all levels), mastered a voice- activated computer, cared for an invalid mother, and has written this unforgettable memoir. Perhaps her highest achievement though is chronicled in the chapter on "My Fair Helper". Ginger, her longtime caregiver, arrived at Martha's door illiterate and a "diamond in the rough". Martha taught Ginger to read and write and polished her into the gem she is today.
   Her account of her brother's death from polio in 1948 and her illness which followed is heart-wrenching. The care and support provided by her parents inspires awe.
   She takes the reader back to the 1940's and her pre-polio days growing up in a small village in rural North Carolina. The childhood adventures of this "spunky" little girl and her friends remind one of "Tom and Huck".
   This book is destined to become a best seller, and one can only hope that there will be another close on the heels from this author.

No comments about A Secret Symmetry: Sabina Spielrein Between Jung and Freud.

1 comments about What I'Ve Learned from My Daughter: Blessings from a Special Child.

1. Nancy Jo Sullivan probably never dreamed that one day she'd "grow up" to write this book - sometimes life brings unexpected twists and turns that we can never imagine. In this wonderful book, Nancy Jo shares her experiences as a mom of three beautiful daughters, one of whom was born with Down syndrome. It's easy to fall in love with Sarah, "God's Princess", who succeeds in teaching us all many lessons in this book.
   
   This is not just a book for parents of children with disabilities. It is a book for all of us, looking to count our blessings, love unconditionally, and never take the everyday treasures of life for granted. Nancy Jo ends each chapter of this book with a set of "ponderings", which will prompt you to ask yourself a few questions, consider a few new ideas and learn some valuable lessons from Sarah. Gift yourself the gift of this book and you will find yourself with a new, uplifted perspective on life.

No comments about Me and the Boy: Journey of Discovery, Father and Son on the Appalachian Trail.

5 comments about The Boy with the Thorn in His Side: A Memoir.

1. Keith Fleming is a pretty good storyteller. He really makes you picture the times, places and characters in his life. Especially strong is the evil Doctor at the hospital and his wonderful uncle in New York City. (Edmund White) These characters and moments really stand out.

   However most of this book just rambles about and then ends with no purpose whatsoever. At the end I wondered "why did he write it" and "why did I read it?". I would not recommend this book because it just meanders and ends with no explanation. I need more of a story arc even from a biography.

   The other thing that puzzled me was why he would paint such a wonderful loving tribute to his uncle and then ruin it by mentioning an offhand sexual advance by his uncle. It seemed out of place never explored his feelings behind it or why it was even mentioned. It was kind of unsavory without a reason for it.

   Keith needed a good editor on this book and some guidance.




2. This is one of the many memoirs / autobiographies, relating to the ubiquitous stories of 'troubled youth'. Flemmings emotional maturity and consistently strong writing has aloud him to tell the story of a turbulent adolescence akin to "Girl Interrupted", "Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius", etc. I was not drawn to this novel for Ed White, but rather found it in the bookstore Biography section by chance. I have seen criticisms of Flemming's dupe on the public as advertising this to be a memoir of Ed White, but it this really the case? At face value, this is a remarkable memoir of a troubled journey through adolescence devoid of all "poor me" sentiments that the other above-mentioned memoirs seem to convey. I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone - it is a gem!



3. I was going to buy this book as an anniversary present, but caught myself reading bits and pieces, until I had finished the whole thing. This is a well-written book that is very engaging. You laugh, cry, and wince as Fleming tells his story, and you close the book absolutely exhausted thinking about everything that happened within a relatively short time span. I recommend it for years to come.



4. "Just who is Keith Fleming and why is he tryng to slay me" might be a good subtitle for this short memoir. Frankly I bought the book because of my great admiration for Edmund White (the Uncle Ed of Keith's minor autobiography) and in the end all reasons for liking the book reflect back to that initial response. Yes, this is the life of an unfortunate, acneiform teenage product of yet another dysfunctional family unit whose saving grace is his finding solace with his brilliant writer uncle in New York. Keith Fleming writes well, has some pages when his prose actually begins to sing, but aside from his "growing up" experience with Edmund White, his story - full of despair and cruel circumstances -hardly registers as a precis for a book. But all criticism aside, Fleming does give us more insights into the person of Edmund White and it is refreshing to read passages that demonstrate White's warmth and humanity and caring that often his books fail to suggest. Far from being just a flamboyant social surface person, White, as drawn by his nephew, has more than a modicum of compassion for family, for adolescence, for the sticks and stones that make us falter as we mature. So, I think this young writer bears watching. Maybe next time his misery will not be too much with us.......



5. I found this memoir of Mr. Fleming's youth fascinating. It was extremely well written, vividly descriptive of his family and experiences with mother, father, psychiatrist, fellow patients, and finally, his loving uncle who rescued him from an ununderstanding world. I do not regard it as a "gay" book, but a moving description of a young man's journey through his youth, schooling, family, hospitalizations, love relationships. Anyone interested in young people especially, should find this as interesting as I did. I do recommend it.