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Category: Disorders & Diseases

Review: Dancing on Broken Glass by Ka Hancock

[ 4 ] May 8, 2012

Reviewed by Amanda Schafer

When Lucy and Mickey met, he was in the hospital during one of his episodes and she was there visiting her sister. They knew their relationship would always be difficult because he had bipolar disorder, but Lucy was determined not to walk away from Mickey. She knew instantly that she was meant for him.

Mickey’s doctor told Lucy once that her marriage to Mickey would be like dancing on broken glass…there would be pain, but she would either flee that pain or hold tighter to him until the next smooth place. The women in Lucy’s family have been plagued with cancer, so when Lucy has her own bout with cancer a few years into their marriage, she and Mickey decide they will not have children and take the necessary medical steps to ensure that fact.

During their marriage, Mickey has to stay in the mental hospital during several of his bipolar cycles. It’s during one of these times that Lucy finds out that against all odds, she and Mickey will indeed have a baby. While this thought is exciting for both of them, it’s also very terrifying for Mickey because he doesn’t want his child to grow up in the sort of home he did.

One day during a routine baby checkup, Lucy’s doctor finds an abnormality in her breast tissue. She runs some tests and then sends Lucy to a specialist. After a short time, it is discovered that Lucy’s cancer has spread and is very advanced. Only chemo and radiation will give her some sort of hope. Lucy refuses any treatment until after the baby is born, but it’s clear to all that she won’t make it that long. When Mickey realizes that he will be solely responsible for the baby when Lucy dies, he panics and tells Lucy he won’t be able to do it. Despite the fact that Lucy believes in Mickey, she devises a plan to make sure the baby is taken care of by all of her family.

Ka Hancock provides us an enlightening and very real look at what life is like for someone living with not one debilitating illness, but two. She does such a great job describing the way Mickey’s disorder cycles and how it affects those around him. As we read about Lucy’s undying belief in Mickey and her willingness to sacrifice everything for her baby, we see what truly selfless love really is.

I found Hancock’s writing style to be smooth and easy to follow, yet full and rich and deeply emotional. There were so many characters to develop in this novel and Hancock did a fine job with all of them. Dancing on Broken Glass is the kind of book that will cause you to take a closer look at yourself and think about how you would act under these circumstances.

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Amanda lives in Missouri with her engineering husband, two sons, and one daughter. In between homeschooling and keeping up with church activities she loves to read Christian Fiction, Women’s Fiction, and any Chick-Lit. She never goes anywhere without a book to read!

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Gallery Books. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Review: After the Diagnosis by Julian Seifter, MD with Betsy Seifter, PhD

[ 2 ] March 3, 2012

Reviewed by Krista Castner

My mother has been struggling with a chronic illness, and I thought that this book might provide some tips or tools to help her focus on something other than her diagnosis. Dr. Julian Seifter writes from experience since he has had diabetes for years, and works with patients struggling with renal disease. I thought that After the Diagnosis gave some practical insights for moving beyond the diagnosis of a chronic illness and back into the mainstream of life. It’s not about ignoring the diagnosis, or becoming excessively focused on it; the key is to acknowledge where you are and move forward with the things that are in your power to change or affect.

Dr. Seifter observes, “In the course of my long career, I’ve seen many people battle their illnesses, and I’ve come to see that each person writes a narrative as individual as a thumbprint. Some stories are about successful adaptation or, happiest of all, about conquering the foe, others are darker, more tangled, more troubled. But every story deserves respect. Every story has a real, actual teller, and needs to be listened to.”

The book contains many stories about patients who managed their conditions well and lived a full and enriching life, as well as stories about patients who did not do so well. The patients who were able to cope with the chronic illness were the ones who were able to talk about their situation and come to some sort of decision about how much they’d let the illness control the pieces that made up their essential selves.

There are discussions about the stages of acceptance of a chronic illness, and a section for the caregivers of chronically ill patients. One of my favorite quotes comes towards the end of the book and sums up the philosophy of the book succinctly.

Dr. Seifter asserts, “Facing up to adversity is less a matter of deciding to be strong than of letting go and seeing what comes next. What is most required in order to thrive ‘after the diagnosis’ is the capacity to stay open to experience. By letting life happen and time go forward, we can hold on to future hopes and present meanings.”

This philosophy is really true for everyone, but becomes more immediate for those thrust into making potentially life altering decisions because of chronic illness. After the Diagnosis has helped me understand my Mom’s journey, and made me more compassionate about the choices she’s making for herself every day.

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Krista lives just outside the urban sprawl of Portland, Oregon. Lamentably, her work as a technical writer and business analyst often interferes with her reading which is a true passion.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Simon & Schuster. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Review: Special Diets for Special Kids by Lisa Lewis, Ph.D.

[ 5 ] September 22, 2011

Reviewed by Alyssa Katanic

For a little over a year now, our family has been shifting our eating habits in order to deal with various health issues including digestion problems, ADHD, and allergies/ food sensitivities. It has already been quite a journey, and we are still just beginning! There is so much to learn and it can be hard to figure out, “Okay! So what CAN we all eat and enjoy?” Thankfully, there are authors like Lisa Lewis, Ph.D. who have “Been there! Done that! Wrote the book!”

This version of Special Diets for Special Kids is actually a compilation of the previous volumes 1 and 2 with updated information and recipes from more recent research. It is an informational book and cookbook in one, and also includes a CD of over 200 Gluten-Free/Casein-Free (GF/CF) printable recipes!

What is “Gluten-Free/Casein-Free” any way? Lewis does a great job of walking readers through the meaning behind this term, and how and why such a diet has been beneficial for children with issues such as Autism, ADHD, allergies, and more. She also outlines a few other variations of the diet for those who are affected by different food sensitivities such as the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD), the Body Ecology Diet (BED), and the Low Oxalate Diet (LOD).

If you are just learning about how your child(ren)’s (or your own) medical challenges can be helped through diet, Special Diets for Special Kids is a great starting point. If you already follow a GF/CF diet or variation, Lewis’ book is a great refresher course that will also add to your recipe choices. Lewis includes a variety of recipes to choose from (including four different pancake recipes!) to suit different tastes and sensitivities, as well as a range of cooking and baking abilities and level of cooking interest. Special Diets for Special Kids is full of resources and recommendations for other books, organizations, websites, and helpful and delicious products and where to find them.

Special Diets for Special Kids by Lisa Lewis is an excellent resource for dietary intervention. It is well designed and organized, and full of great information and good eats!

Rating: 4.5/5

Alyssa is a wife and stay at home, homeschooling mother of five, with two boxers, two cats, a soft shelled turtle named after Bob the Builder, and 7 frogs (admittedly a homeschooling project gone froggy). In all her spare time, she loves to read and believes that there is no such thing as having too many books!

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Future Horizons and Sensory World. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Blog Tour & Giveaway: The Rules of the Tunnel by Ned Zeman

[ 82 ] August 21, 2011

Please join Ned Zeman, author of The Rules of the Tunnel, as he tours the blogosphere with TLC Book Tours!

Reviewed by Jill Arent

The Rules of the Tunnel is author Ned Zeman’s story about his “brief period of madness” – otherwise known as his lifelong experience with depression and anxiety disorders seasoned with his stint with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).

By all appearances, Ned had it all – a writer for Vanity Fair who divided his time between book/magazine parties and celebrity interviews, lived in New York City and Los Angeles-adjacent Canyons, and experienced more than his share of the so-called endless party lifestyle. But inside, he was a veritable ocean of insecurity and anxiety. He spent many a day self-medicating and self-therapying – on top of many a year of professional medicating and therapying. What did he have to show for it? Well, a host of articles, a slew of ex-girlfriends, and a rather impressive collection of missing memories. The missing memories are due to the ECT, Zeman’s last-ditch attempt at becoming “normal” – or whatever approximates normal in the modern world.

His story is engaging but often very disjointed. At first, I thought this was a failing of the story or writing style. As the book progressed, I changed my mind. I think it was intentional – an attempt to translate the workings of his head (or, perhaps more aptly, the non-workings) into print as a means of demonstrating what it felt like to live inside that head. If so, Zeman’s head must have been a disturbing and disconcerting place – and it’s amazing he was able to live there.

The Rules of the Tunnel isn’t a self-deprecating tale of redemption. It is a slog, difficult to read not because of the writing but because of the subject matter. I don’t know that I learned anything new, other than that Zeman should thank his lucky stars that he was surrounded by the people he was, with the resources at his disposal that he had. Many others with similar affliction have been far less lucky and had to do far more with far less. Maybe, in the end, that is where Zeman occasionally lost me, empathetically. He had a tale to tell, and he did. And if it wasn’t pretty to read, well, it certainly sounds like it wasn’t pretty to live either.

Rating: 3/5

A former corporate attorney and government relations/health policy executive, Jill-Elizabeth walked away from that world (well, skipped actually) and toward a more literary life (equally challenging, but infinitely more enjoyable). If you enjoyed this review, please visit her at Jill-Elizabeth.com, the official home of All Things Jill-Elizabeth.

Giveaway:
I have 1 copy of The Rules of the Tunnel to give away!

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This giveaway is open to US and Canada residents only. Deadline to enter is midnight on September 2, 2011.

Review and giveaway copies were provided free of any obligation by Gotham. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Review: Gluten Free Cookies by Luane Kohnke

[ 6 ] August 2, 2011

Reviewed by Shannon Hopkins

Anybody who is gluten-free or who knows someone with a gluten-free diet has likely thought or heard, “the thing I miss is dessert.” Even the healthiest diet includes the occasional sweet indulgence, and as more people are diagnosed with Celiac or choose to lead a gluten-free lifestyle it becomes more necessary to help them find new recipes to enjoy life’s little desserts. Luane Kohnke has put her baking expertise to the task, and in Gluten Free Cookies gives us “50 Recipes for Cookies You Crave”.

Kohnke starts with a short introduction and a comprehensive guide to gluten-free baking that not only highlights ingredients to use and avoid, but explains their purpose; discusses how to create a gluten-free baking environment; and functions as a how-to guide for even the most novice baker. Kohnke even relates the results of a test she performed with her gluten-free flour mixes (pp. 15-16) in which she had gluten-eaters test a wheat flour “control cookie” against gluten-free models of the same made with each flour blend, and provides a conversion table based on those results for converting wheat flour-based recipes to gluten-free ones.

Each recipe is accompanied by a colorful and crisp shot of what the finished treat will look like, and nearly all of the recipes occupy only one page. However, as the author points out, it is important to read the recipes all the way through before attempting — while the baking process itself is short, the preparation process for many of the recipes (especially those with filler) includes chilling the mix in the refrigerator or letting it sit for a certain period of time (e.g. the Oatmeal Almond Cookies with Dates, the batter of which needs to chill for at least two hours).

My family helped assemble a gluten-free baking party to test out some recipes. We found that many of the necessary ingredients are more expensive than your typical wheat flour, but it is definitely worth the cost to bring dessert back into the house. In order to test a variety of treats, we baked the Lemon Squares (p. 91), Double-Cherry Streusel Bars (p. 96), and the Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies (p. 31). The chill/store process frustrated our efforts somewhat, but we worked out a groove in which we could finish one cookie while another was prepping, and having clear and easy-to-follow recipes was a big help. A first-time baker would have little trouble following the directions as they are written.

I returned the next day for my samples of our gluten-free treats, and I was impressed by how closely they resembled the pictures! Clearly, we did something right. Each treat stood up to taste testing as well, though we observed that the peanut butter cookies tasted more heavily like peanut butter but ended on a drier note. With the proper amount of preparation, I would bake any of these recipes for anybody — even a gluten eater will love what comes out of the oven.

Rating: 5/5

Shannon lives in Cleveland, Ohio with her fiancé and a room full of books that she peruses when she isn’t trolling Apartment Therapy for new decorating ideas. In her free time she enjoys maintaining her blog, The Writer’s Closet, planning her wedding, and baking tasty gluten-free treats.

Review and giveaway copies were provided free of any obligation by Sellers Publishing. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Review: Don’t Kill the Birthday Girl by Sandra Beasley

[ 7 ] July 12, 2011

Reviewed by Amanda Allalunis

I remember when I was little girl I had a close friend who had allergies. In those days, the word “allergic” was synonymous with “wuss”, or even worse. As much as I hate to admit it, I didn’t make much of an effort to emphasize with, or even to understand, my poor allergic friend.

In her memoir Don’t Kill the Birthday Girl, Sandra Beasley chronicles her life as a person suffering from severe allergies trying to survive in a world with little to no understanding of just what allergies mean to those suffering from them. Readers get an inside view of the author’s struggles at birthday parties, weddings, restaurants, and even hotel lobbies as she tries to negotiate a decidedly hostile and unforgiving world. Just as my friend lived with the erroneous label of “wuss” throughout most of her life, Beasley was constantly judged, and sometimes discounted, because of her allergies.

To be honest, I had mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, I found it tricky to relate to the overall topic, never having suffered from allergies myself. I also found it difficult to find any sense of camaraderie with the main character. Sure, she had a tough time dealing with major allergies, but it was hard to feel sorry for someone who was experiencing these difficulties during a wedding in Rome, Italy or on a family vacation to Hawaii. Maybe it was just sour grapes, but there were definitely moments when I felt that the author could have complained a little less and celebrated her amazing life and family a little more.

Yet despite these drawbacks, or maybe in some ways because of them, I actually did enjoy Don’t Kill the Birthday Girl. Beasley’s candid and matter-of-fact explanation of the challenges of living with allergies struck a chord with me on an emotional and intellectual level, and I found myself looking forward to reading each new chapter. The book contained just enough scientific explanations and facts to make me feel like I was learning something without boring me to tears, and I really enjoyed Beasley’s overall writing style.

For anyone who is touched by allergies on a personal level, Don’t Kill the Birthday Girl is a must-read. I am incredibly blessed to have an allergy-free life and family, but I still learned a lot from the book. For anyone like myself who is not directly affected by allergies, I would still recommend the book as a way to gain empathy for those who are, and as an overall good read.

Rating: 4/5

Amanda is mommy, freelance writer, and blogger in her spare time. If you like this review, be sure to check out the blog at Giveaway Blogdom or take a minute to read her most recent article on Childhood Vaccinations.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Crown. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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