Best of
Illness

2010

The C-Word


Lisa Lynch - 2010
    Now a BBC Drama starring Sheridan Smith. 'Carrie Bradshaw fell in Dior, I fell in Debenhams. It was May 2008, and it was spectacular. Uncomfortable heels + slippy floor + head turned by a cocktail dress = thwack. Arms stretched overhead, teeth cracking on floor tiles, chest and knees breaking the fall. It was theatrical, exaggerated, a perfect 6.0. And it was Significant Moment #1 in discovering that I had grade-three breast cancer.'The last thing Lisa Lynch had expected to put on her 'things to do before you're 30' list was beating breast cancer, but them's the breaks. So with her life on hold, and her mind close to capacity with unspoken fears, questions and emotions, she turned to her Mac and started blogging about the frustrating, life-altering, sheer pain-in-the-arse inconvenience of getting breast cancer at the age of 28.The C-Word is an unflinchingly honest and darkly humorous account of Lisa's battle with The Bullshit, as she came to call it. From the good days when she could almost pretend it wasn't happening, to the bad days, when she couldn't bear to wake up, Lisa's story is emotional, heartbreaking and often hilarious. The C-Word will make you laugh and cry, and ultimately reaffirm your faith in life.

Knowing Jesse: A Mother's Story of Grief, Grace, and Everyday Bliss


Marianne Leone - 2010
    He also had severe cerebral palsy and was quadriplegic, unable to speak, and wracked by seizures. He died suddenly at age seventeen.In fiercely honest, surprisingly funny, and sometimes heartbreaking prose, Jesse’s mother, Marianne Leone, chronicles her transformation by the remarkable life and untimely death of her child. An unforgettable memoir of joy, grief, and triumph, Knowing Jesse unlocks the secret of unconditional love and speaks to all families who strive to do right by their children.

Hope Will Find You: My Search for the Wisdom to Stop Waiting and Start Living


Naomi Levy - 2010
    But when a doctor told her that her young daughter, Noa, had a fatal degenerative disease, Rabbi Levy’s own insights could not prevent her whole life from unraveling.In Hope Will Find You, Naomi Levy shares her journey and the wisdom she gained. She describes with humor and honesty how she came through a time of uncertainty and fear and learned how to stop waiting for life to begin. A natural and engaging storyteller, Levy has written a book filled with invaluable lessons for living in the present and for opening the door to an extraordinary future.Hope Will Find You is a book that will be passed to friends when life gets confusing, a book that will rest on our bedside tables when we are searching for hope and direction.

The Collected Novels of José Saramago


José Saramago - 2010
    From Saramago's early work, like the enchanting Baltasar Blimunda and the controversial Gospel According to Jesus Christ, through his masterpiece Blindness and its sequel Seeing, to his later fables of politics, chance, history, and love, like All the Names and Death with Interruptions, this volume showcases the range and depth of Saramago's career, his inimitable narrative voice, and his vast reserves of invention, humor, and understanding.Included in this collection:* Baltasar and Blimunda (1987)* The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis (1991)* The Gospel According to Jesus Christ (1994) * The Stone Raft (1995)* The History of the Siege of Lisbon (1997)* Blindness (1998)* The Tale of the Unknown Island (1999)* All the Names (2000)* The Cave (2002)* The Double (2004)* Seeing (2006)* Death with Interruptions (2008)* The Elephant's Journey (2010)

Nowhere Hair


Sue Glader - 2010
    This picture book is written for children ages 3 to 8, but can be enjoyed and appreciated by all ages. It helps children understand chemotherapy and how cancer and hair loss are not their fault. It is a story about fear and sadness, being silly and wearing crazy hats, and loving those who look different. This is a must buy for consumer and family library collections. It is a positive tool to guide conversations with children, giving them hope, comfort, and a better understanding of cancer treatments. Nancy O'Brien, Iowa Health Des Moines, Des Moines IA --CAPHIS/Consumer Connection (Medical Library Association Periodical)

What the Water Gave Me (UK)


Pascale Petit - 2010
    Some of the poems are close interpretations of Kahlo's work, while others are parallels or version homages where Petit draws on her experience as a visual artist to create alternative 'paintings' with words. More than just a verse biography, this collection explores how Kahlo transformed trauma into art after the artist's near-fatal bus accident. Petit, with her vivid style, her feel for nature and her understanding of pain and redemption, fully inhabits Kahlo's world. Each poem is an evocation of 'how art works on the pain spectrum', laced with splashes of ferocious colour.

Healing is Voltage: The Handbook


Jerry L. Tennant - 2010
    To heal, we must make new cells. To make a new cell requires -50 millivolts. Chronic disease occurs when voltage drops below -20 and/or you cannot achieve -50 millivolts to make new cells. Thus chronic disease is always defined by having low voltage. This book tells you how to measure your voltage in each organ, how to correct it, and how to determine why your voltage dropped enough to allow you to get sick.

The Long and the Short of It: A Tale About Hair


Lydia Criss Mays - 2010
    One wants to grow her hair longer, while the other, who has lost her hair during cancer treatment, would just like to have it back. Their friendship leads them to a new understanding of hair loss and the act of giving, and teaches them about courage, generosity, and pride. A helpful reading and discussion guide for parents and a list of fun, related learning activities for kids are also included. Winner: 2012 Apex Award of Publishing Excellence, One-of-akind Health and Medical Publication; 2011 Association Trends All Media Contest, Gold; 2011 National Health Information Award, Bronze, Health Promotion and Disease Prevention; 2011 Mom's Choice Award, Gold, Children's Books; Finalist: 2012 National Indie Excellence Award, Children's Picture Books; 2011 USA Best Book Award, Children's Picture Books ———

Tell Me the Truth: Conversations With My Patients About Life And Death


Ranjana Srivastava - 2010
    It is not simply that they see the big picture; if you spend long enough with them, they help you see it too.'What really happens when someone hears the words, 'You have cancer?' What has preceded it and what comes after? Written with great compassion and honesty, this is a rare view from the other side of the desk. Oncologist Ranjana Srivastava reflects on the very human side of the medical profession – the moral dilemmas, the anxieties, the empathy – and shows us that the best doctors are the ones who keep learning by listening to their patients.This book is much more than an oncologist's diary; it is an acknowledgement of the incredible courage of ordinary people as they confront the big issues of life and death.

American Junkie


Tom Hansen - 2010
    It's a story that maps his heroin addiction, from the promise of a young life to the prison of a mattress, from budding musician to broken down junkie, drowning in syringes and cigarette butts, shooting heroin into wounds the size of softballs, and ultimately, a ride to a hospital for a six-month stay and a painful self-discovery that cuts down to the bone. Through it all he never really loses his step, never lets go of his smarts, and always projects quintessential American reason, humor, and hope to make a story not only about drugs, but a compelling study of vulnerability and toughness.

You Are the Best Medicine


Julie Aigner Clark - 2010
    Because you are the best medicine.Watching someone you love go through cancer treatment is scary—especially for a child. In this courageous and sensitive book, cancer survivor Julie Clark creates sweet and poignant memories that remind us how children can nurture people they care about at a time when optimism and love are the most needed.