Compelling, captivating and accessible journey through lives affected by polio
341581
The Polio Journals Lessons From My Mother  is an extraordinary book. I was totally drawn into the journey, due to both its compelling story and the accessible yet captivating way in which it was written. It read so easily and it kept my attention throughout and felt at times as if I were reading a novel. Yet, realizing that this is an actual account of Dr. Gross's mother's life and of her own life, the emotions that it provoked were deep, at times overwhelming. If I felt all these emotions while reading the book, I can't begin to imagine how Dr. Gross was able to get through the writing process. I appreciated the honesty with which she depicted both the challenges and successes that the entire family experienced.  The research into not only her mother's life, but also the prevailing medical and social structures at the different times, along with the effects of polio, must have been a fulfilling yet emotionally-powerful journey.  To be able to present it all in a compelling, yet accessible and relatable manner is a talent certainly worthy of all the awards and accolades Dr. Gross deserves. The book is the story of a strong, incredible family, a lesson in how medicine and society develops, a glimpse into our pasts and people we thought we knew all about (Carol's relationship with President Roosevelt provides another insight into Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the person), and the history of an insidious, relentless disease that thankfully has a vaccine that spares us from the ravages of the disease. Whether or not one has dealt with polio or another debilitating disease, we all can take from this book a spirit of facing and overcoming challenges and the need to understand where we came from and the forces that shape who we are.  It also reminds us that our parents didn't come into this world just at the time they became parents, but that they had experiences and relationships that shape who they are and the way they relate to us.  I have told a number of people about this book and recommend it whenever I can.
769007
This book opened my eyes to so many subtle realities of family life... Janice and all the family members tell the story of their life and their advocacy so honestly as well as humorously and with great dignity and fierceness.  It feels like I got a college course worth of information about dealing with disabilities and with special abilities and with joy in the world.  This story is captivating -- and is especially useful for folks like me who have NO background in the disability world.  I have so much to learn -- and this book put me solidly on that road.  I have given the book to several friends.  Read it!!
2919396
"God, Love and War" provides a valuable glimpse into a world that many of us know little about. I learned many things about Afghan history and culture that I never knew before. Spozhmaes writing is conversational and deeply personal. Although her story describes the tragedy and horrors of war, she shares moments of faith, joy, and humor. Interlaced through it all is a powerful message of courage and hope.  A compelling and fascinating book.
39783
I could barely put this book down. One fascinating theme is the link between perceptions of the symptoms of TB and social class.  When TB was primarily a white, upper-class disease, the symptoms were viewed with esteem.  For example, pale, thin, frail people were thought to be particularly bright, creative, and appealing.  But that is scratching the surface -- there is so much that is compelling and interesting about this book.
506178
Marrow is a joy to read- deeply human and accessible, and yet poignant, poetic, and profound.  The book powerfully emphasizes the deep value of authenticity and reconciliation as it weaves together a beautiful story with wise and sometimes funny reflections on our shared and imperfect lives.

As the story eloquently demonstrates, reconciliation with family members is  hard, possible, and deeply rewarding.

Elizabeth Lesser's sketches of her remarkable sisters and parents give you a rich sense of her family's specific strengths and weaknesses that will speak universally to anyone who has ever had a family.

Yet it is her account of her biological and spiritual marrow transplant with her sister Maggie that deserves special praise for its gripping emotional honesty and intimacy. Lesser is a beautiful writer who speaks with humility and self-awareness that lets us readily walk alongside her on the journey they shared,  The story of that journey evokes feelings of admiration, recognition, laughter and sadness, We see the emotional courage they each found along the way, and the beauty of the shared and separate lives they lived. As we witness the last stages of Maggie's remarkable life, we quietly experience growing feelings of loss at its end and joy at its fulfillment. And we feel moved to reconnect more authentically with people in our own lives.

Deeply touching and beautifully written, Marrow is a book to cherish, re-read, and give to loved ones.
1642641
This book presents a large number of first person accounts (FPA's) written  by people living with a wide range of mental illnesses. Some of these accounts are inspiring, some uplifting, some heartrending, and some utterly devastating. There are lots in instances of strength, courage, and recovery, though unfortunately not all of the stories end that way.

I was particularly moved by the story contributed by Art W. Schade, who faced severe posttraumatic stress disorder after fighting in the Vietnam war as a very young man. The final account in the book about Crystal Thomas's struggle with Tourette's syndrome was especially gripping and eye opening.

I came away from this book with a new understanding of the human condition, and a deeper respect for the struggles that people go through, not to mention the effort that they put into finding help.

The book is divided into thirteen major sections which  correspond to those in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition, Text Revision, so that the two volumes may be studied side by side. Each chapter of "First Person Accounts"  begins with an introduction which explains that particular mental illness and describes the accounts that follow. A few questions for study are presented, as well a list of references for each chapter.

This is a really fascinating book. It has much to offer students in the field as well as anyone seeking to better understand what it truly means to be human. As the authors write at the end of the first introductory chapter, "We hope that reading this collection of first person accounts promotes greater compassion and empathy; an increased commitment to quality services and treatment; reduced stigma, pain, and suffering; and the expansion of hope and recovery."
4189813
I started listening to the Audible version of this book the evening It became available and found it so compelling that I had finished by the next evening.  I read the hardcover this past weekend.

Sheryl's personal story of loss, interwoven with the stories of other survivors hardships and tragedies, combined well with Adams in-depth understanding of resilience literature.  It makes for an absorbing read (or, in the case of an audiobook, an absorbing "listen").

Their book includes important facts and strategies, intermixed with thought-provoking quotes, humor, and deeply personal stories -- the latter of which thoroughly held my attention.  These personal stories provide concrete evidence that resilience is not a fixed personality trait and that there is much we can do to promote our own post-traumatic growth.  I am especially appreciative that the authors emphasized there is also much that friends, family members, worksites, and on-line communities can do to promote such growth.

Thanks also to the authors for highlighting the ongoing plight of refugees throughout the world and the resilience they must demonstrate simply to survive in truly horrendous circumstances.

This was far more than a self-help book describing strategies for promoting resilience; there are many such books available and some are excellent. Instead, I view this book as a spark, a catalyst leading to many more critical conversations and initiatives.
1921676
This is a fine book with presents an intriguing insight into the traumas and everyday of being disabled.  I understand more about MS now and about what it is like to live with disability.  The book really works.  I was drawn into the consistency of theme which defines each group of chapters, and sometimes into the chronology of each section.  The themes of the first 5 sections are especially compelling;  I was drawn in with a desire to know more.  That is not to say that the last 2 sections are not good, they are just lighter and more about the everyday.

A valuable read.
2832887
This is a compelling, hear-felt journey of personal discovery. From an idyllic early childhood, the author explores (sometimes painfully) her life to date in a marvelous way that is enchanting and mesmerizing.
Looking at life through her "third eye," vision quests, and other enablers, DeNicola accepts past life experiences in her search for spiritual understanding. Her prose and poetry are both despairing and hopeful and make this a page turner from start to finish.
4171333
I chose this book, Polio: An American Story because my father was a polio victim.  Fortunately for us, he made an almost 100% recovery.  I found the book to be extraordinary in presenting the facts about polio in a format which reflected the political, economic and social atmosphere of the time.  I never knew how the fight against polio was "fought" not only by grants to universities and scientists, but also by the American people in many forms.  I knew about the March of Dimes which I remember my mom collecting for but didn't realize that other grass root fund raising existed.  The way campaigns raise money today was influenced by the movement to find a cure for polio. Informative and kept my interest throughout.
3290758
I was completely mesmerized by this truly amazing memoir written in a young girls voice expressing the distorted perceptions of a child and adolescent who set herself painfully apart by tragedy. Anne is a very creative writer. I like the format and the way the she tells her story combining past memories with present events. It is a book that is difficult to put down before it is finisheda totally absorbing personal journey through the labyrinth of life that triggers deeply felt emotions and empathy. Anne struggles to find her voice to express her inner emotional turmoil that she suppressed as a child and early adulthood.

The narrative is powerfully written and provides an amazing account of the relevant characters, settings and significant events in her life, her reactions to each unique situation, and how she feels about them, then and now. Anne has a creative mind. She is a shy and intelligent girl who is preoccupied with death and consumed by grief and dread. She struggles with faith and depression. She internalizes her emotional pain and often suffers in silence. She is afraid of living for fear of dying after being traumatized by the deaths of her brothers and sister at a very early age. She is a sensitive girl who finds it very hard to stay happy who lets her self-punishing spirit rule her life. She does an excellent job describing the temperament, personalities, and relationships between characters, how they influenced her, and the emotions each situation evoked from early childhood through to adulthood.

I was captured by her cinematic word descriptions of complicated social encounters, her manner of expressing her thoughts and feelings, and her recollections of the people and events in her life. Her emotional responses vary greatly from grand and sublime, to overwhelming bewilderment and youthful rejection, to abject speechlessness and fear. The reader is carried along by her strong convictions accompanied by a bit of sadness as she explains the reasons for her altered lifes trajectory. The photographs enhance the narrative by helping the reader identify the characters in her book. I was eager to discover how Anne solved her inner childhood demons and learned to live a life of peace and tranquility. This is a book about relationships, memories, and descriptions about how the author eventually learns to cope with her inner self.
2928320
Linda Wisnieski weaves an engaging story of making peace with her mother, her Polish heritage and her diagnosis of scoliosis in Off Kilter. Through concise and descriptive writing, she conveys the deep sadness of her childhood experience living with a verbally-abusive and emotionally-distant father, a long-suffering mother and the physical deformity of scoliosis that conspire to make her feel "off kilter." Using scoliosis as a metaphor for her life, she shows in graphic detail how all these factors combine to create this sad childhood. She learns to silence herself at every juncture and as a reader I found myself longing for her to be released from this prison of pain. Tales of bullying by peers, stern Catholic nuns and an angry father paint the picture of a little girl trapped in a sad and lonely place and feeling different from the other children. Fortunately, the story does not end there for she walks us through her own healing journey to find peace with her past. Because she has brought me into her sadness, I am relieved and happy that she finally finds peace and contentment in her life. The sadness of a childhood that cannot be changed may remain but the beauty of becoming fully who she is and finding balance in her life is truly rewarding to read.  A bravely honest and moving memoir that lingers long after it is read.
3342882
Its the 1940s. America are fighting two wars. One on foreign soil and one at home, in the form of the polio epidemic that surges every summer. Tess is a young woman in Baltimore, studying to be a nurse. She is also engaged to her childhood friend Vincent who has recently become a doctor. While Vincent is away in Chicago studying polio, Tess and her friend Gina take the train to Washington, D.C. for an overnight visit. But something unexpected happens to Tess while she is there and it turns her life upside down and destroys her dream of a life with Vincent. Tess suddenly finds herself all alone in the world and grasps desperately at a chance for redemption that takes her to Hickory, NC. Here she comes face to face with the issues of racism and gender bias.

I was captivated by this story from the beginning. Tess is a well-rounded young lady with a lot of spunk (as my grandmother would say). She has a great deal of empathy for others and she fit in perfectly with my image of working class young ladies during the period. The author very deftly guides her through the hard choices that she finds herself having to make and surrounds her with a whole host of wonderful characters. While reading this book, I really felt like a fly on the wall of Tesss life. Its also obvious that the author put in a lot of time researching life at the time in Hickory and the realities of treating polio patients. The story moved at a really good space and every scene helped to push the story forward. This is a book that you won't want to miss.
3052265
Having heard of Abraham Verghese as the Indian doctor who'd made a name for himself as an AIDS doctor (that was ten years ago in a newspaper article in India), I was curious to know more about his real experiences with the tragedy that AIDS brought in its wake. By a quirky coincidence that allowed me to share my interests in writing and medicine with him, I was even more intrigued by him and his story. In the end, as I turned the last page of the book, I wondered aloud, "when was the last time I came away so moved?"

I applaud his patients for allowing him to lay their stories bare open for the world to pry. The motions of weakness, anguish, helplessness, tire, and then those of gratitude and appreciation that doctors find themselves in have been richly described. After a long time, I found a book with a soul - mostly because it belonged to real people who lived these stories, and suffered the tragedies it described.

The writing is sparkling, sharp, and well-edited. For someone who loves the classics, it is also testimony of superlative modern English writing. But ultimately what won my heart were the people in it - and I am not lying when I say that I was moved to tears in some. For someone used to seeing the frailties of illness and inescapable death as part of their profession, I am thankful to Dr Verghese for taking time out for sharing his experiences and for the subjects for allowing us a glimpse of how they faced grave uncertainty.
1338143
Our Victorious Heart is a very compelling journey of two parents and their infant daughter with Trisomy 18. Their journal and notes grab the reader and do not let go. I worked many years as a pediatric RN and this book takes you to the other side of the story. Their faith in Jesus and prayers shine light and life into the pages of this book. This little ones life and that of her parents will give hope to many.
1485995
To read this book is to take a tour with the most engaging docent in the brain museum. Before suffering a ruptured aneurysm, the author was an actress, a theater director, a PhD student. Her identity rested largely on her language skills, and her life in New York was filled with other smart and witty characters. Becoming aphasic not only disrupted her language abilities and relationships, but upended much of what she understood about The Girl I Used to Be. This moving memoir tells the story of regaining language and rebuilding her identity (The Woman I Have Become) after she returns to live with her parents in California. But it is also much more than that, offering a window into the evolving insights of brain science, and into the deeply personal Quiet, the wordless state of heightened awareness and sensation and connection that did not induce panic in the author but rather a new appreciation and curiosity about the wondrous workings of her own mind. The sometimes disjointed journal she kept during her recovery helps structure this year-in-a-life story, and we accompany her through her own retroactive examination of this fascinating archive. I highly recommend this book not only for those with loved ones may who have experienced aphasia (a condition statistically more common than either Parkinsons Disease or multiple sclerosis) but anyone interested in a vivid, exquisitely-written, first-person account of surviving a traumatic brain injury and entering fully into the new life and discoveries it opens onto.
3524320
Weeks after finishing  "Crossing Cairo" I continue to feel connected to the people of Cairo to whom the author brought into my life.
A fascinating account of an unusual experience, written with compelling honesty - revealing the author and her families' challenging difficulties and surprising triumphs during their six month residence in Cairo.  An eye and heart opener.