5 comments about Learning Sickness: A Year With Crohn's Disease (Capital Discovery).

1. I picked up this book simply because I wanted to read a good memoir. Little did I know what else it would give me. Just a week after I ordered an advance copy of the book online, my 44 year old brother died as a result of complications from ulcerative colitis, a disease that I later learned is very similar to Crohn's disease. Reading Jim's book was an important part of my grieving process; his narrative gave me insight into the everyday experiences my brother must have had with his own health -- and I gained new respect for his struggle.

   Jim Lang has written an eloquent, piercing, yet down-to-earth chronicle of life with Crohn's disease. This book is the best kind of creative non-fiction: a memoir that tells the truth in a self-reflective but non-detached way. I highly recommend this book not only to those with connections to Crohn's, but to anyone seeking to understand the depth of human experience through memoir.




2. As a 30-year-old who had Crohns for the past 6 years, I was interested in this book. It was well written and sweet. I often had the same feelings the author had about taking the darn pills every day and always feeling sick.
   I also liked how he sat in church and prayed to feel better. I also went thru the, "Mad at God" stage b/c I was so sick and blamed him for my illness. It was nice to know that others feel the same way sometimes, and it helped ease a little of my guilt.
   Great book for a Crohns or UC patient...or their family and friends... :)



3. For years, myself, my friends, and my family have struggled with feeling helpless as my physical and mental health fluctuate due to the unpredictable nature of IBD. Jim's book offers the heartfelt insights about coping with chronic disease that I have been either too tired or too afraid to admit to even my closest companions. While this book offers an honest voice I can commiserate with, it is a much needed resource for anyone who wants to understand what it means to be sick with IBD. I cannot recommend this book highly enough for both the sufferer and those who want to learn more.



4. As a person who has struggled with Crohn's disease for years- I had hoped this book would offer some useful information. Instead, after buying it out of my now very meager income- I got to read some guy's diary about how he felt. It was not useful to me at all- except that it will hold the front door open to let the fresh air in. If you have Crohn's disease or suspect it- I beg you to read Jill Sklar's book or 'Straight from the gut'- both are available on Amazon and both are very, very helpful.



5. I purchased this book after reading a blurb in the local paper about the author speaking at Barnes & Noble. I was unable to attend but ordered it through Amazon. The book sounded like a helpful way to share what a Crohn's patient feels with my spouse/family. As it turns out, the author suffers from Crohn's of the colon only and does not experience the daily pain that 80% of patients do. The major issue for me wasn't even covered! The second problem I had with it was, no offence, it was written from a very male point of view. As a woman, ego & ability to deal with emotional issues are not experienced in the same way as an alpha male type. I think he just needed a Xanax! He does offer an entire chapter about the importance of being your own patient advocate & I think that's definitely an important point to cover when dealing with any chronic medical condition.

1 comments about Hippocrates, Volume III: On Wounds in the Head (Loeb Classical Library, No. 149).

1. Since I owe this title, I checked the detail of this entry for customers' convenience:
   
   Hippocrates Volume III: On Wounds in the Head, In the Surgery, Fractures, Joints, Mochlicon
   translated by E. T. Withington
   
   Hardcover: 455 pages + 8 pages of advertizement
   Publisher: Harvard University Press (June 1, 1928)
   ISBN: 0674991656
   British ISBN 043499149 X

No comments about Reassessing Foucault: Power, Medicine and the Body (Studies in the Social History of Medicine).

5 comments about Inside/Outside: A Physician's Journey with Breast Cancer (Conversations in Medicine and Society).

1. This is a beautiful story of a very hard reality in this author's very active and successful life. She shares her private fears and medical knowledge with us. This is a must read for those that had, are having cancer or know a loved one struggling with this reality and terrible desease.



2. This book is a wonderfully written, deeply personal account of how Dr. Gilsdorf made the transition from successful researcher and physician to patient and then back again. The book is full of vivid imagery that will make you want to read it all in one sitting, yet will keep haunting you for weeks after you put it down. This book moved me so deeply that I have purchased a copy for every female member of my family for Christmas. It really is a must have for anyone who has ever been affected by breast cancer.



3. This is an amazing book, and one that I would not hesitate to read over and over again; nor would I hesitate to recommend it to the best of friends.
   With tidbits about her fulfilling and extremely accomplished life intertwined with education and insight about a very popular and unfortunate disease, from the prospective of patient AND doctor. I laughed and cried, and better yet, learned.
   She discusses everything from the riddles we used to chant as children to preparing a speach on scientific ethics in Kazakhstan and the cultural experiences while living there. From grant writing to fund research projects to the way a rainbow arrives at the proverbial pot of gold. She is frank and tells it like it is, but with the most beautifully descriptive words and analogies.
   We typically see cancer as a death sentence. Dr. Gilsdorf, somehow, made it improve her life and happiness ten-fold.
   This book is beautifully written, and I'm am a better person for having had the joy of reading it. A must read for all who can.
   I'll leave you with the following: "The person who doesn't read has no advantage over the person who can't read." So read and enjoy!



4. Gilsdorf's book is a must-read for anyone who has, is now, or may someday face a serious illness. Ditto for every doctor and health care provider. Her writing is clear, gentle, almost poetic at times, and always comfortable -- that's good, because she writes about very uncomfortable things, the harsh, confusing, frightening world of cancer. Gilsdorf lays open her life during this difficult journey. An accomplished academic physician and scientist, she shares with brutal honesty her inner, intimate world. The boss who's used to being in control is not. An always healthy woman is not. An elite doctor sees her world from the scruffy perspective of a patient. You will savor some passages, yet read the book quickly. You'll be bothered by the story but won't want the book to end.



5. Dr. Gilsdorf is a renaissance woman, known for many things, among them her knitting. I consider this book her personal tapestry, beautifully and carefully woven. She relates the story of her breast cancer and treatment with insights that very few others could convey, and she is honest about all the details - her caregivers, her treatment, the toll it takes, her reactions, her anger, her sometimes petty and sometimes magnanimous reactions, her fear, her courage. Disclosure: I know the author, and if she is tough on anyone in this book, it's on herself. But peeking through the story, in little moments that seem written only to place the cancer treatment and recovery in the context of her regular life, one gets a glimpse of a person who never, ever takes the easy way out. Her sense of loyalty and devotion, to her family, her patients, her fellow physicians, her students, her lab, is there on every page, and the depth of her integrity is tremendously inspiring. It's always a danger to call something inspiring, so let me add - the book is funny, witty and tremendously enjoyable to read, even though the ordeal of breast cancer was anything but enjoyable. I found the insights into the academic medical life and Dr. Gilsdorf's life as a pioneering woman physician particularly interesting, and watching such a fine and generous mind at work was one of the best things about reading the book. I couldn't put it book down. I read it most of the night, and took it in to work with me the next day, read it over lunch, finished it up the next evening - and then re-read favorite passages over and over again.

1 comments about The Man Behind the Mask: Journey of an Orthopaedic Surgeon.

1. What a pleasure to read Tom's book. Tom tells it like it is. The bad and the good of his profession as well about his interesting life as a Surgeon. Tom is a man a faith and this clearly comes across in his book,
   
   My step daughter who is in her third year of Med school called after reading the book to say that she enjoyed the book and that it had moved her to work toward being a surgeon.
   
   A must read for all Med students.
   
   Thanks , Tom. Your book is making a difference.

No comments about Kristi: So Thin Is the Veil.

5 comments about Shaman, M.D.: A Plastic Surgeon's Remarkable Journey into the World of Shapeshifting.

1. Dr. Bruce likes to refer to "scientific studies" to substantiate some of her claims without citing the source of these supposed studies. The most preposterous being the "study" about the "randomized" trial to test the effectiveness of long-distance prayer, presumably the Harris et al study done in 1999. These and other studies such as the Columbia Miracle study in which it was reported that women prayed for from thousands of miles away by strangers were more likely to become pregnant than those who weren't are studies that have turned out to be a fraud.
   Although the book is interesting when Bruce talks about her family and her reasons for studying shamanism, her details and descriptions of the visions are just too freaky.
   I also don't buy what she says about a person being able to genuinely change from without before changing from within. I think this claim is only used to justify her career.



2. This is my second copy. . . There's so much to grasp in this book that I need a second reference copy. . .. Just the notion that we have the ability to shapeshift our life from moment to moment and with an enormous heart. . . . what a great gift!!!



3. Dr. Bruce busts some myths that the right brain can't be in harmony with the left brain. A board-certified physician AND a shaman, Dr. Bruce is living proof that one can expand their view of transformation beyond what is "logically possible". Logic only takes one so far, the rest requires an ability to see other angles, and other ways of perceiving reality.



4. Shaman MD is a compelling story of a journey into one of the last refuges of human and planetary mystery. This is a journey not for the weak of heart. The risks can be life changing, or life threatening. Hiking along the high jungle deep into the Amazon forests of Ecuador with Jaguar, Anaconda, and hundreds of species of poisonous snake hidden from sight, is not always something many in our domesticated culture would care to risk. Or high in the Andes entering into poisonous fume producing caves seeking knowledge and power.
   
   Bruce's story unfolds as autobiography on the plains of Africa where she grew up in a family not afraid to march to its own beat by abandoning the comforts of western culture. With great courage, Bruce, tells her own story as a fifteen year old girl getting pregnant and choosing to keep her baby. The astonishing story unfolds in her return to America by entering college and then medical school followed by completing a surgical residency no other women had achieved to that point.
   
   The story eventually takes her into the world of indigenous healing and cross cultural norms on many different continents working with elders, shamans, sangomas, and sages. The story underscores the personal transformation she finds in these simple and honest communities still honoring our Earth Mother and those who remain conversant with her language.
   
   As someone who has walked this same path, I can only attest to its power to transform lives. The question, of course, can you let go of your cultural inhibitions, to enter into another way of knowing?
   
   This is a great book, by a modern visionary. My only regret is that Bruce has not written another book.



5. I bought Shaman, MD because I had seen Dr. Bruce for a consultation for a breast reduction, and I wanted to know more about that word, "Shaman" and how it related to the surgeon who was to perform my breast reduction. What a great read! I really loved the fact that I had found a surgeon who was open-minded and it was nice to see another side to "practicing medicine." I really recommend this book to anyone interested in learning what shapeshifting means and how it can help to improve your life. Dr. Bruce is not only a great surgeon, but a talented writer, as well. Her book has definitely peaked my interest to learn more about shapeshifting and Shaman techniques.

No comments about Nothing Short of a Miracle: One Woman's Journey Through Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Fibromyalgia Chiari Malformation.

5 comments about On Call in Hell: A Doctor's Iraq War Story.

1. For a book written by someone who is actually a decorated Marine, I was really surprised at the significant number of less-than-reverent remarks. This book therefore exceeded my expectations. Of course there's a lot of patriotic, heroic stuff in here. The inclusion of "the truth hurts" critical comments makes these heroic sections even more credible - he is clearly trying to "tell it like it is".



2. i am not done with this book yet, it is very informative and emotional, however not an easy read due to all the military slang and abbreviations....



3. The book contains interesting stories from Iraq battlefields, and it gave me good insight about the work of a military surgeon.
   
   However, the Iraq part is only about 40% of the book, and much of the book consists of personal memories from past life in the U.S., which, frankly, aren't exactly what you would expect from the book (given its title and short description).



4. This war time experience is over-laden with military explanations of Navy and Marine protocol. Although Dr Jadik aptly describes his feelings of inadequacy, at times, he is quite verbose in his descriptions of military scenes.
   I didn't really feel as though there was as much medic-patient relationships that I was expecting.
   For me, there was too much "military" and not enough inter-personal action.



5. This was a good read for a light military buff. It goes a little more in CDR Jadick's personal history before getting into the action portion of the story. CDR Jadick does seem a little on the egotistical side talking about all the changes that HE implemented. I am sure that CDR Jadick was a part of some changes that occured during the war, but I question if his view is biased about how much of an influence he had on those changes. If you are looking for a book that is deeply based in military action, then this is half the book for you. For someone who is generally interested in both the military and medical fields, this is a good read.

5 comments about Living Proof.

1. I read Professor Gearin-Tosh's book, Living Proof with mixed feelings. After plowing through page after page of language parsings and philosophical arguments, My thoughts about the homeopathic treatments he writes about are still mostly negative. His talent is with language and literature, and it shows.

   I simply can't rationalize that dietary supplements are cures! If that were the case, I reason, this terrible disease could readily be tamed. Unfortunately, in the real world, it is not; survival rates, no matter what courses are taken, are abysmal.

   Compelling arguments throughout the book have been made supporting his juice diets, vitamin-mineral supplements and coffee enemas. Towards the end of the book, Dr. Carmen Wheatley writes an electrifying and insightful essay entitled: "The Case of the .005% Survivor". It is an excellent investigation and case study of Multiple Myeloma. I still tend to look more favorably to conventional treatments with COMPETENT oncologists.




2. This is the book I have been waiting years for. Michael Gearin-Tosh describes a journey through the mazes of cancer therapies that is insighful, useful and a wonderful read. He calls the medical establishment to task and to their credit many of that community are paying attention.
   Mr. Gearin-Tosh is fair, evenhanded in his warnings and praises for both allopathic and alternative modalities- again useful to someone weighing the options. And finally in the description of his case the whys and wherefores of specific foods and vitamins are outlined.
   This is a great read that will save lives.



3. It was by coincidence I happened upon this wonderful book, if you believe in coincidences. The style and method of presentation of this dreadful subject of cancer was superb. To gain the perspective in writing of a person with documented access and audience to the most well respected oncology experts in the world was wonderful.

   I was diagnosed with the same disease as the author had and I had taken similar steps towards health. I experienced many of the same symptoms, many of the same dilibitating conversations on the rush to treatment put out by the traditional medical community. The author relied heavily on others to help him in his daily regime. In that he is fortunate. It was a stunning experience to me to find how many previous people in my life were suddenly unavailable. Suggestion: Do not ever be single and and diagnosed with cancer.

   I congratulate and salute M. Gearin-Tosh for publishing an easily read book on a difficult subject. The book draws the reader to the next chapter, and on and on. His list of references is great. Check with the public library for a copy of the book (where I found mine). This is not an average book by any stretch, I am buying a copy even after having read it.

   My large container of coffee is cooking on the stove Mr. Gearin-Tosh. Perhaps we can compare notes re oncology or better yet life in a few years over a cup of tea.




4. As someone who's had cancer, I found this book particularly wonderful for a variety of reasons. Not only do I admire Gearin-Tosh's independence and courage but I applaud the fact that he actually THINKS. And he sure can write too!

   For those of us who love language, Gearin-Tosh is a particular joy. How many cancer self-help books quote Chekhov and Shaw? And G-T also cites many cancer "memoirs" by folks who had conventional treatments (and died) like Liz Tilberis and John Diamond. The citations from these books are so very moving. (I was reminded of the late Gilda Radner's story many times, the suffering and the seemingly endless chemos she endured.)

   I also did what G-T did when I got my diagnosis--I reached out to everyone I knew who'd had cancer (and asked my friends to find me people to talk to) to find out how they dealt with it. I was particularly interested to know if they pursued any alternative therapies and to find out which ones. I now take many "anti-cancer" supplements and follow nutritional therapies that hopefully will discourage a recurrence of cancer. So far, so good. G-T says the cancer specialist Dr. Barlogie wanrs that the most important thing is not to have "a recurrence." Amen to that but I know many folks with cancer who've had chemo and radiation and experienced recurrences. If the medical profession had all the answers, there wouldn't be such a demand for books like this!! Not only does Gearin-Tosh think, write in an accessible format that's both charming and amusing, but he's a role model in courage.

   In the real world, many folks do both conventional protocols and alternative protocols for a variety of conditions including cancer. Often they don't tell their doctors because the doctors are hostile, indifferent or just plain ignorant. G-T's portraits of medical people are marvelous. In a few words, he sketches an entire person. I think this book would be very helpful for doctors too. A little humility is in order. I agree with Gearin-Tosh that medical exceptions should be studied, not dismissed as mere anomalies.

   People get entrenched in positions. G-T never said he'd "never" go the chemo route. but he did say it was a last resort. He also says he'd be thrilled if the medical community came up with a real "cure." But given the death rates and horrific side effects of conventional therapies at the time he embarked on his journey, the choice was his to make.

   The dirty secret of the medical profession is that cancer patients are guinea pigs for the most horrible therapies. And if we die from them, so what? We were going to do die anyway.

   A cancer diagnosis is indeed terrifying; but there's a lot to be said for empowering yourself. Hurrah for Michael Gearin-Tosh.




5. This is an entertaining book on a completely depressing subject. Hopefully Mr. Gearin-Tosh's tale will inspire others to do research and discover that chemotherapy does lack scientific proof of effectiveness and that scientific research has been done on the value of nutrition and other concepts.
   
   If you find yourself or a loved one has been diagnosed with any form of cancer, and if you are scientifically inclined, you might want to read "Complementary Oncology" written by some of the world's leading cancer researchers. Chemotherapy and radiation are *not* the only choices for treatment.