Coping with / advice about illness and specific health conditions Books

Book SynopsisIn 2014, Toby Olson's wife Miriam died at the age 80, and after nearly 50 years of marriage. She had suffered from Alzheimer's for some years before her death and Toby became her principal carer. This is a memoir of that period, a story of love and frustration, remembering and forgetting. Miriam is The Other Woman of the title - a woman other than the one she once was. "With each seemingly tiny insignificant detail (his wife's chant "little little little little little little") Olson lets us in to the unfathomable reverberations of his feeling, and I will not soon forget the constellations he has unfolded." - Meredith Quartermain

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Depression can be an incredibly debilitating and isolating condition, with episodes recurring throughout a person's life. However, the good news is that with the right guidance it is possible to make a complete recovery. Drawing on a wealth of clinical expertise, the authors have created an easy-to-use manual that explains everything you need to know about the condition, from how to recognise the symptoms to the range of treatments currently available, including behavioural therapies, professional support, and medication. Individuals suffering from depression, as well as those around them, are encouraged to take an active role in getting better and are provided with the vital tools for staying well.

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Book SynopsisElizabeth Madeline Martin spends her days in a retirement home in Cape Town, watching the pigeons and squirrels on the branch of a tree outside her window. Bedridden, her memory fading, she can recall her early childhood spent in a small wood-and-iron house in Blackridge on the outskirts of Pietermaritzburg. Though she remembers the place in detail – dogs, a mango tree, a stream – she has no idea of where exactly it is. ‘My memory is full of blotches,’ she tells her daughter Julia, ‘like ink left about and knocked over.’ Julia resolves to find the Blackridge house: with her mother lonely and confused, would this, perhaps, bring some measure of closure? A journey begins that traverses family history, forgotten documents, old photographs, and the maps that stake out a country’s troubled past – maps whose boundaries nature remains determined to resist. Kind strangers, willing to assist in the search, lead to unexpected discoveries of ancestors and wars and lullabies. Folded into this quest are the tender conversations between a daughter and a mother who does not have long to live. Taken as one, The Blackridge House is a meditation on belonging, of the stories we tell of home and family, of the precarious footprint of life.Trade Review‘The Blackridge House is a quiet masterpiece - a page-turning story told with deep empathy and insight, in limpid prose.’ – Mark Gevisser. ‘What a finely crafted text! The narrative keeps sharpening its lenses until one experiences what is hardest to grasp: everything is irrevocably interwoven – but miraculously so.’ – Antjie Krog

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Book SynopsisUsing poetry and prose, this book aims at describing Huntington's disease through the eyes of a carer based on her own experiences, and those of many hundreds of carers and sufferers. With over seventy poems, and their supplementary stories grouped within eight themes from science, to society, it touches on the practical sides of caring and darker side of human nature. Being the complex beast that it is, the book not only covers an insight into Huntington's but into the plight of people suffering from all kinds of mental and physical disability, and of those caring for them.

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Book SynopsisMusic is important to us as a species, and it can be particularly important to people with dementia. Singing in a group can improve a person's mood, recall, self-esteem and overall quality of life. Whether you're a trained musician or someone who has no training but can hold a tune (and that is almost everyone), this book will give you guidance on every stage of setting up a singing group for people with dementia: choosing songs, structuring sessions, choosing and setting up a venue, training volunteers, finding funding, keeping participants safe and ensuring that everyone has a good time.

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Book SynopsisA moving, often very funny graphic memoir about what it is like to grow up with an illness that no one can diagnose. When the headaches started, Sarah Lippett would stand alone on a different side of the playground from the other children. When she started to drag one of her legs, her parents took her to hospital, and so began the visits to many different doctors, each one more bewildered by her illness than the last. Initially schooled at home, when Sarah went back to school she was placed with the struggling kids, and still so often ill, she felt even more alone. But although Sarah's parents often despaired of the stream of appointments and no cure, they never showed it and she grew up in the midst of a boisterous, loving family and found good friends at last, as well as venturing into bands, art, boys, books and records. Finally, when Sarah turned sixteen, she was admitted to Great Ormond Street Hospital where the doctors diagnosed her with the rare disease, Moyamoya. The book ends with Sarah waking up after brain surgery.Trade ReviewIf this doesn’t make you cry, you may be a robot rather than a human being… But there is joy here, too, and not only in [Lippett’s] wonderful illustrations. As those who loved her first book, Stan and Nan, will know, she is so deft when it comes to the details of time, place and family life… She can also be very droll… [A Puff of Smoke] is deeply affecting – and not a little chastening, too. -- Rachel Cooke * Observer, *Graphic Novel of the Month* *The panels grab you in an emotional, immediate way. There’s no polish, just pure feeling… it is a credit to Lippett’s creation that you want more of it. Intimate and deeply personal, with a healthy dose of humour thrown in, A Puff Of Smoke is a moving account of a childhood marked by love, pain and confusion. Vital reading for anyone who’s had their own tumultuous path towards getting an all-important diagnosis. -- Chloe Walker * CULTUREFLY *A Puff Of Smoke – all scratchy lines and splashy colour – is a journey from innocence to experience, and from hospital ward to hospital ward... One more thing. It's very funny. -- Teddy Jamieson * Herald Scotland *A heartbreaking journey. * It's Nice That *[A] movingly recounted saga * Strong Words *

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Book Synopsis`It's All in My Head!' is Mick's story. Mick is a normal Dutch guy who hears voices inside his head other people can't hear. Is he crazy, psychotic, or a schizophrenic? Mick's answer to all of these questions is a resounding `NO!' Mick is just a very creative human being! Mick sat down one day and started to illustrate his voices. Taking these illustrations as a starting point, he introduces you to his voices and guides you through the journey he made with these voices. This is a unique and creative story. It is a book of hope for voice hearers, family members, and anyone who is interested in the phenomenon of hearing voices.

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Book SynopsisWhen her own mother died, Margaret Rice realised how completely unprepared she and her family had been for the experience of companioning a loved one who is dying. So she decided to go in search of the information she couldn't find when she most needed it and write the book herself - a novice's guide to death. We live in a period of intense death denial. But what if we were to smash that taboo and ask questions we want answered, like how do we know when someone is close to dying, and how do we best care for them? What actually happens to our body when we die? How do we work with medical experts? How do we deal with the non-medical issues that will come up, such as wills, finances and even social media passwords? Is morphine used to nudge death along or is this just a myth? Where do questions about euthanasia fit in with personal, lived experience? Margaret Rice lifts the lid on the taboos that surround death, sharing practical information and compassionate advice from multiple sources to break down boundaries and offer better choices of care to suit individual needs. This is a book to help the dying and their carers feel less isolated, and help us all face death better.

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Book SynopsisAre you fed up with products that don't work? Are you ready to take control of your acne, once and for all? Are you willing to do whatever it takes to regain your confidence and self-esteem? If you've tried everything to overcome your acne and nothing has worked, it's most likely because you haven't addressed the underlying causes. Many people waste a lot of time and money visiting professionals who only suggest products and pharmaceuticals that treat the symptoms rather than address the underlying causes. This leaves many in despair, not knowing where to turn. In 'Eliminating Adult Acne for Good', Leigh Brandon explains why the medical establishment might not want you to cure your acne, why traditional treatments rarely work, and the danger of the associated side-effects. With a mountain of scientific evidence and clinical experience supporting his methods, Leigh Brandon explains the cause of acne in a simple, step-by-step, natural approach to finding and overcoming it, enabling you to achieve and maintain clear skin for the rest of your life. Acne can destroy your confidence and self-esteem, affecting many aspects of your life, such as your career, relationships, and social life, but it doesn't have to be that way. 'Eliminating Adult Acne for Good' will provide you with the education, tools and strategies you need to help take back control of your life and eliminate acne for good.

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Book SynopsisSex. Slang. Slumber parties. The preoccupations of adolescents with Asperger Syndrome are no different than those of other teens, but they can be much more confusing. The lack of social skills and ability to grasp conversational nuances that characterize AS make adolescence the most difficult life stage.Why can I swear in front of my friends, but not in front of the teacher? Why do I have to pay attention when I m not interested in what my friend is saying? What does it mean to go out with somebody? Asperger Syndrome is characterized by a reliance on clear guidelines, and in adolescence the social guidelines become murky and confusing. In Asperger Syndrome and Adolescence, child psychologist Teresa Bolick presents strategies for helping the ten to eighteen-year-old achieve happiness and success by maximizing the benefits of AS and minimizing the drawbacks.You ll Learn: -How to work with the school to help the AS child learn and succeed. -Strategies for turning common AS traits like preoccupations and routines into positive strengths. -How to help the AS teen learn to manage unforeseen glitches with grace. -The best ways to talk to your teen about friendship, love, romance, and sex.Along the way, you ll be inspired by success stories of dozens of AS teens. With the help of this book, you ll learn that it is possible for an adolescent with Asperger Syndrome to achieve unimaginable success.

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Book SynopsisIn 1958, based on thirty years of clinical experimentation, Dr. Max Gerson published this medical monograph. This is the most complete book on the Gerson Therapy. Dr. Gerson, who developed the Gerson Therapy, explains how the treatment reactivates the body's healing mechanisms in chronic degenerative diseases. The book incorporates extensive explanation of the theory with scientific research and the exact practice of the therapy, as well as a presentation of fifty documented case histories. Also included is a modified version of the Gerson Therapy for use with nonmalignant diseases or preventative purposes.

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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