Personal book reviews
If you have been diagnosed with MS, doctors and neurologists can provide essential medical advice, and friends and family provide valuable support, but for many people, reading about someone else’s experience with MS and how they managed to deal with it provides is what is most useful.
Here you will find a great selection of books written by people who have experience of MS first-hand. Parents, partners and carers alike will also find something here that speaks personally to them.
If you are looking for books that deal with the medical aspect of MS, such as how to manage side effects or advice on diet, visit the suggested reading section.
Coping When a Parent has Multiple Sclerosis, Cristall, Barbara, New York: Rosen Publishing Company, 1992. 145 p.
This book is designed for teenagers and includes first-hand accounts of how a parent's MS has changed their lives.
Dirty Details: The Days and Nights of a Well Spouse, Cohen, Marion Deutsche, Philadelphia: Temple University Press (Oxford Street, 19122), 1996. 165 p. ISBN 1-56639-426-0
For both spouses and health care professionals, this book describes how a caregiver's cry for help may go unnoticed, not only by family members but also by physicians and health care professionals. This is a very frank discussion of those aspects of family care-giving that are frequently swept under the table, even in caregiver support groups.
For the Well Spouse of the Chronically Ill, Strong, Maggie, Mainstay, 3rd rev., Northampton, MA: Bradford Books (160 Main Street, Room 9F, 01060), 1997. ISBN 0-965179-0-9
This is an honest discussion of what it is like to be the spouse and principal caregiver of someone who is chronically ill, a book for the caregiver, not the patient. It deals openly with the anger, frustration and sense of loss-of-self felt by the spouse, difficulties in child raising and the financial problems that arise when the chronically ill person is also the family breadwinner. The book serves as a useful reminder that chronic illness does not confer sainthood on either the patient or the caregiver. The final chapters discuss long-range financial planning, nursing homes and final arrangements, matters which many people prefer to ignore until reality overtakes them.
Women Living with Multiple Sclerosis: Walking May Be Difficult, but Together We Fly by Judith Lynn Nichols. Publisher: Hunter House, Incorporated (January 1999) 271p. ISBN: 0897932188
For the 400,000 North Americans with MS, Nicols offers wisdom - and humour - about everything this disorder affects, including diagnosis, family reactions, sexuality, pain control, and depression.
Climbing Higher by Montel Williams, Lawrence Grobel. Publisher: NAL Trade (January 2005) 240p. ISBN: 045121398X
Talk show host Williams was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 1999, but this decorated former naval intelligence officer is still going strong. Here he displays his resolve not to be beaten down but to lead a vital and productive life. Copyright 2003. Reed Business Information.
Blindsided: Lifting a Life Above Illness - A Reluctant Memoir by Richard M. Cohen, Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers (January 2004) 236p. ISBN: 0060014091
Autobiographical at its roots, reportorial, and expansive, Blindsided explores the effects of illness on raising three children and on his relationship with his wife, Meredith Vieira (host of ABC's The View and the syndicated Who Wants To Be A Millionaire). Cohen tackles the nature of denial and resilience, the ins and outs of the struggle for emotional health, and the redemptive effects of a loving family. And while he may not have chosen to live with illness, illness did choose him. Written with grace, humour, and lyrical prose, Blindsided presents a life brimming over with accomplishment and joy in adversity.
Life Lessons and Reflections by Montel Williams. Publisher: Hay House, Inc. (September 2000). 73p. ISBN: 1588250016
Talk-show host, lecturer, and author Montel Williams has spent many years speaking with people in virtually all walks of life on a diverse array of topics that reflect the human condition.
Here, Williams offers life lessons and reflections based on his own experiences, as well as those of prominent individuals from the past and present. The text is enhanced with beautifully realised photographs that bring to light the insights, sentiments, and depth of emotion that these words evoke.
Life Lessons and Reflectionswill appeal to both your visual and intuitive senses, and is a work that you will want to refer to again and again.
When the Road Turns: Inspirational Stories About People with MS by Margot Russell. Publisher: Health Communications, Incorporated. (July 2001). 300p. ISBN: 1558749071
Each week in the United States 200 people are diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, adding exponentially to the 350,000 people nationwide and the 2.5 million people worldwide with MS. This book is the first of its kind to share the real-life struggles and triumphs of those facing MS in one inspiring collection.
In their own compelling words, seventeen people with MS take readers on a journey sharing their dreams, their emotional and physical battles, their struggle to accept the illness and their courage to create new lives. People like Israeli artist Inbal Tsur, who discovers a new way to paint after losing the use of her arms; renowned oceanographer Richard Radtke, who becomes the first disabled man to reach the South Pole; a pilot who battles the FAA to keep her pilot's license; and a woman who is now enjoying life as a mother to a new baby despite doctors' advice not to further risk her health by becoming pregnant.
When the Road Turnswill be an encouragement for anyone with MS or other chronic illness, as well as those who want to better understand the disease, which may be affecting someone they love.
Coffee in the Cereal: The First Year with Multiple Sclerosis by Lorna J. Moorhead. Publisher: Pathfinder Publishing of California (November 2002) 100p. ISBN: 0934793077
In the quirky, sassy voice that has made her popular on health web sites and with the women of MS MOMS, Lorna Moorhead recounts the experience of her first year with Multiple Sclerosis with a vitality unique in the often gloomy world of personal medical histories. Rather than focusing on the sadness and difficulties that followed her diagnosis, Moorhead deals with the practical problems faced by many MS patients: how to parent effectively, stand up to doctors who think she looks "fine," and what to do with the mixed bag of cognitive difficulties. Moorhead is a real-life person with real-life reactions to MS - she fights back when people attack her for parking in the handicapped spot even though she looks normal and she faces life with a spunky humour that will lift the spirits and encourage others fighting the disease. Hilarious, yet telling chapter headings such as "Not Tonight Dear, I Have MS" give readers a quick insight into the mind of this vibrant, intelligent woman.
Author Biography: Lorna J. Moorhead is the founder and president of MS MOMS, a California non-profit organisation designed to support women and mothers with Multiple Sclerosis. She has been published by HealingWell.com, Themestream, and MS and Life. She lives in Orangevale, California.
Living beyond Multiple Sclerosis: A Woman's Guide by Judith Lynn Lynn Nichols, Lily Jung. Publisher: Hunter House, Incorporated (October 2000) 288p. ISBN: 0897932935
This second instalment from the online group dedicated to supporting each other in the fight against "the MonSter" includes first-hand insights.
Me and My Shadow: Living with Multiple Sclerosis by
Ronnie Wood (Foreword), Carole Mackie, Sue Brattle. Publisher: Aurum Press. (April 1999) 224p. ISBN: 1854106279
This book recounts the story of Carole Mackie. Diagnosed as having Multiple Sclerosis at the age of 23, Carole has since gone on to become a leading figure in the fight against MS.'
Multiple Sclerosis by Louis Rosner Publisher: Fireside; Rep edition (August 1, 1992) 256 pages ISBN: 0671778099
Too often, Multiple Sclerosis is thought of only as "the crippler of young adults." But in fact, 75 percent of all people with MS will never need a wheelchair. In Multiple Sclerosis, Dr. Louis J. Rosner and Shelley Ross explain that there genuinely is new hope, both for controlling the disease today and for curing it in the future.
300 Tips for Making Life with Multiple Sclerosis Easier by Shelley Peterman, Peterman, Schwarz. Publisher: Demos Medical Publishing, LLC (February 1999) 109p. ISBN: 1888799234
300 Tips for Making Life with MS Easieris filled with tips, techniques, and shortcuts that everyone with a chronic medical condition like MS should know. It offers inexpensive, effective ways to streamline your daily life. This book will show you some basic lessons for conserving time and energy so you will be able to work and live smarter and more independently.
