| View Larger Image | Life Disrupted: Getting Real About Chronic Illness in Your Twenties and Thirties | Paperbackby Laurie Edwards (Author)
| List Price: | $14.99 | | Price: | $10.19 | | You Save: | $4.80 (32%) | | | Available: | Usually ships in 24 hours |
| | Binding: | Paperback | | Publisher: | Walker & Company | | Edition: | 1st Edition | | Page Count: | 288 Pages | | Publication Date: | June 24, 2008 | | Sales Rank: | 103,666rd |
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FEATURES | - ISBN13: 9780802716491
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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EDITORIAL REVIEWS |
Product Description
An inspiring guide to staying in control of your health care, your life, and your dreams despite having chronic illness, by a popular journalist and award-winning blogger.Twenty-seven-year-old Laurie Edwards is one of 125 million Americans who have a chronic illness, in her case a rare genetic respiratory disease. Because of medical advances in the treatment of serious childhood diseases, 600,000 chronically ill teens enter adulthood every year who decades ago would not have survived—they and people diagnosed in adulthood face the same challenges of college, career, and starting a family as others in their twenties and thirties, but with the added circumstance of having chronic illness.Life Disrupted is a personal and unflinching guide to living well with a chronic illness: managing your own health care without letting it take over your life, dealing with difficult doctors and frequent hospitalizations, having a productive and satisfying career that accommodates your health needs, and nurturing friendships and a loving, committed relationship regardless of recurring health problems. Laurie Edwards also addresses the particular needs of people who have more than one chronic illness or who are among the twenty-five million Americans with a rare disorder. She shares her own story and the experiences of others with chronic illness, as well as advice from life coaches, employment specialists, and health professionals.Reading Life Disrupted is like having a best friend and mentor who truly does know what you’re going through. |
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 5.0 based on 18 reviews)
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The smarter, more experienced, big sister any chronic illness sufferer would love to have by J. Fulda  5 Stars
October 24, 2009
Laurie Edwards is like the smarter, more experienced, big sister any chronic illness sufferer would love to have. She dispenses advice in bite-sized chapters on 44 topics divided into three sections: medical life, public life, and personal life. Much of the advice is drawn from stories from her own life and from other patients whom she interviewed, giving the book a personal, human touch. If you are chronically ill, or love someone who is, this is a gem of a book that you should pick up.
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Insightful, level headed, intelligent by B. McGraw (Boston) 5 Stars
October 08, 2009
So many of the books that I have read about living with a chronic illness (I have systemic mastocytosis) have this "rah rah" cheerleader pseudo spirituality about them that I have always found disconcerting. While I strongly believe that finding peace with oneself is important, especially in a time of crisis, I find I tend to want more in the ways of stories, research, and fact.
This book does a great job of delivering on all fronts and totally lacking in the saccharine "we're special" approach that so many other books have. It is frank, sobering, and comforting. It discusses chronic illness from the point of view of multiple young adults and discusses the ways in which their lives are respectively impacted.
It is an enjoyable read, which is saying a lot when you are reading a book about chronic illness targeted at people suffering a chronic illness.
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This is a great book! by C. Cheatham (GA, USA) 5 Stars
August 13, 2009
I thoroughly enjoyed the book! It is a great resource and very encouraging. Whether you live with chronic illness or you know someone who does, you will learn something from this book!
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One of the Must-Read Books if You Are Ill, Regardless of Age by Lisa Copen (San Diego, CA, USA) 5 Stars
June 05, 2009
I have read many books on how to cope or live successfully with a chronic illness, and as the founder of National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week, I am eager to read the ones that specifically address the emotions behind an illness, not just the illness facts. Even some of the best books, however, don't resonate with me in a personal way. And then I read Laurie Edwards "Life Disrupted: Getting Real about Chronic Illness in Your Twenties and Thirties."
Not only did I discover a gifted writer who discussed everything from humanizing hospitals to difficult diagnoses, but also one understood the emotional roller coaster that I've personally been on since being diagnosed with an invisible illness.
I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at the age of twenty-four, and ironically, I Laurie's book was published the year that I turned forty. I wish I'd had this book years ago, but the impact the content had on me was not diminished in any way because of my age. I believe I related to the book even more, since I have already experienced so much of what Edwards writes about.
I've had an illness through college, dating, marriage and parenting. Through the past sixteen years I've trudged my way through all of these without a manual. Although I wouldn't call Edward's book a "how to" book, the validation that it provides through her own illness experiences, as well as her professional journalistic look at the sociology behind illness is exceptional.
It provides helpful professional information, with the hint of her diary between the lines. And I found a friend in one who copes with her illness best by burying herself in work. She writes, "As a college student I studied for finals and wrote newspaper articles from the ICU. In graduate school, I taught writing classes so fresh from being discharged that I still had a hospital bracelet on my arm. And all of this seemed perfectly reasonable to me. Why shouldn't it?" (p. 142).
Edwards, a journalist by trade, is not afraid to put aside her professionalism and "get real" by talking about things that gals with illness can be concerned about, such as not being able to wear "cute shoes" or trying to find the energy to have a conversation with college friends. She even discusses gazing out a hospital window longingly looking at her dorm rooms. These things are a big deal when you are young. Emotionally we learn to live with illness. . . but it's just so daily!
Edwards reminds us that those daily events of living with illness that can seem so significant are significant and not minor decisions. How do we explain our illness when we are dating? When do we reveal it? How do we survive the embarrassment of healthcare situations that are a little more intimate than we would like? For example, when the home healthcare professional shows up is a bit too good-looking and close to our age? How do we become independent adults who care for our illness when our parents still want to be consulted? Is accepting our limitations giving in to our illness? How much of a caregiver should we allow our spouse to be? Should we have a baby?
Edwards has put together a wonderful book that will not only encourage and validate your emotions, but also inspire you to make positive changes in your own life. Her stories are never depressing (not an easy task for the best of writers) and self-pity is not in her vocabulary. Instead, her ability to laugh at her own circumstances, and share what she has learned on this journey so far, will encourage you, as her enthusiasm and joy for life rings through on ever page.
This is a book I will heartily recommend for years to come to people of all ages.
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A beautifully written book by N. Langan (New England) 5 Stars
January 10, 2009
As a pediatric healthcare provider, I've been waiting for a book like Life Disrupted to come around. Beautifully written, it's part-memoir, part-life guide, and is an excellent read for anyone who lives with--or cares for people with-- chronic illness. It's both poignant and practical. I've given out copies to many of my patients since the day a college student I care for leafed through it in my office and said "Somebody finally gets it--it's like she's living my life." Life Disrupted is honest, moving (and funny!) and something I recommend for teens, thirtysomethings, parents, practitioners--anyone affected by chronic illness.
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