All of a Piece: A Life with Multiple Sclerosis [Paperback]

Barbara D. Webster (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1998

A ''thought-provoking and probing (book) which forces the reader to consider critically the lot of a large segment of our population today" (Stephen C. Reingold).

Editorial Reviews

Review

This incredibly personal book deals with the attempts of a young multiple sclerosis (MS) patient to come to terms with her disease.. If you or someone you know has a chronic disease, wants to know more about the American culture of illness, or is an observer of the American scene, this is a must read book.

(American Anthropologist )

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 152 pages
• Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press (December 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0801861624
• ISBN-13: 978-0801861628
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,534,022 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book!, December 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: All of a Piece: A Life with Multiple Sclerosis (Paperback)

This is a de rigeur read for those facing up to a diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Ms. Webster tackles the problems of having MS with a searing intelligence and in depth analysis based on her own personal experiences. Her thoughts struck a chord with my own experiences and gave me a lot of help in coming to terms with my own diagnosis. She addresses not only the personal experience of having MS but also widens the scope to include its effects of the people around the MS diagnosee and how society in general view people with the disease. She doesn't dodge any of the difficult issues and writes in a clear and easy to read manner. I cannot applaud her efforts highly enough.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Enlightening and thought provoking, July 14, 2002

By 

Kurt A. Johnson (North-Central Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: All of a Piece: A Life with Multiple Sclerosis (Paperback)

In the late 1960s, twenty-three year old Barbara Webster began to experience problems with walking, with speech, with fatigue, and a host of other problems. When examining doctors and neurologists could find no explanation for her problem, Ms. Webster began experiencing hostility from people who believed that her problems were psychosomatic problems brought on by stress and poor choices, if not mere malingering.

Then, some fifteen years later, she found a new doctor who correctly diagnosed her problem, Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Now that she had a diagnosis, she still had a problem. Working through her disease, she found that the people around her complicated her journey. This book is a narrative of her journey, and it was a rocky road indeed. She experienced hostility, indifference, disapproval, pity and many other emotions, and all of these from strangers, friends, family and even lovers.

I must admit to feeling inadequate to write this review. Ms. Webster did not intend this book to be a "how to" for others, but merely the story of her experiences. For her, anything that got in the way of the acceptance of her disease, with all its changes to her self-image, was an obstacle in her path. Certainly religion was no help. ("For me, religion is a means to avoid seeing clearly and to shelter oneself from reality. It seems to me that religion is often used as a cover for, even a promotion of, hypocritical and dishonest behavior.")

This is the story of one woman's confrontation and acceptance of a reality that includes having a chronic disease and being disabled in the United States. My wife, with her recent diagnosis of MS, did not find much in common with Ms. Webster's views, but then again MS is a highly individual disease, striking no two people in the same way. For myself, I found this book enlightening and thought provoking.