Customer Reviews

The Best Year of My Life, Book 1: Getting Diabetes.

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When I learned that my beloved, charming, good hearted granddaughter had Type 1 diabetes, age 8, I was devastated, not only for her but for my daughter who now had two children (the other is a 4 year old boy) with this condition. I live a few hours away, so I can't be hands-on help, but I do try to find a way to make it better. When I took this book to my granddaughter, she IMMEDIATELY took the book and disappeared for the whole first hour of my visit. Normally she would be practically sitting on my lap, hanging around my neck, chattering away! After she read it, we discussed the fact that this young writer, the same age as my granddaughter, had a positive attitude and was willing to share her story. My granddaughter said she was afraid that some kids at school would make fun of her, so we talked about that, and she decided she had to write her own story to share with her classmates. We made an outline of some of the feelings and experiences she could share. This book helped my granddaughter to know she wasn't alone, diabetes wasn't her fault, and that she could thrive in spite of diabetes, and also opened a real connection between us. My daughter has four children under the age of 8 and although certainly supportive of them, doesn't always have the time to discover and discuss all the emotional issues kids with diabetes might have. From the get-go, I feel this book is a must for these children as it presents a realistic and upbeat example of a child living with Type 1.