Finding Strength in Weakness [Paperback]

Lynn Vanderzalm (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 20, 1995

Chronic Fatigue Immune Deficiency Syndrome (CFIDS) is not the 'Yuppie flu.' It is a debilitating, incurable illness that hijacks the body's immune system and drains the life out of its victims, often leaving them incapacitated for years. While researchers around the globe explore the causes of treatments for CFIDS, the men, women and children who suffer with the illness grapple with questions like: -Will I ever be normal again? -Of what value am I now that I can't work or go to school anymore? -How will CFIDS affect my marriage and my family? How will CFIDS affect my ability even to consider marriage or having children? -How do I glorify God in the midst of a debilitating illness and pain? Lynn Vanderzalm and her teenage daughter, Alisa, have battled CFIDS for over seven years. In Finding Strength in Weakness, Vanderzalm shares her family's struggles and questions-along with those of 70 other men, women, and children-while offering direction, encouragement, and hope to the countless families who battle with the 'mystery illness of the nineties.'

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Chronic Fatigue Immune Deficiency Syndrome (CFIDS) is not the "Yuppie flu." It is a debilitating, incurable illness that hijacks the body's immune system and drains the life out of its victims, often leaving them incapacitated for years. While researchers around the globe explore the causes of treatments for CFIDS, the men, women and children who suffer with the illness grapple with questions like: -Will I ever be normal again? -Of what value am I now that I can't work or go to school anymore? -How will CFIDS affect my marriage and my family? How will CFIDS affect my ability even to consider marriage or having children? -How do I glorify God in the midst of a debilitating illness and pain? Lynn Vanderzalm and her teenage daughter, Alisa, have battled CFIDS for over seven years. In Finding Strength in Weakness, Vanderzalm shares her family's struggles and questions-along with those of 70 other men, women, and children-while offering direction, encouragement, and hope to the countless families who battle with the "mystery illness of the nineties."

About the Author

Lynn Vanderzalm, who along with her daughter has struggled with CFIDS for seventeen years, is the author of two books: Finding Strength in Weakness: Help and Hope for Families Battling Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (Zondervan) and Spiritual Sunlight: Meditations for the Chronically Fatigued (Shaw). Vanderzalm, an editor with Tyndale House Publishers, lives with her husband, Bas, in Portland, Oregon, where they attend a Presbyterian church. The Vanderzalms, who have been active for more than two decades in Christian relief and development work among the poor, have two grown children.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan (November 20, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310200040
• ISBN-13: 978-0310200048
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #826,892 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lynn Vanderzalm travels CFIDS journey with dignity & faith, November 11, 1997

By 

Paula P. Iaconis (Medina, OH USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Finding Strength in Weakness (Paperback)

As a pwc(person with CFIDS)I found this book to be the best yet that I have read on the everyday challenges of living with this painfully crippling disability, and how important faith in God is to help deal with the suffering. The author takes us through her experiences with CFIDS and shares her journey, and that of her also-diagnosed teen daughter. She also has included sharings from many others affected with this illness that she has interviewed. I found the chapters on how this illness affects loved ones of the afflicted, and how others, expecially the Christian community, can help in practical ways, to be the most basic and helpful information that I have read. This is not a technical manual on CFIDS, but rather a chronical on how to cope, for both the pwc and the loved ones and community around them. The faith of the author, and of those brave souls willing to share their stories, has given me much hope in my daily living with CFIDS.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I learned to accept my condition with peace of mind., November 1, 1999

By 

G. Jayne "christianinvestcom" (California USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Finding Strength in Weakness (Paperback)

I learned to accept my condition with peace of mind. I had gone into a bed-ridden condition for over 14 months. During this time despair tried to raise it's ugly head. This book helped me to find joy and peace through acceptance and understanding.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book, May 18, 2008

By 

TRN (IL, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Finding Strength in Weakness (Paperback)

This book was encouraging - good to know you're not alone in the fight against CFS. I wish it was more advice and less stories about all these other people, but it was relatively helpful. Good chapter for spouses.