"Long Time, No See" is certainly an inspiring story, but Beth Finke does not aim to inspire. Eschewing reassuring platitudes and sensational pleas for sympathy, she charts her struggles with juvenile diabetes, blindness, and a host of other hardships, sharing her feelings of despair and frustration as well as her hard-won triumphs. Rejecting the label "courageous," she prefers to describe herself using the phrase her mother invoked in times of difficulty, "She did what she had to do". With unflinching candor and acerbic wit, Finke chronicles the progress of the juvenile diabetes that left her blind at the age of twenty-six as well as the seemingly endless spiral of adversity that followed. First she was forced out of her professional job. Then she bore a multiply handicapped son. But she kept moving forward, confronting marital and financial problems and persevering through a rocky training period with a seeing-eye dog. Finke's life story and her commanding knowledge of her situation give readers a clear understanding of diabetes, blindness, and the issues faced by parents of children with significant disabilities. Because she has taken care to include accurate medical information as well as personal memoir, "Long Time, No See" serves as an excellent resource for others in similar situations and for professionals who deal with disabled adults or children.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
"Finke's frank accounting from a blind perspective gives a much-needed modern view of the visually impaired in our culture." -- Marcus Roberts, jazz pianist and composer
"If you have ever been challenged with a disability, or want greater insight into the human spirit, read this book." -- Andie Dominick, author of Needles: A Memoir of Growing Up with Diabetes
"It's a story that reads like the Book of Job. . . . [But]'Long Time, No See' offers an insider's report on adaptation." -- Chicago Tribune Books, March 30, 2003
"This beautifully written memoir is exciting, moving, sometimes funny, sometimes sad, full of love and disappointment, charismatic and riveting." -- Mary McHugh, author of Special Siblings: Growing Up with Someone with a Disability
"To write about extraordinary challenges as eloquently as Beth Finke does is a gift." -- Jean Thompson, author of Who Do You Love and Wide Blue Yonder
"If you have ever been challenged with a disability, or want greater insight into the human spirit, read this book." -- Andie Dominick, author of Needles: A Memoir of Growing Up with Diabetes
"It's a story that reads like the Book of Job. . . . [But]'Long Time, No See' offers an insider's report on adaptation." -- Chicago Tribune Books, March 30, 2003
"This beautifully written memoir is exciting, moving, sometimes funny, sometimes sad, full of love and disappointment, charismatic and riveting." -- Mary McHugh, author of Special Siblings: Growing Up with Someone with a Disability
"To write about extraordinary challenges as eloquently as Beth Finke does is a gift." -- Jean Thompson, author of Who Do You Love and Wide Blue Yonder
About the Author
Beth Finke lives in Urbana, Illinois. Her articles have been published in Writer Magazine, the Anchorage Press, Berkeley Bark, and Dog Fancy. She is a part-time nude model for university art classes, and she appears as a commentator on National Public Radio's "Morning Edition."
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Story of Beth Finke , A Person You Would Love To Know,
By S. Nelson (Stowe, Vermont United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Long Time, No See (Hardcover)
I loved this book , not because it is inspiring , which it is , but because it is the story of a fascinating , interesting , fun loving , intellegent , warm , beautiful , real woman ... there is nothing she can't accomplish ! This book reads so easily and with so much anticipation, I put everything aside until I finished it , and when I came to the end I could have started all over again ...... Thank you Beth Finke
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Long Time, No See by Beth Finke,
By
This review is from: Long Time, No See (Hardcover)
I read this book on an airplane flight and didn't even think about how my knees were jammed into the seat in front of me. Some of my fellow passengers were probably curious if they noticed that I laughed out loud (the pinto beans..) and cried at different points. Simply an amazing, funny and inspiring autobiography.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Inspiring,
By "caren_hoover" (Lombard, IL USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Long Time, No See (Hardcover)
As I read "Long Time, No See" I felt as if the author, Beth Finke, was sitting right next to me telling me her story. She tells it as it is. The book tells of Beth's struggles with blindness, a son born with multiple disabilities, job discrimination, marriage difficulities,while all the time keeping her diabetes in check. Beth writes honestly and with a touch of humor that I'm sure helped her through her many struggles along with her mother's philosphy of "just doing what you have to do." Enjoy the book and be inspired.
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First Sentence:
I was seven years old in 1966, when I was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
transport chair, sighted guide, talking computer, white cane Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Miss Early, Braille Jail, The Seeing Eye, University of Illinois, Aunt Beth, Department of Rehabilitation Services, Library of Congress, New Jersey, United States, Disabilities Act, Marshall Field, Nags Head, Nobel Prize, North Carolina, Rehab Center New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
I was seven years old in 1966, when I was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
transport chair, sighted guide, talking computer, white cane Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Miss Early, Braille Jail, The Seeing Eye, University of Illinois, Aunt Beth, Department of Rehabilitation Services, Library of Congress, New Jersey, United States, Disabilities Act, Marshall Field, Nags Head, Nobel Prize, North Carolina, Rehab Center New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 2
books:
- Strong Women Stay Young (Revised Edition) by Miriam Nelson on page 169
- There Are No Children Here: The Story of Two Boys Growing Up in The Other America by Alex Kotlowitz in Front Matter
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