Me and My Shadow: Learning to Live with Multiple Sclerosis [Illustrated] [Hardcover]

Carole MacKie (Author), Sue Brattle (Author), Ronnie Wood (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1999

Published to coincide with MS Awareness Week, April 18-25 1999, this book recounts the story of Carole Mackie. Diagnosed as having multiple sclerosis at the age of 23, Carole has since gone on to become a leading figure in the fight against MS.'

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

As a 22-year-old flight attendant for British Airways, Mackie got her dream assignment: a flight and 10 days in Rio. But after a day of sunbathing on Copacabana Beach, a disquieting numbness crept through her body; after a collapse, she ended up in a Rio hospital, becoming more debilitated by the hour and, unable to speak Portuguese, utterly terrified. Three months and many painful tests later, she received her grim diagnosis: multiple sclerosis (MS), a degenerative disease of the brain and central nervous system. In this down-to-earth memoir, she details her struggle to come to terms with MS, regain control over her life and raise consciousness about an incurable and severely disabling disease that afflicts millions. In this somewhat overwritten account, she comes across as a highly engaging yet very ordinary girl next-door. Brutally frank about the toll MS takes and her feelings of isolation, Mackie gives vent to her anger, frustration and her need to heal. She loses her live-in boyfriend of four years (though some readers may find him an insensitive lout she's well rid of); copes with the constant stress of informing family, friends and co-workers about her disease; battles to keep her job and stay solvent; and faces a series of painful and frightening relapses as well as the knowledge that more will come. Though "grieving the loss of her health," Mackie investigates alternative treatments, becomes a spokesperson for the disease and organizes fund-raising benefits. Her memoir is a good introduction to the subject for the newly diagnosed, their families and friends. (June)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Mackie was in her early twenties and a flight attendant with British Airways when she was stricken with multiple sclerosis (MS). In most respects her book is just another story of a young woman's symptoms, terror, diagnosis, combined relief and fear ("What a relief, I thought...at last this thing has a name and I can start dealing with it"), and valiant attempt to live a "normal" life with the limitations of MS. Where it differs from other titles is in the chapter "The Employer's Story." With any chronic illness, an employer must consider the ill person's ability and need to stay employed, co-workers' needs to be treated fairly, and the employer's need to get the work done. This chapter takes a close look at this "balancing act" from the point of view of Mackie's supervisor. Titles such as Barbara D. Webster's All of a Piece (Johns Hopkins, 1989) and Moira Griffin's Going the Distance (Dutton, 1989) fill the need for information and inspiration, but Mackie's book goes beyond because it deals with the employment topic directly. Recommended for all general audiences.AMary J. Nickum, Bozeman, MT
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Aurum Press; illustrated edition edition (May 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1854106279
• ISBN-13: 978-1854106278
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,058,255 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reading Carole Mackie's book was like finding a new friend., January 19, 2001

By 

Becky Linville (Murfreesboro, TN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Me and My Shadow: Learning to Live with Multiple Sclerosis (Hardcover)

This is the first book that I have read that is about having and living with MS. I read a negative review from someone who had MS who thought that Carole's symptoms were not bad enough for her to complain about. Yet, there are so many of us out there who have what is most of the time a hidden disease. We look fine, but often don't feel fine. We know that next "episode" may be just around the corner and that it could take away more of the "normal" part of us. Those around you can't understand. It was wonderful to find someone who feels like me. Frightened, but determined is what I saw in Carole's spirit. I realize that those of us who suffer at a similar level as Carole are lucky, but I also know that it is not the same "me" as before and I don't like it. I, like Carole, am learning to redefine "me" and to fight this disease with all I have. Carole's story made me feel better about this newer "me" and coping with what life has dealt me. She voiced so many things that I have been feeling. I felt like I had found a friend who understood.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It sounds like me talking!, January 6, 2000

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Me and My Shadow: Learning to Live with Multiple Sclerosis (Hardcover)

I enjoyed this book, and saw so much of my own symptoms, emotional reaction and trying to cope with the disability. I was interested to read about how she felt when she started getting feeling back after the numbness and thinking everything was alright.

It is some comfort to know that for the most part, the same things run through our heads and we are not all alone in what we feel.

I felt that her interaction with her boyfriend and her daily life was appropriate to relate to the reader, as it illustrates the emotional rollercoaster we are on, and that our relationships are affected by such a diagnosis.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "MUST READ"or anyone who is in any way faced with MS., June 25, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Brownstown, MI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Me and My Shadow: Learning to Live with Multiple Sclerosis (Hardcover)

Carole has done an extrodinary job. The book Me and My Shadow is, in my opinion, a "MUST READ" for anyone who is in any way faced with Multiple Sclerosis. Her story just goes to show "There is life after MS".