Needles: A Memoir Of Growing Up With Diabetes [Paperback]

Andie Dominick (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 14, 2000

A CLASSIC ACCOUNT OF A YOUNG LIFE IRREVERSIBLY ALTERED BY ILLNESS

"I know about needles."

All her life, Andie Dominick adored her older sister, Denise. She wanted to look like her, talk like her, be her. Unfortunately, she got part of her wish when, at age nine, she was diagnosed with the same disease from which Denise had suffered since age two: juvenile diabetes. In this beautifully written, revelatory, and profoundly affecting memoir, Dominick recounts her transformation from a free-spirited kid who enjoyed giving shots to her stuffed animals with her sister's castaway needles to a life-long patient who must learn to inject herself twice a day. Emotionally charged, tragic, but in the end hopeful, Dominick tells how she found the courage to embrace love and hope in the face of fear, and to live with a disease that has taken so much from her.

Chosen in 1999 by the American Library Association as one of the best books for teenagers

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

As the title suggests, the author is graphically frank about the medical necessities of living with juvenile-onset diabetes, and squeamish readers may find her memoir harrowing. In its essence, however, this is a story of emotional growth and healing. Diagnosed at 9 by her older sister Denise, who is herself a diabetic, Andie Dominick spends her adolescence rebelling against her condition: "dieting" by skipping shots, undergoing a dangerous abortion at 17. When, at 21, Andie discovers 33-year-old Denise dead in the house they share, she begins to reexamine the reckless lifestyle that killed her sister and threatens her as well. The discovery three years later that she has diabetic retinopathy, which could lead to blindness, helps Dominick realize she cannot follow her sister's path: "Denise always told me having the disease didn't have to change my life. But now it has ... because I am finally facing who I am." Love and eventually marriage continue Dominick's process of self-knowledge and acceptance, though there is no facile happy ending. (She has a tubal ligation rather than risk passing diabetes to another generation.) Dominick's deliberately plain prose and gritty candor render her struggle accessible and real. --Wendy Smith --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

YA-The story of one family's experience coping with disease. Andie knew all about needles because her older sister Denise was diabetic and she used them daily for insulin shots. As young children, Andie and her brother picked the used ones out of the trash and played with them. Then, when the author was nine, she herself was diagnosed as diabetic and the games were over. Needles became the instruments she needed to manage her life, literally and figuratively. She learned what powerful instruments they could be when, at 21, she found her sister dead as a result of neglect and self-abuse. The story is not a pretty one, but it does illustrate the control one has over some of life's seemingly uncontrollable situations. This fact is important for teens to learn and understand. Dominick, who was about 26-years-old when she wrote this book, relates her experience in a way that will appeal to young adults.
Pamela B. Rearden, Centreville Regional Library, Fairfax County, VA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Touchstone (April 14, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684856549
• ISBN-13: 978-0684856544
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #551,256 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Smartalecs, May 4, 2000

By 

Tony Phillips (Ind) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Needles: A Memoir Of Growing Up With Diabetes (Paperback)

I have spent most of my life growing up with diabetes. It really is refreshing to find a book that deals with the disorder the way having it really is,especially the social and psychological aspects as opposed to the sappy, "feel-good" stories in books like Mazur's "The Dinosaur Tamer", and others like it. Yes, some of those stories for kids are alright, but most want to pretend growing up different hurts less than it really does, and glosses over the course gutter language many pre-teens actually use. I was repeatedly called "dope-head" by cruel peers on the schoolyard, and this is the first book I've read that really deals with the issue of being harassed because of a chronic ailment. I was told that telling classmates about my diabetes would help them be reponsible in case an emergency. If just my friends knew, this might have been the case, but my fourth-grade teacher made a show of telling the whole class just like in this book. The author certainly doesn't steer away from relating the other unpleasant aspects of diabetes itself in her adult and teen years. This is dark, dark reading, folks! It's far different from the book I was given in the hospital that tried to convince me that urine testing was fun, and that needles hut "just a little bit".

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Moving, and at the same time, tremendously true to life., December 17, 1998

By 

Nick ([e-mail]) (Ohio, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Needles: A Memoir of Growing Up with Diabetes (Hardcover)

"Needles" is an amazing book. Being a diabetic for nearly 26 of my 29 years, I was certain that the last thing I would want to read about was diabetes. Ms Dominick blew me away! I was emotionally touched by the personal, familial aspects of the book. The whole sister-sister relationship/bond was quite profoundly moving for me. In addition to the emotional reaction, I found myself wondering at times if the author knew something of my childhood/adulthood with diabetes. I often saw myself in the pages of this book. I suspect that many diabetics would say the same.

I was thoroughly impressed by Ms Dominick's account of a lifetime with diabetes. It was not soft-pedaled and was presented realistically. People on "the outside" can nonchalantly say that this disease is controllable and therefore not a big deal. I applaud Ms Dominick for telling the truth about it and telling it so eloquently.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful honest book about growing up with diabetes, March 18, 2000

By 

Angie Ables (West Virginia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Needles: A Memoir of Growing Up with Diabetes (Hardcover)

A truly wonderful book! I also grew up with juvenile diabetes and it was wonderful to read about a young woman who has come to terms with her illness. The author does not sugar coat living with diabetes and its complications and with every page the author's joys and heartaches are felt. This book would be wonderful for someone who has or knows and loves someone with diabetes. A book that is hard to put down and is a definite keeper!