The Quander Quality: The True Story of a Black Trailblazing Diabetic [Hardcover]

James W. W (Author), Rohulamin Quander (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2010

Diabetes can be a devastating disease, causing multiple degenerative conditions over the course of a person's life. Juvenile diabetes can be especially difficult because it strikes children. To live for 80 years with diabetes is a triumph that could only result from dedicated self-discipline, determination, and tenacity. These very qualities allowed James W. Quander, the author of this educational and inspirational autobiography, to live a full life into his 80s in spite of a prognosis to die before age ten.Diagnosed in 1924 with diabetes shortly before turning six, at a time when insulin injection was a new procedure, there was a stigma attached to having this disease. He kept his "Big Secret" until his senior years, in spite of hospitalizations and near-death experiences. Then, in an effort to educate others about living with diabetes, he often participated in personal and media interviews, and was featured in the Washington Post, Diabetes Forecast, Successful Living with Diabetes, and the Diabetic News.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

James W. Quander worked for the federal government for 33 years, while also surviving diabetes. He helped trace the history of the Quander family, a U.S. African-American family dating to 1684. Co-author Rohulamin Quander has served as a Senior Administrative Judge for the District of Columbia since the 1980s, and as the Mayor's Agent for Historic Preservation since 1998.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 225 pages
• Publisher: Robert Reed Publishers (January 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 193174162X
• ISBN-13: 978-1931741620
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,491,429 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An inspirational and engaging example of living and pursuing life to its greatest limits, May 3, 2006

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Quander Quality: The True Story of a Black Trailblazing Diabetic (Hardcover)

The Quander Quality: The True Story Of A Black Trailblazing Diabetic co-authored by the father and son team of James W. Quander and Rohulamin Quander is the engaging biography of the late James W. Quander (1918-2004). Telling the intriguing story of Quander's diagnosis of diabetes shortly before his sixth birthday, and his dedicated and courageous pursuit to live a fulfilled and purposeful life, The Quander Quality is the inspirational and deeply personal history of how Quander eventually became on of the sixteen men ordained in the United States when the Permanent Diaconate was revived after an eight-hundred-year hiatus. An inspirational and engaging example of living and pursuing life to its greatest limits, The Quander Quality is very highly recommended as for all readers searching for a true life example of timely and enduring truths manifested in an ordinary human being with an extraordinary determination.

5.0 out of 5 stars highly recommend, December 16, 2006

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Reader Views "Reviews, by readers, for readers" (Austin, Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Quander Quality: The True Story of a Black Trailblazing Diabetic (Hardcover)

Reviewed by Debra Gaynor for Reader Views (11/06)


James Quander was a trailblazer. He was an African American living in a society that had not yet accepted equality of all. He was a man with diabetes at a time when it was considered a disability and something that should be hidden.

After a severe insulin reaction, Rohulamin encouraged his dad to write his courageous story. Rohulamin felt that reading about James' struggle with juvenile diabetes could encourage millions of others. Others needed to know that you can live successfully with this ailment. Together James and Rohulamin wrote this book.

James was born in 1918 in Washington, D.C. He was officially diagnosed with diabetes.
Bedwetting had become a problem. On one particular Easter Sunday James woke up tired and grouchy. He wasn't feeling well and was barely dragging along. "I collapsed onto one of the two forest green park benches that we always sat on in the front yard in the evenings. I just could not move and relished the fact that I was home... at least almost in my own room, in my own bed." When his father rushed to see if he was ok, "I answered, "Papa, Papa come get me. I'm too weak to get up. I can hardly move. Come get me." James was too weak to walk. Dr. Wilder was called, he suspected Juvenile Diabetes. Dr. Wilder and James became a team working together to prevent the condition from getting worse. "Never once did Mama or Papa ever let on to me that they believed that I was not going to make it. Instead they decided that they would do everything within their human ability to provide me with a quality of life equal to that of my two brothers and three sisters."

James Quander shares his experiences with us, from being diabetic to playing basketball in high school, to his struggle with Scarlet Fever, to his academic achievements. I enjoyed reading Mr. Quander's story. It is one of success, and courage. The writing is superb; the cover introduces the book well. I highly recommend "The Quander Quality" to all who enjoy non-fiction, and to those who have diabetes or are parents of a diabetic.

Book received free of charge.