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17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Doesn't Convey the true impact!, April 28, 2008
This review is from: Strategies: A Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia Journey (Paperback)
Although considered a self-help or health & fitness book this is actually a personal narrative of the author's experiences with having fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. Having lived with both of these diseases for over two decades I was excited to have the opportunity to review this book. However, my excitement quickly faded. The impact of FMS & CFS on one's life is greatly minimized in these pages. The author never fully imparts how truly devastating these diseases are, she does not convey the extreme pain one deals with on a daily basis or how a sufferer never knows from one day to the next what life will be like. Nor does she impart how a FMS sufferer is at the mercy of the weather, especially cold, damp conditions that leave one almost completely incapacitated.
The fact that the author evidently takes no medication or regularly sees a doctor for her conditions also minimizes the true impact these conditions can have on one's life. Most of us are not capable of living without some form of medication and the fact that the author chooses to do so may lead to a non-sufferer to believe that the diseases are not as debilitating as they truly are.
The work sheets in the back of the book, designed for helping you to create a coping strategy, are perhaps the best part of the book. These are a valuable resource for someone who has been newly diagnosed, but long time sufferers will not have need of them for we have already devised our system of coping mechanisms and strategies.The resources section is another plus as it is comprehensive and well worth exploring.
There are numerous spelling, grammatical and improper word usage errors. For instance, in one passage the author describes a man who loves to cook as missing his calling as a "chief" when in actuality it should say "chef". This mis-usage of that word happens twice within the same section and comes across as laughable. Yes, these are ultimately the fault of the editor and publisher, but they do reflect poorly on the book itself.
Overall I found the book to be a disappointment. There are many people who do not believe these diseases exits, or if they do, they believe they are not as debilitating as sufferers say. This book will do nothing to help change these beliefs simply because the impact on the author's life is never fully defined. Her days spent in bed, unable to care for her children are mentioned in passing. Her struggle to earn a degree and gain a career seem as if they were not a struggle at all and the overall tone of the book is one of "Look at me! I can be Superwoman even though I am ill!". This attitude is the one that hurts sufferers the most. It's the one we have been trying to overcome for years so our pain and suffering is acknowledge as valid, debilitating and not something to be taken lightly. I fear this book will only reinforce the belief that we all can still be Superwoman even though we have fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue.
However, I fully agree with the author stating that sufferers become great actresses in order to mask their symptoms from the world and that the majority of people never realize the afflicted have health issues because they cannot see it. I also agree with her stating that being keyed in to the smaller symptoms and taking care of them right away can often prevent a major flare up from occurring. I also believe, like the author, that we should each take our healing into our own hands, that using alternative methods such as Reiki and meditation is a very worthwhile approach. For saying these things, out loud and in print, I thank Ms. Brady with all my heart!
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Learn from those who have been there, March 17, 2008
This review is from: Strategies: A Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia Journey (Paperback)
In my role as a holistic health practitioner, I frequently advise people with chronic health problems seeking realistic solutions to their ailments to search for books written by individuals with the same illness or problem. Such books tend to be straightforward and clear, free of expensive unhelpful treatments, without long-winded intellectual discussions, and can help people by giving grounded, practical, real-life information and solutions. Such books are often much more helpful than many of the books written by famous, highly-educated doctors.
"Strategies" is a book of this type. In it, Tami Brady shares her personal experience with realizing she has fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue. She relates her pathway through denial, acceptance, and not receiving much help from the conventional medical establishment. Then she describes which alternative modalities and resources have helped her most as she continues living with and healing from these debilitating conditions. Tami includes worksheets, a list of medications, resources, organizations, and a bibliography as tools for the reader to help oneself. This book is easy to read and gives a clear picture of how personal psychology and stress contribute to illness, and how working on yourself can help greatly. This book may be beneficial to people who have realized they have FM or CFS and would be inspired by the insight shared from a person traveling that same path of healing.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
More Journey than Strategy, June 14, 2008
This review is from: Strategies: A Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia Journey (Paperback)
Every Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia patient has a unique story to tell. In Strategies: A Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia Journey, Tami Brady shares her experiences with these two debilitating illnesses.
I could see a lot of my own experiences in those of Ms. Brady. Like Ms. Brady, my illness made itself apparent after a very stressful period in my life. I also endured the frustration that came from waiting for months for a correct diagnosis. Even after I received that diagnosis, there was very little offered to me in the way of treatment options. As Ms. Brady noted: "No follow up visits. No care regime. The rest was left up to me." Many patients will see something of themselves in the author's struggle to adjust to life with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia.
The book, however, seems a little unbalanced. The first ten chapters chronicle her journey to diagnosis and accepting the limitations that come from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia. The last four chapters are aimed at specific strategies for living with both conditions. These four chapters are incredibly helpful and well-organized, but they make up a very small portion of the book.
There were also many typographical and grammatical errors throughout the book. These were extremely distracting to me during my reading. I hope that these errors will be corrected in future printings.
I enjoyed reading this book and found it helpful to my own struggle - both physical and mental - that comes from living with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia. As Ms. Brady states in the Foreword, "In the end, we are all changed forever. On good days, I believe for the better."
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