Customer Reviews

Turning White: A Memoir of Change

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Lee Thomas' account of pursuing his "dream" career in TV is an easy and interesting read. His story is mostly about how he has dealt with the cosmetic and emotional aspects of discovering he has an autoimmune disease -- VITILIGO -- being a man-of-color (African American), and pursuing a career in a visual media -- TV.

What I most liked about his story was his realization about how the culmination of his poor diet / nutrition and hectic / stressful lifestyle were probably centrally involved -- and at the very least -- the contributing factors that provided the "environmental trigger" (my words) for vitiligo to present itself. He describes that after years of seeing traditional doctors and trying all the latest treatments it was with the help of a naturopath and nutritionist guiding him that he is now eating a mostly vegetarian diet that includes lean fish and organic eggs. He attributes this holistic approach to improving his overall health and perhaps even some pigment returning. He does take supplements but did not identify which ones.

Mr. Thomas explains that there are a theories about vitiligo perhaps being a genetic disease - that some believe it is and that others don't. He may not have known about recent vitiligo research when his book went to publication, but researchers from the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center (UCDHSC) have discovered a connection between a NALP1 gene and vitiligo. The NALP1 gene is involved in controlling part of the immune system that monitors viral and bacterial attacks and is the key gene that predisposes someone to vitiligo and other autoimmune diseases. "This part of the immune system may respond to triggers coming from the environment, like bacteria or viruses, and there are indications that you can turn it off. So, we're very, very hopeful that there may be drugs that allow us to do that," said the study's senior author, Dr. Richard A. Spritz

Mr. Thomas explains that he doesn't know why he has vitiligo since no one else in his family has it. Because of the NALP1 discovery we now know that we are born with a genetic predisposition to AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE and some type of "trigger" -- a virus, bacterial infection....stress?? -- allows vitiligo to present itself. He mentions that the doctor that diagnosed his vitiligo mentioned that stress could be a trigger for vitiligo and the way he describes his early years in the TV industry...well I'm pretty sure that "stress" MUST have been his trigger.

I often refer to Autoimmune Disease as an umbrella term over many autoimmune symptoms that manifest into different disease categories -- like vitiligo, Crohn's, psoriasis...etc. I was disappointed that he did not emphasize that vitiligo is just one (visual) symptom of AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE -- but he and his doctors may not think of vitiligo in this way.

Mr. Thomas does relate how, because of a persistent back ache, he discovered he also has Crohn's disease -- another member of the AUTOIMMUNE FAMILY. He wasn't sure if the two are connected, but my understanding is that they are. If you are predisposed, someone can have multiple autoimmune diseases and it looks like Mr. Thomas has two - vitiligo and Crohn's. (Someone needs to tell him about how "Low Dose Naltrexone" -- LDN therapy is helping Crohn's patients. And it may help his vitiligo too. )

When I finished the book I just had the sense that Mr. Thomas doesn't see the "big picture" the way I do -- that vitiligo is just one symptom in AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE -- but maybe that was intentional on his part. --??-- I think he wanted people to know that if you have vitiligo, that you will be OK...that there are worse things. I really hope that anyone who reads this book doesn't finish it thinking that vitiligo is just a cosmetic disease -- for which there is no cure, just treatments -- and that is not a terminal disease. And this is all true -- if the PROGRESSION of the autoimmune disease stops at vitiligo.

All-in-all...I REALLY enjoyed this book. This book wasn't meant to be specifically about vitiligo or autoimmune disease -- it's Lee Thomas' story on how vitiligo has affected his life....the worries and the blessings. It's about how when we reach out to someone...how it can change their lives. Like the young boy with vitiligo who asked Lee to tell his story because then people might treat him differently if they understood what vitiligo was. This young boy described an even younger boy who has vitiligo on his face and wears a mask to hide it. It's about how some people seem just naturally generous and kind...his retelling of an interview that he had with the actor Dustin Hoffman really had my heart swelling. (Read the book and you'll see why.) It's about developing and maintaining positivity around yourself even though you have an incurable disease.

I have autoimmune disease -- and one of my symptoms is vitiligo... I have others. And just like Lee Thomas -- I am the only member of my family to have vitiligo.

For current vitiligo research information and support visit: [...]

As a resident of Detroit, I see Lee Thomas on TV all the time. He has a sparkling presence in front of the camera. I already understood what was happening to him, as I have 2 family members who have gone through this struggle. I read his book to get a glimpse of how he, being a public personality, has dealt with vitiligo. I am very impressed with his writing and I am equally impressed that he has the courage to share this most intimate part of his life with the world. I recommend this book to those who really want to understand how someone with this condition is feeling on the inside. Maybe we'll see more compassion if more people read this book.

This book is amazing. Thomas' account of his struggles with Vitiligo is powerfully poignant. Once you pick up this book you will find that you will not be able to put it down. Thomas' storytelling is brilliantly simple, artful. With remarkable honesty, he opens up his heart and soul in this book. You find yourself experiencing the raw emotions on the pages: fear, sadness, heartbreak, love, triumph, joy. The images of Thomas documenting his progressive pigment loss are compelling and beautiful. While Turning White teaches us about the disease vitiligo, it also serves as a lesson plan for living your best life in spite of your challenges, and that true beauty is way beyond skin deep. Thomas says he decided to share his story because a little boy with vitiligo asked him to do so. Anyone who reads this book owes a debt of gratitude to that child. You will be better for having read this memoir. You will be uplifted and inspired.

Only if we as people of this world can think like Lee Thomas, "Just Live!". The last paragraph of the book says it all; "We need each other to survive. I will never give up on loving life or sharing it with people." This book is very thought provoking, honest and informative.

This book is very well written and definitely from the heart. Mr. Thomas is an inspiration and his story is uplifting and full of hope for anyone struggling with Vitiligo. How wonderful of him to have brought this disease to the forefront to help foster understanding.

Lee Thomas is very honest with his struggles of living with vitiligo and how he overcame some difficult times and kept moving forward in his career and his life. I have heard him speak and his words are enlightening and encouraging, and, so are his words so brilliantly written in his book. He is delightful!

i brought four books with me to detroit over the christmas holiday, but picked this book up at a border's when i took my daughter there to get a book for school. its cover grabbed my eye (great cover), and i noticed it was under a "local author" sign. lee thomas, the author, is a detroit area news anchor. this is the story of his wrestle with vitiligo (pronounced vih-til-EYE-go), a skin disease where one's pigment disappears, over time. apparently, 1 - 2% of the population have this (according to the book), but it's hardly noticeable on people with lighter skin tones. of course, for an african american, like thomas, it means he's "turning white."

it's a compelling issue, and seems to set the mind wandering on a multitude of questions and issues, like:

- what does it mean to the identity of a black man to slowly turn white?

- what if that black man makes his living in a context that is constantly focused on his face, and broadcasting that face to millions of people?

- what role does any of our skin color play in our identity? what's the interplay of skin color, enculturation, and other factors?

- would it be better for the author (or another with the same disease) to suddenly and completely change skin color, or to gradually change, in splotches (it's not a gradual overall lightening, but more like growing patches of whiteness)?

unfortunately, the book doesn't address any of these questions. to thomas's credit, he says right from the start, that this is a book about a black man's skin, and not at all about race. but i was frustrated, on almost every page, by his unwillingness to go there. it seemed like an opportunity squandered, to address race from a completely different place. it was either a cop-out, an overly careful political-correctness (career cautiousness), or simplicity that would lead one to omit what could have been something so central to the issue (or, at least, that's what i was thinking as i read).

also, the book is horribly written and edited. really, i haven't seen a book go to print in a long time that is this poorly written and edited (and i've come, given my role, to blame that primarily on the editing, not the author -- some can write and some can't, but an editor's job is to not let the author reveal that he's a crappy writer).

so, yes, the book was deeply dissatisfying on multiple levels. but, somehow, i'm still glad i read it, because it's a real guy's story, dealing with a real life issue, that has all kinds of implications that caused me to think (whether the author was willing to think about those issues or not).

I just finished reading "Turning White" and Lee, you take us through your pain and suffering and emotional recovery. You are doing so much for people with this condition. I knew a couple of individuals in my life who had this disease and I never thought anything about it-- didn't know what it was. I did wonder why they were so white. But I never saw a reason to just stare. The fact that you took charge is something I can certainly relate to having had my own health crisis. I went alternative and it saved my life. Also have you looked at colonics? Its the cleansing of the colon. It completely cured my diverticulosis and spastic colon. Disease starts in the colon so you are on the right track having discovered this connection but you didn't say anything about a cleansing. So check it out and enzyme therapy. Contact Detroit Wholistic Center in Detroit.

Keep up the fight. Your book was fantastic. It is helping people.

God Bless you.

Lee Thomas has came with a Book that touches on a serious subject about losing pigmentation of the skin called Vitiligo. i saw this diesase first hand as a kid when a neighbor of my grandparents had it and it cuts in various areas of the skin and is very serious. Michael Jackson suffers from this skin condition and it leaves your skin patchy. Lee Thomas breaks it all down from how he discovered he had the condition and also the pictures showcase where it impacts the skin in various places. a must read and this book is very detail.

This book was a very enlighting experience. And now I look a people with any disease in a new eye opening light. It was very well written, and Lee Thomas seems like a wonderful man and person.