Cure

I came across this book while sitting in my daughter's hospital room still inundated with the news that she had childhhod leukemia. It was there amid the pamphlets and literature that symbolized the "dump" our lives had just taken.

I picked it up one sleepless night and, by the time I finished, I knew that my duaghter had every chance of surviving. We faced her two and a half year treatment with a new understanding that we were members of a group of children, families, medical practitioners and researchers who make a difference.

That was five years ago. This book set the tone for our struggles and victories large and small. It gave us perspective. It gave us hope and it gave us gratitude for all of the efforts that, ulitmately, gave my daughter back to me -- healthy and strong.

Childhood leukemia survival rates have increased dramatically in the last 20 years and this book gives historical perspective of significant treatment breakthroughs and scientific developments through the stories of several doctors and researchers. Excellent reference book for students and researchers, less applicable for medical consumers who may find current treatment-oriented books more useful.

This book is mainly geared toward alopecia areata (AA) sufferers, not genetic (androgenic) alopecia sufferers. It contains lots of stories of sufferers, including the author's. The stories are somewhat interesting at first, but get dull rather quickly. There is some information about treatments, however, but it is not as informative as the books by Kobren or as comprehensive as the one by Greenwood-Robinson (if you're a woman). But, if you suffer from AA, then it might be appropriate to read the author's.

The author is English, and so some of her stories include the charm and wit characteristic of the British. She takes the situation somewhat lightheartedly and advises (implicitly) readers to do the same (after all, it is just hair). However, her "cure" which is basically minoxidil, will almost certainly not be a "cure" for those with genetic balding. It is well-known that AA sufferers sometimes regrow spontaneously. The author's case may be due to this and not to minoxodil. She does not mention this possibility (that I recall) in the text. Hence, I believe the title is a bit misleading.

had lot of good information that is beneficial to my problem.

Dossey's Holiday Folklore is interesting, then he digresses into weird New Age "think it and you can make it happen" stuff related to his experiences with people with phobias. If you skim those sections of the book, its ok, but I found it distracting.

This book blends holidays with FEELINGS. For some, it's not just loneliness they battle during the holidays, but actual dread.

We all fear something. But we all don't know what it's called. Well, this book not only informs you of how some of the origins start regarding some holidays, but also some of the legends and fears that go along with some of the traditions. I didn't agree with most of them, but I sure found them fun and interesting. It also explains why some of our ancestors were a bit well...odd? :) Holidays can be stressful for all of us. For those who have any kind of sensitivity, some holidays are just miserable.

I recommend this book for those who want more further depth into any holiday presentation they may be doing, or to help gain wisdom in dealing someone.

The author expressed his contempt for Peale and company, but he also digressed to other pet peeves. He didn't believe that any parents have a right to ask their adult offspring to return their goodness by taking care of them. He also regarded military commanders in Vietnam as criminals and believed that they should be punished by being made to adopt Vietnamese children who were disfigured in an unattractive way by the war.

I don't take issue with him on either count, but I still say that he was straying from the purported topic of the book.

Smith's book had me cheering. It cured me of the notion that I had to put a positive spin on life, like one of those happy faces from the '80s. Smith is not a cynic, quite the opposite. He seems like a jovial fellow who simply won't go along when, for example, he's at a concert and is told "Come on, everybody sing!" He shows how the relentless positive-thinkers among us create misery by demanding happiness out of every experience--an impossibility since life is a mixed bag of happy and sad and everything in between. I'm grateful to this book for helping me see life as it is, not as I would like it to be. Strangely enough, I'm now more inclined to see the "positive" than ever before.

Apart from giving a thorough yet comprehensible description of each medical condition plus the standard drug treatments, this book also lists for each the various kinds of alternative treatments available, including homeopathy, herbal cures, etc, etc. This kind of enlightenment is rare: most medical guides follow just one line of treatment. I can't recommend this book enough.

More than 450 common diseases and disorders are listed at the rate of about one per page. Very easy to read.

I enjoyed this book very much because of its focus on turning to the Lord to aid in our struggles with stress. Medically the advice is very similar to what I have received from my own holistic doctor, with a few things that I have not heard before. However, in this book Colbert adds the spiritual dimension which I believe is invaluable. There are a few cases where he misused scripture, which always gives me "heartburn", but this book is essentially sound. In the world we live in stress is primarily a spiritual issue, which then affects our bodies. Colbert has good advice on how to deal with both aspects of the problem.

After suffering from migrain headaches for over the past decade, this book provides good insight into the root causes of the brain pain as well as good steps to avoid the headaches. This book provides a practical guide to using prayer, as well as more "tangible" treatments. I've found the skills I've learned through this book to be very helpful, as I'll do anything to avoid having to take the medications for migrains. So far, so good.

Although this book offers sound and practical advice from physicians, nutritionists, and researchers, I was disappointed with its 30-day menu plan because the recommended meals, their nutritional value notwithstanding, are for the most part rather unappealing when compared to equally healthful but better-tasting choices available elsewhere. When I plan my own weekly menus, health is of course a major consideration, but my first priority is always taste. Since I am unwilling to renounce the joys of eating well, I want dishes that satisfy my love of flavorful, exciting food. Therefore, while I find this book very useful for its nutritional guidelines, when it comes to menu choices I turn to cookbooks that contain recipes for dishes that are not only healthful but also taste great. Fortunately there are a number of such books available, two prime examples being "Recipes and Remembrances from an Eastern Mediterranean Kitchen" and "The Book of Yogurt," both by Sonia Uvezian. Interestingly, I discovered this author in an issue of Prevention Magazine dating from the late 1970s, which featured recipes from her now-classic "Cooking from the Caucasus," a work that was recommended by physicians from prestigious medical institutions. Her superb yogurt book taught me how to cut fat by substituting yogurt for cream cheese, sour cream, whipped cream, and even mayonnaise, thus allowing me to put otherwise rich dishes from appetizers to desserts back into my life, with the added benefits of better nutrition and, almost always, superior flavor.

I'm very interested in the history of plastic surgery, and Gilman is one of the researchers in this field. His approach in this book is unique, and I would recommend this book to anyone trying to understand the history of cosmetic surgery and its psychological ramifications in Western society. Perhaps Gilman's best ability is to tie in the history of medicine with factors regarding race.

After taking us n the ride of our life, Warren Ellis is finishing of with a tone non can ignore.
IN the last attempt to find the truth and expose "the smiler" Spider Jerusalem is doing what he does best, recovering the truth no matter what may be the consequences.
The comic reads like a hurricane, jumping from scene to scene and bringing the chaos that rose with the election of "the smiler".

Spider Jerusalem is fighting against time, against his decaying brain and against forces that hold almost all of the cards.
Holding to the truth, his fists, his bowl disrupter and the chair leg of truth Spider is giving the fight of his life.

A marvellous ending to a brilliant work of literature and art

Ziv