A comprehensive and well-written guide to managing serious medical problems.
A manual offers advice to patients dealing with the long-term effects of a medical crisis.
In this debut health book, Cohen draws on her professional experience as a rehabilitation specialist, as well as her personal experience with a series of medical errors that led to chronic difficulties, to guide readers through the process of managing the practical and emotional challenges of life-changing medical problems. Drawing on case studies, medical research, and common sense, Cohen advises readers on matters including how to adapt to the changes in lifestyle that may be required by physical limitations (“Adjustment is a much more active and empowered process than acceptance”), suggestions for alternative and complementary treatments (Cohen “entered acupuncture treatment a true skeptic but a desperate one”), and strategies for facing and working through the emotional challenges of medical problems. The book encourages readers to be active participants in their medical care, communicating with doctors (“You can articulate your needs and educate your physician about your expectations using a polite tone without an emotional meltdown”), reading all paperwork before signing, and asking for more information whenever it is necessary. The book explains the forms of rehabilitation and treatment that may be necessary (physiatry, occupational therapy, and so on) and addresses the possible paths to resolution if the medical problem is the result of practitioner error, including recommendations for ensuring mistakes are minimized in the future. Cohen’s writing is clear and engaging and manages to both avoid melodrama and acknowledge the validity of strong feelings in difficult situations. She often manages to capture the emotional core of complex stories, as in her description of watching a live-streamed Kol Nidre service while unable to leave the house and attend her local synagogue. The result is a book that is both practical and compassionate, providing guidelines for adapting to the reality of life with a serious or ongoing medical condition, giving readers practical advice for shaping their new existences while allowing for the need to mourn abilities and opportunities that are no longer available.
A comprehensive and well-written guide to managing serious medical problems.Pub Date: Aug. 21, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-692-48762-4
Page Count: 226
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Feb. 11, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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