A plainspoken account that will appeal to anyone who’s interested in the experience of living with Parkinson’s disease.
King (Walking the Crooked Path, 2014) blends pragmatic realism, Christian faith, and an irrepressible sense of humor in his second motivational memoir.
Parkinson’s disease is an incurable affliction of the central nervous system that affects movement, often causing tremors, among other symptoms, and King’s memoir offers a look into the everyday life of someone who suffers from it. In a series of short essays, the author, who was diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson’s at 47, shares stories that show how his outlook has evolved due to his day-to-day experience of living with his disease. He writes that his life often feels like an ongoing battle to maintain simple pleasures for as long as he can: “With God’s help and the support of family and friends, I intend to live in defiance of Parkinson’s disease,” he writes. “It can’t have me; I claim victory.” He often tries to find a balance between being cautious and not giving things up too early; he tells of arguing with his wife over whether he should still be driving a car, for example. He also relates that his inability to pursue certain hobbies, such as scuba diving and skiing, have sometimes contributed to a sense of losing his independence. Overall, King’s tone is conversational and realistic, but he’s also optimistic and often cracks jokes. In this regard, the book may be particularly valuable to Parkinson’s sufferers and readers who know them, although others will find it to be informative as well. Readers may wish that some of the chapters were longer and that they were fleshed out with a little more detail and structure. The good-natured humor, though, sometimes makes up for this lack of a clear narrative arc.
A plainspoken account that will appeal to anyone who’s interested in the experience of living with Parkinson’s disease.Pub Date: May 9, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-5329-7157-0
Page Count: 108
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A vibrant, encouraging depiction of a sinister disorder.
A British novelist turns to autobiography to report the manifold symptoms and management of his debilitating disease, depression.
Clever author Haig (The Humans, 2013, etc.) writes brief, episodic vignettes, not of a tranquil life but of an existence of unbearable, unsustainable melancholy. Throughout his story, presented in bits frequently less than a page long (e.g., “Things you think during your 1,000th panic attack”), the author considers phases he describes in turn as Falling, Landing, Rising, Living, and, finally, simply Being with spells of depression. Haig lists markers of his unseen disease, including adolescent angst, pain, continual dread, inability to speak, hypochondria, and insomnia. He describes his frequent panic attacks and near-constant anhedonia, the inability to experience pleasure. Haig also assesses the efficacy of neuroscience, yoga, St. John’s wort, exercise, pharmaceuticals, silence, talking, walking, running, staying put, and working up the courage to do even the most seemingly mundane of tasks, like visiting the village store. Best for the author were reading, writing, and the frequent dispensing of kindnesses and love. He acknowledges particularly his debt to his then-girlfriend, now-wife. After nearly 15 years, Haig is doing better. He appreciates being alive and savors the miracle of existence. His writing is infectious though sometimes facile—and grammarians may be upset with the writer’s occasional confusion of the nominative and objective cases of personal pronouns. Less tidy and more eclectic than William Styron’s equally brief, iconic Darkness Visible, Haig’s book provides unobjectionable advice that will offer some help and succor to those who experience depression and other related illnesses. For families and friends of the afflicted, Haig’s book, like Styron’s, will provide understanding and support.
A vibrant, encouraging depiction of a sinister disorder.Pub Date: Feb. 23, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-14-312872-4
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Penguin
Review Posted Online: Nov. 3, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2015
SEEN & HEARD
Readers Donate Depression Book After Star Suicide
An easy reading book of supportive encouragement to follow one’s dreams.
More than 40 career-changers tell their stories.
Introduced by Facebook executive and founder of Leanin.org Sheryl Sandberg, Lewis’ second cousin, the book offers exuberant advice for people who want to make a leap—daring or modest—from one career path to another, just as he did. At the age of 24, working for the investment firm Bain Capital, the author felt restless and dissatisfied. “I began to realize,” he writes, “that I wanted this life mostly because I thought I should,” but he heard “a very distinct if faint voice” urging him to try something “very different.” As he considered following his passion to become a professional squash player, Lewis sought advice from others who made similar jumps: a banker-turned-cyclist, for example, and a journalist-turned-politician. From them, and the others whose stories fill the book, he came up with the idea of the Jump Curve, a process of four key phases: listening to your inner voice, making a practical plan, believing in your own good luck, and rejecting regret. “You will come out stronger,” Lewis insists, even if your initial plan fails. “I keep coming back to the idea of agency,” said a man who made a move from corporate hospitality service to restaurant ownership: “the difference between life happening to you versus you making life happen.” Among the individuals profiled are a nurse who, at the age of 50, became a doctor; a football player–turned-writer; an investment professional who became coxswain of the U.S. Paralympic Rowing Team; a PR executive who found her calling as an Episcopal bishop; and a lawyer who sued the New York fire department to admit women firefighters—and then became the first woman hired. “Harassment, discrimination, death threats,” and physical abuse dogged her 25-year career. But, she says, “this was a jump worth fighting for,” a sentiment that Lewis underscores. Changing careers is risky, but “there is a risk to not taking a jump at all.”
An easy reading book of supportive encouragement to follow one’s dreams.Pub Date: Jan. 9, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-250-12421-0
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: Oct. 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2017
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