A tedious day-by-day, blow-by-blow account of a young pediatric nurse's year-long bout with a debilitating illness whose array of symptoms baffles medical specialists. Although written in the first-person as though it were the nurse's diary, this is actually a collaborative project by her and her deeply involved mother. Their trying tale begins in September 1993 and ends a year later. During that time the nurse- -who is experiencing rashes, numbness, shortness of breath, nausea, cramps, insatiable thirst, joint pain, and a host of other alarming symptoms—is examined, tested, and diagnosed by numerous physicians. By numbering them rather than giving them pseudonyms—the second allergist consulted is called simply A2, and the eighth emergency room doctor ER8, etc.— the Millars depersonalize the physicians; unfortunately, no one else in their account is given much personality either. Countless examinations and tests, which include multiple spinal taps, batteries of gastrointestinal probes, and other invasive and painful procedures, provide no answers. To add insult to injury, her doctors recommend antianxiety drugs and psychiatric help. Eventually, via the Internet, she learns of a place, identified here as simply The Clinic, that may be able to help her. When she checks herself into it, she discovers that not only is she allergic to many foods, but that she is being poisoned by chemicals found commonly in the environment, from chlorine to plastic. By the year's end she is learning how to protect herself from them, is regaining her health, and has taken on the mission of sharing her newfound knowledge with others. That conventional medicine failed to recognize and treat her problem is clear; that alternative therapies utilizing spinning crystals, energy fields, and a Healing Touch are preferable is more debatable. (Another tale of environmental illness is Mary Swander's Out of This World, p. 621.) Warning! Reading this book may produce the following symptoms: heavy eyelids and uncontrollable yawns.
Pub Date: July 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-9699245-0-X
Page Count: 303
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1995
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
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
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