Frank, thoughtful reflections that should resonate with the 47 percent of Americans reported to be living with chronic pain.
Meditative, intimate essays consider the experience of suffering.
At the age of 39, Huber (English/Fairfield Univ.; The Evolution of Hillary Rodham Clinton, 2016, etc.) was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, autoimmune diseases that cause severe joint pain, surges of fever, and often loss of mobility. In this collection of essays written during the past five years (some previously published), the author reflects on her struggle to reassess her identity and make sense of affliction from diseases that flare up unpredictably and uncontrollably. She is dismayed by physicians who prefer not to deal with incurable illness because they “have been trained in environments of competition where cures and successes are prized.” She rails against doctors who cynically assume that she is trying to elicit prescriptions for opioids and others who ask her to rate her pain on a scale from one to 10, a rubric that she deems inadequate for expressing and treating pain. More helpful, she has found, is the McGill Pain Questionnaire, which opens with the salient question: “What Does Your Pain Feel Like?” Well-meaning friends who suggested herbal medicines or exercise convinced Huber that the “massive gulf separating the pained from the non-pained can be summed up in one question: ‘Have you tried yoga?’ ” Pain infuses her life: cooking, sex, caring for her son, teaching, and writing—which sometimes, she admits, “has been my only relief.” Her voice as “pain woman,” she discovers, is different from her other writing voices. “She has a kind of messianic confidence that I do not have in my normal writing or even in my normal living,” she writes. “Pain woman” surely gives voice to the feistiest essays in this uneven collection. Although Huber strives for metaphors to express her pain, she does not always succeed, and probing her experiences sometimes results in claustrophobic repetition.
Frank, thoughtful reflections that should resonate with the 47 percent of Americans reported to be living with chronic pain.Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-8032-9991-7
Page Count: 204
Publisher: Univ. of Nebraska
Review Posted Online: Nov. 20, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2016
Diminutive sex therapist ``Dr. Ruth'' presents a sex guide for Orthodox and traditional Conservative Jews. ``People pick up the Bible for many different reasons but rarely, if ever, as a sex manual. That is their mistake,'' writes Westheimer. Here, with Jewish Week associate editor Mark, she sets out to correct this error. Westheimer begins by explaining Judaism's attitude toward sex, one which she considers particularly healthy. Judaism doesn't exalt celibacy; in fact, it frowns upon it. Women's satisfaction in marriage is not only discussed among the Talmudic sages, it is absolutely required of the husband. Lust and sexual impropriety are acknowledged and treated within Jewish law. In addition to the commandment against coveting thy neighbor's wife, Westheimer finds many explicit and implicit references to sex in the Hebrew Bible and rabbinical literature, focusing in particular on Genesis, Ruth, Song of Songs, and Talmudic and Kabbalistic sources. This last especially provides much fodder for the author. Westheimer also covers the commandments, the ritual bath, or mikvah, weddings, and the Sabbath, a day on which it is a special mitzvah (commandment) to have sex. Here the author offers a lovely metaphor for the relationship between husband and wife on the Sabbath: At the beginning of the day, the woman lights and blesses two candles, which according to Westheimer may represent the man and woman. At the end of the Sabbath, another blessing is made by candlelight, only this time the two wicks are joined together, often intertwined, representing the married couple, who have been brought closer through their sexual union. But this small gem is a rarity in a basically didactic and monotonous little book.
Pub Date: Nov. 6, 1995
ISBN: 0-8147-9268-5
Page Count: 188
Publisher: New York Univ.
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1995
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From the profession that sets the standards for injury prevention and rehabilitation, a well-laid-out, thorough guide to avoiding musculoskeletal injury and diagnosing and treating it when it does occur. Physical therapist Moffat (president emeritus of the APTA) and co-author Vickery’s emphasis is on the casual athlete over 30 years of age: “as midlife approaches, the aging process and increasing inactivity can transform many every day activities into minefields of pootential aches, pains and injuries” (and serious athletes work at a higher level intensity than is addressed here). Looking at the bones, joints, muscles, tendons, ligaments, and related structures, the authors first cover nine body areas most often affected: back, neck, jaw, shoulder, elbow, wrist/hand, hip, knee, and ankle/foot. For each, there is instruction on preventing injury, diagnosis of problems (from mild soreness through strain, sprain, and worse), what self-help measures to take, and when to go for professional help. In part two, the authors cover muscle, tendon, and ligament fitness and injury prevention in general, especially the importance of incorporating the three elements of fitness’strength, flexibility and endurance—into any exercise endeavor. Finally, part three offers a comprehensive menu of specific exercises from which readers can design a regimen that meets their needs. The language is easily understandable, and readers are put straight on many commonly misused terms (for instance, whiplash). The same ground as Feldman, then (see p. TKTK), with more extensive background information and a more serious tone. (500 line drawings)
Pub Date: April 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-8050-5571-1
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1999
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