by Tracey Berkowitz ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 13, 2015
An insightful, edifying tale of the toll that a parasitic disease can take.
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In this detailed debut memoir, Berkowitz tells of her five-year struggle with chronic giardiasis.
In 2008, the author and her family chose to bring home a golden retriever puppy, whom they named Buddy. What they didn’t know, however, was that the dog was infested with giardia, a parasite common in canines. Within days, Berkowitz, a marathon runner and part-time preschool teacher, was exhausted and constipated, with a distended belly and hair loss. Almost immediately, she intuited that she might have giardia or an allergy to Buddy, but a doctor dismissed her self-diagnosis. Thus began the author’s convoluted, costly odyssey through numerous medical and holistic-health professionals, who prescribed such treatments as supplements, hormone and thyroid therapy, dietary changes, and energy healing. During the process, her self-image suffered, and she often rejected intimacy with her self-employed husband, who was also responsible for their health insurance. Soon the family’s finances deteriorated, as did the author’s ability to care for her daughters and Buddy. Berkowitz writes of this challenging situation with honesty, humility, and even humor. For example, she writes of how, on a trip to Mexico, she hoped to get “Montezuma’s Revenge” for relief from her own symptoms. Although she addresses her physical and financial depletions, her story remains upbeat and informative, with clear explanations of various medical therapies, tests, and assessments, along with her own self-assessments of her behaviors and reactions. Eventually, Berkowitz realized that her calling was to advocate for those with the disease and to write this book, which aims to help afflicted people take responsibility for their own well-beings. (The book is less successful in tying this calling to Buddy, whom she calls “the dog who teaches her self-love.”) A clearer update on the author’s condition would be a welcome addition to future editions, as readers will surely wonder how she, her husband, her daughters, and Buddy are faring—a further tribute to the strength of the narrative.
An insightful, edifying tale of the toll that a parasitic disease can take.Pub Date: Jan. 13, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-9907355-0-2
Page Count: 236
Publisher: Gemini Press
Review Posted Online: April 27, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996
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
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by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955
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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