| Book Reviews
Way to go, Fred! Its Feasible, Factual, and Funny!, July 2, 2006
Reviewer: Eleanor B. Brosius "ellyfunt" (Centreville, VA)
THIS is a good CFS/FM book! The research, experience, and humor in this book might be motivation you've been missing to move from desperate, survival mode to a more endurable, maybe even enjoyable, way of being. Even as a psychologist trained to spot sabotage and denial, Fred couldn't see his own contributions to his experience of illness and life for years,... and he doesn't blame you if you can't either. Having blind spots may be a natural part of adapting -- we all seem to do it to some degree.
This book is especially for those who've reached a coping plateau, ready to concede, at least a little, we have influence about how we feel and react emotionally, intellectually, and physically. Acknowledging and using that influence leads to more capacity to deal with our extraordinary physical challenges. Within each one of the practical Steps are several things to consider, implement, and/or practice. Personal stories illustrate the benefits. Each time I pick up this book, I find something interesting, helpful, or supportive. So has every other person with CFS/FM I've shown it to whether it be about why doctor visits go wrong, why vacations are not necessarily helpful, or how to think differently about anger and guilt.
The author is one of us and writes with such easy going, yet profound, honesty. Its easy to identify with the examples. It also feels like Fred is a friend on the journey with us, especially important if support is lacking from friends and family. I identified with Fred as he describes the pedometer experiment. I did that! I have done all of the "9 Ways to Make Yourself Miserable" in Chapter 16. Having progressed from that place, reading the list makes me laugh. I've read the 'miserable' list to others to a mix of laughter, silence, and groans as people recognize and reveal where they are in their coping.
The cognitively, visually impaired will appreciate the book's signifcant white space and small, clearly marked sections. You can skip around and not get lost. There is no index, so I'll be adding sticky notes to my copy to more easily show items to people in my CFS/FM support groups.
Fred and the 7 Steps book are good companions on the CFS/FM journey. I find there is so much good here I won't be bothered by statements requiring all the steps and promises of this or that percentage improvement. Do what you can, do what you are drawn to. You may get less improvement that way, or you may get more since you are honoring yourself. It may take you more or less time, but the author and book provide encouragement and experience of a professional who lives with and works with these conditions which is amazing. Physiological improvement can and often does follow seeking balance and managing activity. Fred has witnessed and experienced that. I have experienced that in my life. This kind of approach is worth it!
Elly Brosius
Northern VA CFS/FMS Support Group
CFSupport at Yahoo! Groups
Courtesy of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affliliates. All rights reserved.
Review #2:
...In this cogent book, Friedberg has successfully erased the line
separating mind and body. His advice can open avenues for health
improvement for anyone suffering with CFS/FM, especially for those
who have previously rejected any treatment involving the psychological
aspects of these illnesses.
Katherine Duff
Author of "The Alchemy of Illness"
(from the Townsend Newsletter by permission)
October, 2006
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