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The book I had on order finally arrived today- Pamela Weintraub's "Cure Unknown". Despite the fact that I am familiar with her writing as an avid subscriber for many many years to Discover science magazine and have also seen her articles elsewhere, I still did not know what to expect of this book. I started, as always, skimming various sections getting a feel for style and content--scanned the references and index to get a feel for accuracy and merit, then I went to the beginning and dug in--Im only a few chapters in and all I can say is ...RUN do not walk to get and read this book. It is filled with very easy to read information about the politics and conflicts in Lymeworld. She writes openly about the key players and conflicts of interest and while there is ample personal information about her own family's challenges with Lyme it is not the usual "my story" that either makes one feel as if " what's wrong with me that I cant get better like the author" or " I have to do what she did to get well"... and it is absolutely NOT a gimmick to cash in on the money making bandwagon that recently has exploded onto the scene with unprecedented and nauseatingly force of presence! this "Im sick let me make money off of my suffering" epidemic that wouldnt be half so bad IF indeed these books, ebooks, newsletters and dvds were to have valid solid information and IF they added anything to the muddled mess that Lyme now is--but they do NOT. Thankfully this book is NOT one of those. It is a very well researched, very well documented piece of investigative journalism! I will be happy to summarize any valuable tidbits once I fully read and digest--but let me say that despite the fact that I consider myself fairly knowledgeable about Lyme having spent more than 18 years in Lymeworld ( both as victim and parent of a victim), and despite my avid research and science training which helps me to interpret and analyze information, there is so far LOTS that I did NOT know that Pam deftly reveals. And that is only after spending about an hour with the book so far!!!--Things like which labs and researchers are currently actively looking into the many facets of why so many of us remain so ill despite various treatments--- things like why/how insurance companies can 'get away with" denying coverage and even things like revealing just WHO it is making decisions about just what this disease is....and how it should be handled. This will probably one of the few books on or about Lyme that I will read twice just so as to not miss any details.It isnt a step by step plan of treatments, or a self help all promise and no substance cure-all that in the end fails almost all who buy or read it--like too many others that are recently releasing--thankfully it is not!! It is a much needed eye opening investigative journalism of the highest quality that will hopefully (like Toto did) pull the curtain from the Wizard's box and reveal the mortal man with no real powers: i.e. what is the truth, what needs to be revealed for all to hear and see; and maybe just maybe enough people will demand the changes we all need to effect real understanding of all "contested diseases" and the research necessary for treatments and cures. In any case this book should give very real validity to what most of us knew all along: " something aint right and it aint all in our heads"!!! BUY, borrow, library-loan this book!!!!! get a copy for every Dr treating you--LLMD or not.And send a copy to every legislator, every hospital medical director, write critiques for local newspapers--- Like we learned with Three Mile Island, and AIDS and many other pooh-poohed health issues-the first step is revealing what IS, by a respected journalist such as Pam, and ignore the naysayers who will kick and scream trying to prevent this; and only then we can get to work on what needs to be done about it. Be well Finette |
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