Review: With the End in Mind: Dying, Death, and Wisdom in an Age of Denial by Kathryn Mannix

4 stars for With the End in Mind: Dying, Death, and Wisdom in an Age of Denial by Kathryn Mannix.

This is a book about end of life, palliative care and making the most of what remains of life in comfort (rather than trying to cure of cancer and illnesses). Within are real-life stories that illustrate the journey of shrinking horizons and final moments. The author hopes that through her sharing, the knowledge that is common to all when death takes place can be a guide and comfort to people contemplating death.

What I like most about this book is learning to recognise the beginning of the process of dying that leads to the thing that happens at the end of every life. Whether it is anticipated or unexpected, the truth is, we are all walking towards death from the day we are born. There are many books written on the topic of living and dying and what to expect towards the end of life. But this is the first book I have read that actually walks us through the finer details of the process of dying towards the final moment.

Also, I agree with the author that the more we understand about the way dying proceeds, the better we can manage it. When death is being discussed, talked through and prepared for, it will not be unbearably sad or frightening. In fact, the well-being of the patient, caregiver and family members will be taken care of physically, emotionally, socially and spiritually. To quote "Open discussion reduces superstition and fear, and allows us to be honest with each other at a time when pretence and well-intentioned lies can separate us, wasting time that is very precious."

The author has written this book with the end in mind, to prepare people with the process of dying and to provide food for thought. I think she has achieved what she set out with, at least with me. One thing I know for sure is, where I want my end to happen, that is if I get to choose. To quote "Instead of dying in a dear and familiar room with people we love around us, we now die in ambulances and emergency rooms and intensive care units, our loved ones separated from us by the machinery of life preservation."

This book can help us to live better and die better by keeping the end in mind. To quote "Living is precious, and is perhaps best appreciated when we live with the end in mind." And so, I recommend reading this book. Because in the end, the story is about us.

Review: My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey by Jill Bolte Taylor

3.5 stars for My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey by Jill Bolte Taylor.

This book is a personal account, as seen through the eyes of a neuroscientist, about what it feels like to experience the deterioration of the left brain and then gradually recover it over the years. The author hopes that her book will offer insight into how the brain works in both wellness and in illness, and that it will help to give direction and hope to stroke patients and their families and caregivers.

Author Jill Taylor suffers from a rare form of stroke in the left hemisphere of her brain when she was thirty-seven years old. This stroke rendered her completely disabled; unable to walk, talk, read, write or recall any aspects of her life. In her book, she gives a step-by-step explanation into the deterioration of her cognitive abilities and what she experiences in that unforgettable morning of the stroke. The chapter on "The Morning of the Stroke" is informational and helpful in that it tells us the symptoms of an impending stroke, and what and when to look out for it. The later chapters on recovery are equally useful. They include more than fifty tips for the road to recovery. One only needs refer to Appendix B for a bird's eye view on recommendations for recovery.

Though this is a book about stroke, it is ultimately not a book about stroke itself but insights gained from the traumatic event in which the author is very kind and generous to share with us. It is also about the beauty, resilience and adaptability of the human brain - its ability to repair, replace, retain and recover. Not only do we get to know the pre and post-stroke author Jill Taylor, readers also have a better understanding of the human brain, the right hemisphere and the left hemisphere and the asymmetries of the two cortical hemispheres.

I have no doubt that this book can help people in recovering from neurological trauma. But first, the book needs to be read, from beginning to the end, to have a good understanding of the human brain, and then, the insights gained from the author's journey and experience. This book is not, what I will say, an easy to read book altogether, especially the portion after the surgery. Maybe it is due to the dry facts of the matter, or repetitive narrative at times, I have a tendency to drift off into my own la-la land while reading. Don't get me wrong. I do not mean to say that this book is not a good one. It is just that, well, the stars of this book are not so well aligned with my attention for reading.

Overall, the insights the author gained from her stroke is amazing. Perhaps the most significant insight of it all, at least it seems to me, is the inability of the medical community to know how to communicate with someone who has suffered a stroke, especially one in the left hemisphere of the brain, impairing language. This is surely something that the medical community can work on.

Review: Extraordinary Hearts: A Journey of Cardiac Medicine and the Human Spirit by John A. Elefteriades, MD

3 stars for Extraordinary Hearts: A Journey of Cardiac Medicine and the Human Spirit by John A. Elefteriades, MD.

This book is about the human heart and the human spirit that dwells within. The author is a medical doctor and heart surgeon. In this book, he shares ten of the cases that have touched him the most and leave a deep imprint on his being.

Besides getting to know the daily life of this cardiac surgeon and some of his patients, readers also learn about the different heart conditions such as coronary artery disease, aortic aneurysm, aortic dissection, and cardiac reparative procedures. I especially enjoy the author's sharing of real-life clinical application of suspended animation in cardiac surgery under Still Life in chapter 5. It is also interesting to learn about the two nurses, the scrub nurse and the circulating nurse, in any operating room, their responsibilities and importance.

Though there are shortcomings that still exist in modern-day medicine, it is amazing to see how science and medicine have advanced to the stage where the heart-lung machine has been invented to enable heart operations to take place smoothly. It is an eye-opener to see how modern surgery offers solutions and treatments in a bid to prolong life.

Extraordinary Hearts is a good to know book. It is informational as well as educational. However, I cannot help but wonder if it is also about fame and wealth and riches. Almost all the cases mentioned involved patients who are well-known and in all likelihood, well-to-do. I wonder if the author will remember a patient enough to want to share his or her story if it is the average man in the street. I doubt so. Also, I feel that the doctor gets carried away by the background of the patients he chooses to share in his book. He delves too much into the specifics of these patients' careers, what they do, and how famous or popular or well-liked they are by their community.

Finally, what I cannot stand the most in this book, is the author's constant reference of his cases in relation to his religious belief. Yes, we never know what will happen to those patients with severe heart and health issues, both during and after the heart operation. They may not survive. Or they will pull through to be long-term survivors, and if they do, they are not miracles but statistical outliers. They have a chance to continue living because of the surgery performed by the good doctor.

As I mentioned above, Extraordinary Hearts is a good to know book. However, it is not a book suitable for all. Half of the book is dedicated to knowing the human heart and open-heart surgery, the other half to the human spirit and whatever else. So, depending on one's worldview and religious beliefs, this can either be an enjoyable read or an annoying one.

Review: Life with Pop: Lessons on Caring for an Aging Parent by Janis Abrahms Spring and Michael Spring

5 stars for Life with Pop: Lessons on Caring for an Aging Parent by Janis Abrahms Spring and Michael Spring.

Three weeks ago, I was searching for a particular book on the library shelf. The library system showed that the book was available but I just could not find it. Undeterred, I scanned the whole shelf three times, slowly and carefully. How hard could it be, to find a book that was supposed to be where it was? And yet, it was not. Three times I tried, and three times I came across Life with Pop. Not wanting to leave the library empty-handed, I decided there and then that I might as well try the Pop book. Little did I know that, once again, a great book has found its way to me.

Life with Pop is a deeply moving book about being a caregiver to an aging parent and the invaluable lessons gained. It talks about what it means to do the right thing by our parents, to care for them when their mind and body have been greatly diminished by illness and old age, to cope with their needs, demands, mistrust and even anger at times, and to make healthcare and end-of-life decisions. Presented in diary entry style, the writer, a psychologist and daughter of an aging parent shares her personal experience of taking over the role from her mother - after her mother passed away - for being the main caregiver to her eighty-year-old father.

In the book, the author makes mention of some points which while thought-provoking are also chillingly revealing, about our own selves. The day may come and most surely it will, when the child is certain that her parent cannot manage to live alone anymore, and then, what is to be done? The process of deciding where to place our parents, be it independent-living facility or assisted-living facility, forces us the children to see deep within ourselves and discover who we are. It is no comfortable experience because no matter the decision, we confront not only our father or our mother, we confront ourselves, our deepest values. And in a world where each of us craves for our own personal space and believes our quality of life matters, how does one be there for an aging parent without being consumed by the parent? How does one show love for the parent in caregiving without abandoning oneself? How does one do away with the crippling sense of guilt and self-blame for putting a parent in a home?

The bottom line is that caring for an aging parent is no simple task. It is physically exhausting for the child as much as it is an emotional and mental turmoil. To quote "You invest time and patience only to see them regress and become more helpless and disabled. Your release is paid for with their lives. There is no next chapter." And then, there is the constant struggle to balance between freedom and duty, and loss and guilt. To quote "If Dad dies in the next five years, I don't know how I'll stand it. If he lives for another five years, I don't know how I'll stand it." It is an experience where no one who has not gone through what the other is going through can ever begin to understand.

All in all, this book makes an excellent guide for people who feel overwhelmed by the needs of an elderly parent. It may help to inspire and give the caregiver the much needed spiritual support. Also, the book serves to prepare readers for their own old age and help them become the type of person who will bring out the best in those who care for them.

Finally, I will like to say this book drives home the very fact that "人的一生，就是生老病死的过程". Translated, it means "Life is a cycle of birth, aging, illness and death". There is no escape. Also, being alive and living are not the same. Because the quality of life matters. Ultimately, human kindness, compassion, and listening without passing judgement may help alleviate the pain of suffering from the loss of health and the loss of freedom of movement that comes with old age.

Review: My Lovely Wife in the Psych Ward: A Memoir by Mark Lukach

4 stars for My Lovely Wife in the Psych Ward: A Memoir by Mark Lukach.

This is a difficult book to read; not because it is boring or badly written, but because it is a blatantly honest outpour of a husband's innermost thoughts and beliefs and actions that do not sit well with me.

The husband thinks that there is a pill that can and will fix all mental problems. I know it must have been terrible to feel helpless and clueless but it is frustrating and traumatizing to see the husband sending his wife to the hospital and Psych Ward time and again, to be pinned down by orderlies to have medication injected into her body.

It is also equally disturbing to read about the mental health system as described in the book as it goes about its way of admitting and treating patients. It seems like a whole load of self-serving, profit driven structure where doctors dish out drugs too readily and think that they are above all, that their decisions are the best, when in fact, I don't see them putting the patients' interests at heart at all.

Overall, what I see mostly is a controlling husband who does not know how to give space, who suffocates the wife with well-intentioned but ill-managed care, who does not trust the wife to make her own choices and decisions, who tries to control and run the wife's life, and on top of it all, who believes medication and pills are the solution to anxiety, stress and depression.

The above said, at the end of the day, who am I to criticize the husband's beliefs and actions? It is after all his life to live and none of my business. Still, I am glad to have read this book, expressed my view and said my piece.

Review: Cracked: The Unhappy Truth about Psychiatry by James Davies

5 stars for Cracked: The Unhappy Truth about Psychiatry by James Davies.

The book is easy to read, thought provoking and it challenges what we think we know about psychiatry - the study and treatment of mental illness, emotional disturbance, and abnormal behaviour. It should be read by anyone who thinks there is a pill that will fix your problems, and by everyone who is concerned on the basic humanity and social well-being.

The official story we often hear is that psychiatry has the tools and knowledge at its disposal to help us when our lives break down. In reality, the psychiatry industry has often resorted to half-truths and cover-ups. The book addresses the pressing issues with psychiatry, breaks them down and tells it all.

- Why has psychiatry become the fastest-growing medical specialism when it still has the poorest curative success?

- Why are psychiatric drugs now more widely prescribed than almost any other medical drugs in history, despite their dubious efficacy?

- Why does psychiatry, without solid scientific justification, keep expanding the number of mental disorders it believes to exist — from 106 in 1952, to 374 today? What is going on?

- What role does our biology play in our mental distress?

The truth is never far behind. There is no smoke without fire. It is an unfortunate but ugly truth. And the truth is, psychiatry can be explained simply as the lure of power and money putting the pursuit of pharmaceutical riches and medical status above that of patients’ well-being.

Written to create and heighten awareness, this book educates and enables people to be better informed about the current state psychiatry is in; to get away from the escalating craze for psychiatric drugs and diagnoses. As the proverb goes "all that glitters is not gold", we need to be wary of what we read in the news and decide for ourselves what the truth is.

If you are not already aware of the numerous doctors being enticed by huge pharmaceutical rewards into creating more disorders and prescribing more pills, of the psychiatric organization concealing information and distorting the facts, this book is a good place to start.

Review: Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death and Brain Surgery by Henry Marsh

5 stars for Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death and Brain Surgery by Henry Marsh.

Henry Marsh is leading English neurosurgeon. He retires from full-time practice in 2015. Do No Harm is a brutally honest account of his life's work, his 40-year career as a brain surgeon.

As with any human, neurosurgeon Marsh makes his share of mistakes in his life. The stories in this book are about his attempts, and occasional failures, to find a balance between the necessary detachment and compassion that a surgical career requires, a balance between hope and realism.

Having read this memoir, I understand better the difficulties that doctors face. But I also view doctors in a different light now.

Review: Admissions: A Life in Brain Surgery by Henry Marsh

4 stars for Admissions: A Life in Brain Surgery by Henry Marsh.

I come to know of this book by chance. The title somehow grabs my attention and I know I must read the book.

This book is about medicine and neurosurgery, more than that, it is about life as a neurosurgeon.

Here, author Marsh reveals much of his inner thoughts and feelings:

• Why he is always a little anxious when waiting to operate and when operating, and why he has to affect a complete calm and confidence, something which he does not inwardly feel

• Why it is important for surgeons to radiate self confidence

• Why surgeons feel easily threatened by their own colleagues

• Why surgeons often disparage their colleagues and even give evidence against one another as expert witnesses.

• Why surgeons carry cemeteries within themselves

• Why medical decisions - whether to treat, how much to investigate - are often not clear-cut.

• Why health care costs are getting more and more expensive, running out of control.

• Why patients or their families have wholly unrealistic expectations of what medicine can achieve, and take it very ill if things go badly.

• Why doctors have to supress their natural empathy, to not learn but unlearn empathy.

• Why it is so remarkably difficult as a doctor to find the correct balance between compassion and detachment

• Why an awake craniotomy is recommended to remove tumour in the brain rather than with the patient asleep under a general anaesthetic, and how it is done

Food for thought.. what is the role of the doctor?

The role of the doctor is not just to save life at any cost, but also to reduce suffering.

If surgeons operate on everybody, without any regard to the probable outcome, they will create terrible suffering for some of the patients and even more so for their families.

Review: The Soul of Medicine: Tales from the Bedside by Sherwin B. Nuland

4 stars for The Soul of Medicine: Tales from the Bedside by Sherwin B. Nuland.

This book is a collection of narratives on the most memorable patient ever seen by Family Physicians, Anesthesiologists, Bronchoscopists, Cardiologists, Dermatologists, Gastroenterologists, Geriatricians, Nephrologists, Neurologists, Neurosurgeons, Obstetricians, Pediatricians, Surgeons, Urologists and some others. These personal recollections demonstrate the aspects of the ethics of medicine, the ways in which science changes and how doctors approach certain kinds of problems in their own particular ways.

The topics shared range from a simple case of a minor facial rash to a complicated one involving life threatening pneumonia and partial collapse of the lung, from treatment of a bleeding polyp to organ transplantation, from simple observation and traditional physical examination of the body to technologies that approach the most advanced that medicine now offers.

At the end of my reading, the phrase that keeps popping up in my mind is "Primum non nocere", a Latin phrase that means "first, do no harm." It is a simple dictum that the duty of the healer is "to do good, or at least to do no harm". Another way to state it is that, "given an existing problem, it may be better not to do something, or even to do nothing, than to risk causing more harm than good."

And to me, "Primum non nocere" is the real lesson of humanity for all, physicians or not, but physicians especially.

Review: How We Die: Reflections on Life's Final Chapter by Sherwin B. Nuland

4 stars for How We Die: Reflections on Life's Final Chapter by Sherwin B. Nuland.

All life has a finite span and each species has its own particular longevity.

In this book, Dr. Nuland describes in frank detail the process of dying in its biological and clinical reality, by which life succumbs to disease, violence, accident or old age.

Organised into chapters and sections on the most common disease categories of our time, How We Die covers the cardiac chapters; the sections on aging and Alzheimer’s disease; the trauma and suicide section; the AIDS chapters; the clinical and biological aspects of cancer; and last but not least, the discussion of the doctor-patient relationship.

Amidst the deep desire to understand the nature of dying, the topic on hope is never far away. The deep impression that Dr. Nuland leaves behind on me is his confession on how he tries to give his brother hope - by letting his instincts as a brother overwhelm his judgment as a surgeon who has spent his career treating people with lethal disease - by offering him the opportunity to try the experimental new treatment which only serves to intensify his brother's suffering and rob him of an easier death. Dr. Nuland's brother, Harvey, died of colon cancer in 1990.

In the face of the wildly unpredictable process of living, dying and death, it is in our favour to learn as much as we can about our bodies, their strengths, their weaknesses and their ultimate inevitable failings. By doing so, we may/will be better prepared to deal more gracefully with the end. This book is as good a place as any to start.

Review: The Bright Hour: A Memoir of Living and Dying by Nina Riggs

4 stars for The Bright Hour: A Memoir of Living and Dying by Nina Riggs.

A maelstrom of thoughts and emotions swirled within me each time as I pick up this book to continue from where I leave off. I want to read this book. Fast. Finish it quickly. But I also want it to last. Slow. Read it slowly.

Fast because I cannot wait to find out what happens next, to Nina, to her mother, to her good friend Ginny, to her father's dog, to the chasm between living and dying.

Slow because I cannot bear for the story to come to an end. I feel that as long as I am still reading the book, the events and happenings on the page that I am reading are taking place in the present. The book is alive; Nina, the protagonist, the author, is alive.

With short, easy-to-manage chapters, the collection of reminiscences is poetic, nostalgic and reflective of the writer's natural capacity for irony and deadpan humour. It is also very much doused with endless expressions of love, joy, fear, denial, anger, guilt, happiness, sadness, relief, longing, hope and acceptance.

In a wink, a blink, a flicker, I have reached the end of the memoir. Nina is no longer alive. I am overcome with sadness and a sense of loss and emptiness.

The Bright Hour is another good reminder to us that life is short. Live a life - work to live, not live to work. Laugh more often - laughter is the best medicine. Love with your heart - love encompasses all. Live, laugh, love.

Review: When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

5 stars for When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi.

This is one powerful little book, small on the outside but big on the inside.

In his memoir, Paul Kalanithi describes his search for life's meaning, why he chooses neurosurgery as his specialty, when he reaches the pinnacle of residency, why he sheds his surgeon's coat to put on a patient's gown only to swap it back again, and how he starts to view the world through two perspectives - see death as both doctor and patient - the moment he is diagnosed with a terminal illness.

Central to the book is one big question: What makes life meaningful enough to go on living?

Like his patients, Paul Kalanithi has to face his mortality and try to understand what makes his life worth living. He has to figure out what is most important to him.

Heartwarming and yet heartbreaking at the same time, Paul Kalanithi writes with a focused fluency even as he wrestles with death in every step of the way to share his pains and gains and losses.

The fact of death is unsettling. Yet there is no other way to live. ~ Paul Kalanithi

Review: Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande

5 stars for Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande.

Deciding on the book to kick-start Year 2018 with is tricky business. In the past, I will never have given much thoughts to this first book. However, my way of thinking starts to change since 2015, when by chance, I started that year with The Walk series by author Richard Paul Evans. Somehow or other, the story brought me hope, faith and a sense of peace and helped to set my reading mood for that year.

This New Year, I ask myself "what kind of mood and tone am I looking at to set my reading in the coming days, weeks and months?". I look at my reading list many times before I realise that the answer has been staring me right in the face all the while. I have decided. It is time to confront mortality (via reading), the condition of being mortal.

Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End.

This is a book about the modern experience of mortality — what it is like to live, grow old, fall sick and die, and how medicine has changed the experience and how it has not.

The author, a surgeon, writer, and public health researcher, stresses time and again, the importance of managing end-of-life issues with patients and their families. By trying not to think about the final phase of the human life cycle, oft-times people end up with institutions (hospitals, assisted living facilities, nursing homes) that address any number of societal goals — from taking burdens off families’ hands to coping with poverty among the elderly — but never the goal that matters to the people who reside in them: how to make life worth living when they are weak and frail and cannot fend for themselves anymore.

There are invaluable lessons to be learnt from this book about aging, attitude to death, quality of life, consequences of sacrificing time now for time later instead of living for the best possible day today, and terminal care. These lessons are of vital importance because people die only once and there is no prior experience to draw on.

The foremost question in my mind now is "Will I have an ending whereby I am able to make the choices that meant the most to me?"

This, in turn, brings me to the four questions of paramount importance that I have learnt from Dr. Gawande; questions that, I will in all likelihood have to ask myself and provide the answers some day.

(1) What is my understanding of the situation and its potential outcomes?

(2) What are my biggest fears and concerns?

(3) What are the trade-offs (sacrifices I am willing to endure now for the possibility of more time later) I am willing to make and not willing to make?

(4) What is the course of action that best serves this understanding?

Indeed, I have chosen a heavy topic to read. Medicine and what truly matters in the end certainly provides food for thought. What makes life worth living when we are old and frail and unable to care for ourselves? Do we get to live the way we wish and with our families around us right to the end?

Being Mortal is a book for everyone; a must-read for all. Eventually, death will come knocking on our doors one day and we need to prepare ourselves for the inevitable to happen. Even then, for all our preparations and whatever we think we have learnt, we may not be ready for it when that day arrives. If you have yet to seriously think about what matters in the end, this is an excellent book to get you started.

Last but not least, I like to say that there are so many well written and meaningful passages in this book that I find myself reading and rereading them before moving onto the next section. Initially, I have wanted to quote only a few lines out of the whole passage but I find that once truncated, the intended meaning and impact is lost. So, I have taken verbatim from the whole passage, rearrange into shorter paragraphs for easy reading, and list them under notable passage 1, 2, 3, and so forth.

Review: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

5 stars for The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot.

This remarkable debut comes recommended by a booklover buddy of mine. The title alone is enough to intrigue me such that I have it up on top priority to be read right after Towers of Silence which I am halfway through then.

As dictated by the book title, yes, this is a story about Henrietta Lacks, her immortal cells and her descendents.

Born in 1920, Henrietta Lacks died from a vicious case of cervical cancer in 1951. Since then, her (cancer) cells have been living outside her body far longer than they ever lived inside of her. The term immortal human cells refer a continously dividing line of cells all descended from one original sample, cells that would constantly replenish themselves and never die.

Considering the evolution of medical science and with it, the ethical debates relating to human-subject research and inevitably, the legal issues regarding the ownership and commercial use of biological materials and products derived from humans, it is amazing how the author manages to condense years of her research materials and hundreds of hours of interviews into a single book.

Review: A Look Inside Alzheimer's by Marjorie N. Allen, Susan Dublin and Patricia J. Kimmerly

4 stars for A Look Inside Alzheimer's by Marjorie N. Allen, Susan Dublin and Patricia J. Kimmerly.

Alzheimer's Disease (AD) has been a topic of interest to me of late. Perhaps it is the increasing awareness of this disease through the various media or simply the inevitable process of aging that sets me thinking, I find myself drawn, like a moth to a flame, to books written on the different forms of dementia, particularly Alzheimer's disease and even more so, early onset Alzheimer's.

If you ask around, it will seem that almost everyone knows someone with Alzheimer's disease, but the sad reality is, only a handful of people truly understand the disease itself.

A Look Inside Alzheimer's is an excellent guide to everyone and anyone. It is written - in layman's terms - from the bottom of the hearts of those who have been diagnosed with AD and how they have to learn to overcome the day-to-day challenges of memory loss, confusion and difficulty in understanding questions. Here, the caregivers also share their pains in seeing their loved ones succumb to the disease day by day and how they learn to cope as the disease progresses.

The following statement, taken verbatim from the book, is indeed well said. "If people were demented, they were considered insane, but AD is a form of dementia and dementia is not insanity. It is a neurological disease."

I think this book should be read by all.

Publisher: Demos Health; 1 edition
Publication date: 18 Sep 2012

*** Favourite quote 1 ***

At present, it's a matter of accepting the inevitable and finding the routine that will allow appreciation of what life offers.

*** Favourite quote 2 ***

It is important to educate people that AD is not a loss of self. It is a gradual change in self that eventually affects the physical and cognitive abilities but retains the inner emotional connection.

~ A Look Inside Alzheimer's
Marjorie N. Allen, Susan Dublin and Patricia J. Kimmerly

@}--->>--->>-----

A Look Inside Alzheimer’s is a captivating read for friends, families and loved ones affected by this mind-robbing disease. Individuals with early-stage Alzheimer's disease will take comfort in the voice of a fellow traveler experiencing similar challenges, frustrations, and triumphs. Family and professional caregivers will be enlightened by this book and gain a better understanding of this unfathomable world and how best to care for someone living in it.

Susan and Patricia share their accounts of their own transformation and deterioration with early-onset Alzheimer’s Disease and Marjorie shares her perspective as the wife of a person living with Alzheimer’s Disease. The book addresses the complexity and emotions surrounding issues such as the loss of independence, unwanted personality shifts, struggle to communicate, and more. The three life-stories intertwined along with boxed quotes from professionals in the field make this book special.

*Blurb from Goodreads*

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Review: Essential Oils Natural Remedies: The Complete A-Z Reference of Essential Oils for Health and Healing by Althea Press

4 stars for Essential Oils Natural Remedies: The Complete A-Z Reference of Essential Oils for Health and Healing by Althea Press.

A friend introduces me into the world of Young Living (YL) 100% pure essential oil somewhere last October. Though I attended their talk and tried out one of their oils, my interest isn't fully piqued until beginning of this year when I purchase more of their oils and find myself loving them more and more. Five months later, I decide to take the plunge and join as a YL member.

Though a YL member and equipped with an Essential Oils pocket reference book by Life Science Publishing (compliments of my friend), I find myself hungry for more information from other guidebooks written or research done with no reference whatsoever to YL. The thing is, I want a clear and unbiased view on the uses, applications and powers of nature's remedies without the influence of any one particular brand.

With the above in mind, I proceed to do my share of research and readings online. It is then that I realise that the more I read, the more confused I get. A good example is on the topic of ingesting essential oils. While some are strong advocates when it comes to ingesting the so-called therapeutic grade essential oils, others clearly warn against doing so. In the end, I find myself researching on books to buy instead and that is how I land up with not one but two essential oil reference books; this being one of them.

Having read this A-Z reference on essential oils, below is my take on this guidebook:-

Pros
(1) Pleasing layout with coloured chapters.
(2) Easy to use and navigate.
(3) Clear and concise explanations on uses and application methods, blending and precautions.
(4) Covers 168 common ailments with suggested homemade remedies.
(5) Includes profiles of 75 essential oils.
(6)Provides reviews on 10 most popular essential oils brands and their products.
(7) While the book does not recommend ingestion of essential oils, it does not condemn doing so; instead it encourages readers to do proper research prior to using essential oils internally.

Cons
(1) Non-exhaustive coverage on the profiles of essential oils. To name a few, Cistus, Wintergreen and Palo Santo are not mentioned in the book.

(2) No information on ingestion of essential oils. Taken verbatim from the book "While this book does not recommend ingesting essential oils, after proper research, you may decide it is right for you."

In my opinion, the book is plainly taking the easy way out by putting this huge disclaimer out there. To that end, it defeats my purpose of buying this guidebook because the very act of purchasing this book is the result of having conducted this so-called proper research.

(3) Not much information is provided on the 10 popular essential oils brands and their products except awareness of the brand name itself.

All in all, I am pleased with the wide coverage of ailments and recipes offered for natural remedies. However, this book can have done better by providing more information with regard to ingesting essential oils.

Review: Getting Things Off My Chest: A Survivor’s Guide to Staying Fearless and Fabulous in the Face of Breast Cancer by Melanie Young

5 stars for Getting Things Off My Chest: A Survivor’s Guide to Staying Fearless and Fabulous in the Face of Breast Cancer by Melanie Young.

Though I read both fiction as well as non-fiction books, I invest a lot less time on the latter. This is because my love for imaginary stories that do not actually exist far exceeds that for prose writing that is informative or factual. Thus I will rather devote my precious personal time to reading stories created specially for works of fiction than on facts or real events.

So why this book and specifically one that revolves around breast cancer? This is because one of my peers, a sweet-natured girl, bade farewell to the world this year due to this disease. She was diagnosed with breast cancer during her third pregnancy in 2013. Following the birth of her son and treatment, my friend was given a clean ​bill of ​health by the ​doctor. But in late 2014, she suffered a relapse. She fought a good fight but finally succumbed to breast cancer in July this year. She was survived by her husband and three children, the oldest child 9 years of age and the youngest one barely 2 years old. The diagnosis of cancer, recurrence and subsequent passing of my friend comes as a shock to many of us; after all, she is still in her prime.

According to the American Cancer Society, a nationwide, community-based voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem, about 1 in 8 United States women (about 12%) will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of their lifetime. In 2015, an estimated 231,840 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed in women in the United States and about 40,290 women are expected to die from it, respectively making breast cancer the second most commonly diagnosed cancer among American women, right after skin cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death in women, exceeded only by lung cancer. At this point in time, there are more than 2.8 million breast cancer survivors in the United States, including women who are in treatment or have completed it. (Source: What Are the Key Statistics about Breast Cancer? Last modified on 10 June 2015)

On 9 August 2009, author Melanie Young - owner of a wine and food marketing and special events business - is diagnosed with Stage IIA breast cancer and effectively becomes the "1 in 8". Because of her ordeal with breast cancer, she writes Getting Things Off My Chest in hope of letting her book play the role of a breast cancer mentor that prepares those diagnosed with this cancer on what to expect. Based on the author's experience as well as that of other survivors, the book combines practical and useful survivor's tips for facing cancer head-on, handling diagnosis and managing treatment.

I will not say that I have enjoyed reading Getting Things Off My Chest because it is just so inappropriate. Instead, I will say this; I take my time to read and digest the information, facts, advice and sharing in Getting Things Off My Chest. This book works exactly as intended by the author, as a comprehensive survivor's guide to staying fearless and fabulous in the face of breast cancer. It opens my mind to the many questions-to-ask and options-to-discuss as posed by the author. It provides a candid illustration of what it feels like to find oneself in an unchartered territory called 'Cancer Land'. It gives very good advice on using energy positively to focus on fighting the cancer, getting through the treatment and living the rest of your life in a way that minimises the risk of recurrence.

Having finished the book, I have a much better understanding of the - emotional, mental and physical - trauma and pain that my friend and her family must have undergone. The book has also up my knowledge of this cancer which can secretly creep into any woman's life and catch her unaware - until it is too late - if she allows it so by overlooking regular self-examination and/or recommended yearly mammogram (for those above 40 years old).

Publisher: Cedar Fort, Inc.
Publication date: 10 Sep 2013

*** Favourite quote 1 ***

You can visit doctors for medical advice, but it takes a real survivor to provide the life essentials for getting you through a breast cancer diagnosis, or any cancer diagnosis.

*** Favourite quote 2 ***

Ask the right questions, get the right facts, and decide, along with your team of medical advisors, how to keep yourself healthy.

*** Favourite quote 3 ***

Life is not about how many breaths you take, but about how many moments take your breath away.

~ Getting Things Off My Chest: A Survivor’s Guide to Staying Fearless and Fabulous in the Face of Breast Cancer
Melanie Young

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Melanie helps you navigate your breast cancer journey with this all-inclusive guide filled with helpful survivor’s tips and expert advice. Complete with checklists geared toward streamlining your new life, this book helps you ask the right questions, make informed decisions, eliminate stress,  boost your spirits, eat and exercise for your health and look and feel your best during and after treatment. Don’t let your cancer control you! Empower yourself; stay focused; keep your sense of humor and ease the transition with this book.

This is a witty, helpful handbook on health-nutrition-beauty-cancer management 101 for women who don’t what to be confined or defined by their diagnosis and who want to make smart decisions about managing their well-being.

*Blurb from author's website*

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