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A Life of Control
Stories of Living with Diabetes
The people who describe their experiences with diabetes range from teenagers to physicians, immigrants, athletes, pregnant women, accountants, a prisoner, and a dairy farmer. They speak of the variety of ways they handle monitoring, diet, insurance coverage, sports, and fashion. Some talk of how they manage to drive trucks for a living or, for recreation, fly airplanes or go spelunking. Many speak frankly of their anxieties and frustrations.
The authors acknowledge that both the patient and clinician have a story about their relationship, and describe the richness and tension in their interaction. Families, too, are sources of both support and conflict. These relationships are acknowledged in the organization of the book, which is divided into sections defined by the main elements of diabetes control: patient self-determination, the role of the family, the social situation, and the patient-clinician encounter.
The book provides a wealth of information about diabetes, including material on prevention, complications, and new technology, as well as a superb glossary, but it is not intended as a textbook on diabetes or as a self-care manual for patients. Rather the book provides a textured account of the health professional's view of diabetes control and the perspective of the patient whose life is complicated by diabetes.
Alan L. Graber is an endocrinologist; Anne W. Brown and Kathleen Wolff are certified diabetes nurse practitioners. In 1986, while in private practice, the authors organized one of the first Outpatient Diabetes Education Programs in the country recognized by the American Diabetes Association. They later worked together for many years at the Vanderbilt Eskind Diabetes Center.
"This is a unique and well written volume describing personal experiences with diabetes of those who have it, their families and their providers of medical care. It yields valuable insights that will help with the issues for everyone who has to deal with this challenging disease."
--Mayer Davidson, MD, Director of the Clinical Center of Research Excellence at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in Los Angeles, past president of the American Diabetes Association, and author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Diabetes
Named a "Best Consumer Health Book of 2010" by Library Journal
"Dr. Graber and his team share a collection of stories that not only educate but motivate. As a healthcare professional with diabetes I have learned most of the really important lessons about control from my patients. These stories are very engaging and you will find this book both enlightening and inspirational."
--Virginia Valentine, certified diabetes educator; co-author of Diabetes Type 2 and What to Do (1994 & 2000) and Diabetes--The New Type 2 (2008); former member of board of directors of American Diabetes Association
"With health care reform on the horizon and the cost of managing chronic disease impacting our economy, the doctor-patient relationship is often quantified in merely economic terms. Through personal stories about living with diabetes, Graber's patients show 'control' is more than insulin, blood sugar testing, and managing one's diet, and a successful doctor-patient relationship is a lot more than what's reflected by billing procedure codes."
--Kim Emmons-Benjet, mother of a child with Type 1 diabetes and blogger for Healthcentral.com
"A Life of Control will greatly interest not only those with Type I or Type II Diabetes, but their family members, physicians, and clinicians."
--Publishers Weekly
"One of the largest challenges people living with diabetes face is taking care of themselves on a day-to-day basis, which means assuming responsibility that, in many other cases, is left up to the doctor. A Life of Control depicts 40 years of diabetic patients' stories through the narration of the doctor and nurse practitioners who collected them, acknowledging the often complicated relationship between people living with diabetes and their doctors. A cleverly organized group of stories, which reveals the difficulties, both physical and emotional, that come along with diabetes, but leaves the reader feeling confident about taking control."
--Steven Edelman, MD, Founder and Director, Taking Control of Your Diabetes, Del Mar, California
"In these touching stories, you will hear real-life tales that are funny, sad, life-affirming, aggravating and more. Read this and realize that you are not alone."
--William H. Polonsky, PhD, CDE
"..if you or someone you know is struggling to find camaraderie during a particularly troubling time with their diabetes, this might be a perfect gift."
--diabetesmine.com
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