by Marc Elliot (2011)
The author, an inspirational speaker who voices a message of tolerance, further illustrates his perspective in this autobiography, sharing his experiences growing up with Hirschsprung's disease as well as being diagnosed at age 9 with Tourette syndrome.
Sandra Butler and Barbara Rosenblum
Cancer in Two Voices is the remarkable and deeply inspiring collaboration between Barbara Rosenblum and Sandra Butler which began when Barbara was diagnosed with breast cancer. Through journal entries and letters. they share the experience of living with cancer and being the partner who survives.
Margy Dieguez
"The year was 1952 ... and in one moment that summer my life was changed forever. A dreaded virus was running rampant throughout the United States. Technically called infantile paralysis, this virus was more commonly known as polio. There had been sixty thousand documented cases and three thousand deaths that year, the last big epidemic before Dr. Jonas Salk discovered his vaccine. At fifteen years old I was diagnosed with this disease that the entire United States feared. My story is one of finding a way to overcome everyday problems posing monumental obstacles. After forty days in an iron lung; in an isolation ward for five months and eight months of rehabilitation, and being unable to use my arms and legs normally I had many challenges. Learning to walk again I married and had children but soon I was alone raising a six year old son and two year old daughter. It is my belief that my life has been what it was supposed to be. I believe I have lived life to the fullest and for that I am forever grateful for all the amazing people who helped me along the way and the amazing God who made it all possible Courage The measure of one's courage should not be judged alone by how tall a mountain is but also by how tall was the mountain to the one who climbed it."--Back cover.
Nicole Johns
Purge is a beautifully crafted memoir that has a Girl, Interrupted feel. In this raw and engaging account of her months in rehab, Nicole Johns documents her stay in a residential treatment facility for eating disorders. Her prose is lucid and vivid, as she seamlessly switches verb tenses and moves through time. She unearths several important themes: body image and sexuality, sexual assault and relationships, and the struggle to piece together one's path in life. While other books about eating disorders and treatment may sugarcoat the harsh realities of living with and recovering from an eating.
Amy Hoffman
Hospital Time is a memoir about friendship, family, and caregiving in the age of AIDS. Amy Hoffman, a writer, lesbian activist, and former editor of Gay Community News, chronicles with fury and unflinching honesty her experience serving as primary caretaker for her friend and colleague, Mike Riegle, who died from AIDS-related complications in 1992. Hoffman neither idealizes nor deifies Riegle, whom she portrays as a brilliant man, devoted prison rights activist, and very difficult friend.