An outing, a book review, a little bit more

Last night I actually left the house for a non-medical, non-wedding, non-child related reason, and went out and socialized with adults!

I know, it's a shock and a half, isn't it?

I went down to Porter Square Books to meet the very fabulous Laurie, who was holding a signing for her brand new book A Life Disturbed. I'm going to start off by telling you all how utterly awesome this book is: If you read A Chronic Dose, than you know that Laurie's style of writing is intelligent, witty, and honest, which are pretty much the ingredients I consider vital in a good writer. You gotta be smart, you gotta be funny, and you gotta believe in what you're telling me, because any of those three things are lacking, I'm just not going to buy into it. Laurie is, of course, not missing out on any of those factors, and it makes for great reading on her blog and in her book.

The book is a series of essays that discuss what it's like to live with a chronic illness as a young adult. Laurie talks about so many things that I talk about here on this blog: how do you merge being independently minded and having to depend on people for your very health? How does society view those of us who are chronically ill (and how can we not care so very much about how people see us)? What are the gives and takes that chronic illness imposes on our relationships, and how do you cope with them?

I can't tell you how many times over the past 14 years I've thought that I was by myself. Even surrounded by a family who loves me and tries their best to understand, even with the few stalwart friends I had to support me at every turn, even with a doctor who kept pushing, kept looking for the answer: There were still (and are still) so many times that I think "I am the one going through this, and it's a lonely place to be." When I found my first CFIDS listserve (way back in 96-ish), it was like finding a tribe of 'my people' (as we called them). These were people who were my age, who were facing the same things I was facing. Who understood what it meant that I had to give up dancing; who cried with me when I missed my Jr Prom because I had pneumonia; who got together and made me a scrapbook when I was bed bound for 3 months. They understood what it was like to fight with your mom, but then still need her to help you get to the bathroom. To be missing classes and feel like you'd never catch up, but to care more about missing out on the talking that went on between classes or at lunch.

I started gaining friends from all over the world, with a wide spectrum of diseases: It didn't matter that our specific diagnoses were different, we still understood each other. They were the people who knew the shorthand of being sick, and I have been comforted immensely by their presence in my life.

When I stumbled into the medical blogosphere (about 2 and a half years ago now), I felt exactly the same way: These were the people who were saying what I was thinking, who I could ask about treatment or television or anything in between. Who understand that it's not all about being sick, but that it's never not about being sick. And so, my 'tribe' expanded, and I have been much the luckier for it.

I've been visiting Laurie's blog for about 2 years now, and she's definitely one of my people: She just gets it. She talks about all of the things that are important in her life, and because her life is impacted by her illnesses, than so are those things. Who she is isn't just 'the sick girl,' but she understands how it feels to be seen that way. In her book, and at the signing last night, she talked a bit about suffering and chronic illness, and how if you're going to go looking for plus sides to the suffering... and you'll have to look really, really hard, because it doesn't have all that many... maybe it's that you can see the suffering, understand the suffering of others. One thing about Laurie's blog, and now the book, is that her ability to empathize is front and center.

But she doesn't gloss over everything either: Life Disrupted is subtitled "Getting Real about Chronic Illness in your Twenties & Thirties," and it follows through on that... There's not a martyr or saint in the mix, and she busts more than one myth about disabled young adults. She talks about employment, marriage, money, & babies - The title of that chapter: "Can vs Should" pretty much sums it up, and I'll just let you know that I cried my way through that entire chapter, but that's something we'll talk about at another time. Even though there were some really tough parts, it was only because they're so true to life... to my life, anyways.

But there's millions of us out there: young adults with disabilities and chronic illnesses, who are all just trying to figure it out as we struggle through it. Everybody struggles - you all know how many things there are that you're making decisions about in your life, every single day: you know how complex and difficult it is to balance all of your needs together. Now imagine adding a chronic illness to that, and it's just one more thing that tips the scales. So it's nice to be a part of a community that helps you to work through those things, and it's nice to see that books like Laurie's can get published. Because people need to know, and she did a wonderful job of telling them.

She also threw a fan-tas-tic book signing, if I do say so: It may have been my first, but I found it impressive - packed and welcoming. Laurie and her family were exceptionally nice to me - I met her Dad, who had strict orders to keep to the back rows and busy himself with his camera, and who couldn't have been any prouder, I don't think. I didn't get to meet her husband John, but he waved to me as I was leaving, which I thought was nice. People I can only assume were her friends started up conversations with me, and let me sneak in the signing line when it had wrapped around to a place my chair wouldn't fit. And Laurie herself was just as nice in person as she is online... she answered questions honestly and with humor, wrote a sweet message in my copy of the book, and even invited me to a little party they were having after the signing. Which, unfortunately, I couldn't get to b/c it had already been quite a long day for me, and I was worn out, but I hope that she had a wonderful time, and that this won't be our only in-person meeting.

Laurie, congratulations on the book: it's fabulous, the signing was great, and I'm so glad to have met you!

Other peoples, particularly those of you who are interested/have no choice but to be interested in living with chronic illnesses: Buy Laurie's Book!