Julie Stachowiak

I am running very late in getting my review of "The Diabetes Manifesto: Take Charge of Your Life" by Lynn Crowe and Julie Stachowiak as my family and I have had a crisis that brought chaos into our lives for the last 5 months! I am happy that I can finally fulfill the obligation of reviewing this book to share how important and timely the information given was during our period of crisis.

The information in the Diabetes Manifesto begins with the first step of accepting a lifetime dealing with an incurable disease with the eventual goal being mastery of the knowledge needed to help the diabetic become an expert. One thing that makes this book unique is the author's goal to minimize the disease aspect in the life of the diabetic. In that way diabetes can be managed by ruling over it without letting it rule over them! The book includes the many options available for diabetics to be able to choose a "best path" for their own diabetic needs! Armed with knowledge the diabetic is able to make the best choice available to maintain a quality life. Also covered are aspects of diabetes that are not directly medical but are still a big part of managing diabetes, such as the impact that a chronic disease can have on individual emotions. Many resources are included throughout the book to expand the ability to research anything the diabetic may still have questions about! Among these are extra helps to guide in choosing a doctor that will offer the best care for a diabetic's unique case, as well as learning how certain other medications will work best in the diabetics individual situation. The medical information is also detailed and explained in a lay terms that make understanding easier for anyone with diabetes or family members of a diabetic.

My husband was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes about fourteen years ago. The crisis that rose up as this year began was our first time to deal with the effects that stress can cause in a diabetic. Having this book at this time book opened new solutions for my husband that we were not aware of before reading it! We were blessed to find out that so many of the difficulties that he encountered with his diabetes throughout our crisis time were due to the effects of stress. What to expect with the many symptoms or possible complications that can arise are covered so well with the information presented in a clear and organized system that this book is worth keeping handy as a permanent reference!

By putting diabetes in its place one can still live life to the fullest despite having a lifelong chronic disease! I can enthusiastically recommend this book for anyone who is diabetic or dealing with diabetes in some way!… (meer)

This book has been sitting in its place of honor in the main bathroom for some two months now and a page or two is read each day. I do this because it is not jest another book, but rather a text book on a disease I have had for half a decade and of which I find little information cemented together as it is here. Although I have digested only about 80 of the 240 texzt pages (or one-third of the book), I can state unreservably that, if the book were to end at page 86, say, it would already have provided me every penny of information for its selling price. This is a must book, fellow diabetics, as it seems to be all in here. If the continuing perusal of the book as I wander towards the end changes my opinion any re this review, I shall return and edit it to reflect these changes. Meanwhile, if you have diabetes or love and care for someone who does, buy this book.… (meer)

This is the second self-help book I have received through the Early Reviewer program. I live with a person with type II diabetes who has had major health complications over the past year. I wanted to learn more about the disease and be able to communicate with him better around its many issues. I don't have diabetes myself.

I have read many, many self-help books, as well as many books that are about health-related topics. I used to teach management seminars on things like stress and I had to have a fairly good layman style understanding of what causes stress and the like. So I think I have some basis for comparison here, and I think that this is a very good example of what a self-help book should be.

Lynn and her co-writer (who concentrated on the more technical medical and pharma sections) concentrated on a positive, what you can do, approach, that was a real breath of fresh air given that the information surrounding diabetes (particularly type II) is so judgmental and didactic, particularly about exercise, diet, how bad insulin is, etc. In contrast to that kind of stuff, this was objective, full of useful suggestions about how to learn more and take more charge of your condition, and a lot of very good pointers on the doctor/patient relationship.

The book included a lot of online resources and advice about navigating the huge amount of information on the Internet.

It looks like this is part of a series of "manifestos" about various different kinds of diseases. This is the sort of book that will help people cope with chronic illnesses without being preachy and didactic.

I really don't have any negative critiques, except that at times I thought the author made her point at too much length, but as I'm not the actual disease sufferer that the book was designed for, it's hard to say that it is really a flaw - I am sure if the issue were more immediate, I might like the reassuring flow of the writing and not get impatient with it.

If you have diabetes, either type I or type II, or if you are related to someone who does, this book will give you a lot of good information and advice. Highly recommended.… (meer)