Heart warming and sometimes harrowing account of life with a chronically ill family member, balanced with lots of humour
Disadvantages:
Stock up on tissues . . .
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
Normally, as a very fast reader, I can sit down with a paperback and whiz through it in a few hours, finish the thing, and then think no more about it.
Until I read a copy of ‘Diana's Story’ by Deric Longden. This book moved me beyond words and for the first time in my life, I felt compelled to put pen to paper and drop a note to the author to congratulate him on a very wonderful and very sad but true story. I wanted to thank him for sharing his heart breaking account of life with M.E. sufferer Diana (his wife) and for portraying an M.E. sufferer as a real life human being with thoughts, strengths, humour, intelligence and wit and not just as an 'invalid'.
Maybe I'm a little biased, as I am recovering from M.E. myself, but Longden's heart-warming and loving account of his life with this brave, funny and wonderful lady was the most moving (and funny!!) biography I have ever read. I could so empathise with their frustration at esteemed medics who would not accept her illness as genuine, and seemed more interested in how it affected their 'sex lives'..believe me, I've been there!
Despite the absolute horror of the pain and distress that Diana went through, hardly ever did she lose any of her warmth, her ability to laugh at life, or her determination to win the war against this disease, despite losing the occasional battle.
The book, despite being very sad at times, is a celebration of Diana's life. It shows her strength of character, despite being very ill indeed, her natural warmth, her love for her husband, her wonderful mind and most of all,how this man loved and cherished his wife and wanted nothing more than to ease her suffering and make her life as complete and happy as possible. It tells of the couples' fight and determination to get the medical authorities to take them seriously and how the illness not only affected Diana, but all the members of her family too. Throughout the book however, are splashes of humour that will have you laughing out loud, and yet the story is so much more...
If possible, I would love to give this man the biggest hug, and to thank him for telling what is a very sad and heart wrenching story in a way that made me smile through my tears. Read it....it's wonderful...
P.S. I did get a reply back from DL, a hand-written letter full of warmth and modesty and thanking me for taking the time and trouble to contact him. He also passed on lots of helpful advice and gave me addresses of associations and support groups that he felt could provide help with my own fight against this debilitating disease.
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