Growing up Again Mary Tyler Moore | ISBN : 1-4299-6315-8

Growing up Again

Author: Mary Tyler Moore

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Publication Date: 14 April, 2009

ISBN: 9781429963152

Pages:

Subjects: Biographies, Medical, Health and fitness

Available as: Trade Cloth, 978-1-4104-1639-1 Trade Cloth, 978-0-312-37631-4 Trade Paper, 978-0-312-61235-1 E-Book - , 978-1-4299-6315-2

Description:

More than a million American families are affected by Type 1 diabetes (often called juvenile diabetes) and 16 million more by Type 2 diabetes. Mary Tyler Moore unflichingly tells of her 40-year-long struggle with Type 1 diabetes, all the while leading hugely successful careers as actress, producer, businesswoman, campaigner and fundraiser. She also taps into the vast diabetes research network to talk to leading-edge experts who are seeking to control the disease and its complications, harness new technology to aid patients, and eventually to find a cure. This is both an inspring memoir and an invaluable resource for the latest information on treatment and possible cure of this disease. "Each person who has diabetes experiences the basic challenges of the disease in a uniquely personal way. For me, it has been a trip through rebellion and denial to finally arriving at acknowledgement and commitment to solutions. It took years. And I still rankle at the restrictions, the have-tos, the may-nots, and the neverendingness of it. But the illness is what it is and I thank God for the genius of medical researchers who have done so much to make diabetes a less cruel imposition while propelling us toward a cure. "I don't think the story of my life with diabetes is a model for anyone else. There's no template to follow that will determine the course of the disease and how it affects a person's life; no one right way to manage diabetes. What I have put on paper is simply the tale of how, in the course of everyday living-dealing with the losses, the loves, the dead ends and triumphs that come in often seemingly random order-I've dodged, faced-and sometimes conquered-the challenges of diabetes. I'm sharing my story because it is what I have to give, shedding some light on the follies and achievements that I've racked up in my daily confrontation with the disease. "But my journey is just a part of the picture. So I've talked with other people who have diabetes to give voice to their experiences, to provide a varied view of how to live and thrive. And I've sought out some of the wisest and most capable doctors and scientists who are waging war in the laboratory and conducting bench to bedside experiments that are producing new and exciting treatments to help the millions of people with diabetes manage-and ultimately vanquish-the disease." -from My Life with Diabetes

PW Publishers Weekly

Review Source: Publishers Weekly

Review Date: 2009-01-26

Her TV alter ego, Mary Richards, may have been perfect, but it's Moore's imperfections that make her the ideal author of this surprisingly frank memoir about living with diabetes. Diagnosed with Type 1 (juvenile) diabetes at age 33 in 1969, Moore rebelled with anger and frustration at the restrictions of moderation the disease imposed and she ignored. Belatedly, she stopped drinking (after a trip to the Betty Ford Clinic in 1984) and quit her three-pack-a-day smoking habit in 1988, but she admits that she's no poster child for diabetes. With admirable honesty and sardonic humor, Moore exposes her failings with technology and inability to always stay on top of her disease, and reveals how diabetes has permanently affected her vision, balance and stamina. This helpful and illuminating guide is a winning mixture of personal stories with occasional visits to experts who take her step-by-step through surgical procedures or offer more detailed explanations of new technology and stem cell research. It's a credit to the book's bouncy tone that even the detailed appendix is readable. Since 1984, Moore has been the international chair of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, which raises more than $200 million every year. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved