"A Gift, Silently Given"

"A Gift, Silently Given: Facing Chronic Illness With Courage" is a book written by my Aunt Annie, who has been dealing with Parkinson's Disease for several years now. My mother helped her and acted as editor, but all of the words belong to my aunt. I just had to share this, and hope that if you're interested, you take a look at the book. Here's a sneak peak pdf, if you click THIS.


I think she did a fabulous job. The cover was done by a woman named Kareen Ross. That photo is of a church in Ireland, which is where my aunt's family is from. She still feels very connected to Ireland, and is rightly very proud of her heritage.

You can find the book on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. My uncle also set up a web site just for this book. You can see it if you click HERE.



This is the Editorial Review:

No illness comes with a manual!

But reading this little beginner's book is the closest thing to one, because it offers many candid stories of Annie's own life with young-onset Parkinson's disease. It will speak to anyone who has to face the day-after-day demands of a serious chronic illness, including caregivers, family members and friends.

This book will make you feel new!

I also found this, submitted by my aunt, and there's an interesting discussion going on in response:

Is this disease my new career?
Submitted by Annie Malone Zangari on April 4, 2007 - 10:03am. --- Spirituality &
Culture

It will affect everyone of us, but it is a topic that is not discussed. Serious illness and chronic illness is not just a concern of our parents' generation. As Boomers start ageing, there are many facing these concerns personally. What are the questions that you have to answer if this should happen? There is discussion about healing, but there are many more of us that will benefit from a candid long-term discussion of what does it mean to be sick. How do you redefine your purpose in life, if you no longer can do what you were doing? How do you see value in your life when you live in a culture that only seems to value youth and health?

Can you tell I'm very, very proud of my aunt? She's really an amazing, loving, generous woman. I only hope that some day, a cure for Parkinson's will be found, especially since the disease does nothing but get worse.