I read this book again recently and I just love it so much that I wanted to re-post the review I wrote of it off my old blog. If you have the chance, diabetic or not, read this book!!
A few weeks ago I got an email from Jonathan Lazzara from Three Rivers Press, part of the Crown Publishing Group at Random House about a book they just put out (11.1.11) by Chuck Eichten called ‘The Book of Better‘. He sent me a complimentary copy of the book, & said I wasn’t at all obligated to write about it but if I did that would be great.
After getting my copy of the book in the mail, sitting down & reading it a few times I realized there’s no way I couldn’t write anything about this book! My quote review of the book (like the ones they put on the back) is this:
“I’ve had Type 1 Diabetes for over 16 years and ‘The Book of Better’ not only taught me new things but it made me laugh, made me think, & has motivated me to do BETTER!”
This book was not only a really easy read & very straight forward but it was seriously FUN to read!! There were many times while I was reading where I just thought ‘Yes!! That’s exactly how I feel!!’. It goes over everything from diabetes basics, to pumping, food, injections, even the best (believe it or not) & the worst things about diabetes. It taught me things like who the first person treated with insulin was, & why exactly I always get super thirsty & pee a lot when my blood sugar is high (something I never really understood before).
The cover of the book says ‘Life with diabetes can’t be perfect. Make it better.’ And in my opinion, Chuck shows how to do it. He’s honest about the downfalls of this disease but turns around & shows you how to make it better, that there are positive things to be found. And it’s great knowing Chuck is a Type 1 as well. It makes me feel like he gets me, he gets how diabetes makes me feel.
While it does explain the difference between Type 1 & Type 2 Diabetes and some things are relevant to Type 2 I feel this book was mainly written for Type 1’s. Which I think is awesome because it seems every piece of literature out there online & off, about diabetes is geared towards Type 2. It’s very, very frustrating.
The design of the book, I think, is fantastic. Lot’s of illustrations, big fonts, little fonts, some cartoon-ish things; a lot of elements that make the book POP & stand out from others. It really catches your eye and makes you WANT to read it. It draws you in!!
All in all, I really loved this book. I also think it’s a good book for people who don’t have diabetes (especially those who interact with diabetics daily) because it tells you about the disease, how diabetics feel, & things to watch out for like signs of high blood sugars and low blood sugars.
If I could I’d put this book in the hands of my husband, my family, my co-workers, my friends, and especially those other Type 1’s who just want to make living with this disease better. I really can’t wait to see what else Chuck Eichten will do.
***Disclaimer: Again as stated above I was sent this book free of charge. I was not obligated to write this review to receive it. I wrote this review because this book has too much awesomeness not to.***
The Healthy Pancreas 