Tales From the Bed by Jenifer Estess256 pages
Completed 2/11/10
Diagnosed with ALS in her early thirties, Jennifer Estess decided to not wallow in her fatal diagnosis, but instead used the bond with her two sisters to realize the truly important things in her life. Founding Project A.L.S., the Estess sisters show what rallying behind a loved one really is.
As any book revolving around illness does, this was chock full of medical terms, but in a way that didn't make you feel lost and unintelligent. While the story of Jenifer Estess was inspiring, her bond with her sisters is what touched me the most. As someone who is forging a stronger bond with my own sister, I was moved to tears on more than one occasion during this reading.
The ending is predictable; the epilogue not so much. All in all, I was not overly impressed with this memoir. The dropping of celebrity names, the blurry line between Jenifer's and Valerie's writing, the lack of impression it made on me; all led me to conclude that I do not recommend this one, regardless of it's heartbreaking storyline.
My best friend works for an ALS non-profit in Cambridge. It's called ALS TDI (ALS Therapy Development Institute). One of the founders wrote his own memoir after being diagnosed with ALS. It's called "Augie's Quest" if you're interested.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sarah!
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