The good people at Shelf Awareness chose to review my book. And Kristen Galles had this to say:
We should thank the neurologist who misdiagnosed reporter Jody Berger and then refused to return her phone calls. Berger, a 43-year-old award-winning reporter, journalist and marathoner, refused to accept that the light pins-and-needles tingling in her fingertips was multiple sclerosis, even when an MRI led a respected neurologist to this diagnosis. Instead she spent two years investigating holistic medicine, including Ayurveda, chelation, osteopathy and craniosacral therapy, and found, “To a man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail…. The doctor with an MRI machine and a self-proclaimed proclivity to diagnosing MS found MS. The traumatologist found trauma. The neuropsychiatrist found anxiety and depression. And the doctor with faith in a heavy metals test found heavy metal toxicity.” However, each specialist provided clues that helped Berger track down and arrest the true culprit of her discomfort: gluten.
Misdiagnosed is a gripping mystery that begins with the MRI that first revealed the lesions on Berger’s spine: “I felt my heart drop down, falling through my back, through the table I was lying on, through the floor and into the earth. I felt my heart falling through dark and quiet earth, toward what I didn’t know.” Throughout her journey, Berger explores the role of pharmaceutical companies in the epidemic of over-diagnosis in the United States, mind-body connections, imbalanced doctor-patient relationships and the role of food and nutrition as medicine. In Berger’s case, a simple elimination diet was the cure, so she recommends that more people start with food and nutrition rather than pharmaceuticals, and ultimately learn to trust their instincts. –Kristen Galles from Book Club Classics
Publishers Weekly said this:
After intermittent tingling in her hands and feet, Berger, a 43-year-old sports journalist, sees a neurologist who orders an MRI; from the lesions detected on her spine he swiftly diagnoses multiple sclerosis. Terrified by the ambiguity of the disease and unwilling to follow a prescription for steroids, Berger begins an odyssey through the health care system, visiting health professionals from various medical persuasions who diagnose according to their specialty, from heavy metal toxicity to depression. As she travels from doctor to doctor (occasionally paying out-of-pocket for tests that aren’t covered by insurance), Berger also delves into her personal life: her uneasy relationship with her mother, a childhood in which she felt disrespected, a divorce, and a shaky romance with a man she met three weeks after her marriage ended. As a journalist, Berger creates her own “assignment,” relentlessly “touring the American medical landscape” in a yearlong struggle to arrive at an accurate diagnosis. The author’s experience reveals that it pays to be armed with knowledge, fortitude, and—perhaps most importantly—tenacity, when entering the health care system. Readers will breathe a sigh of relief when Berger finds a team (an osteopath and Ayurvedic physician) that unravels the mystery. Her story is told with just the right portions of introspection and useful information. (Sept.)
We should thank the neurologist who misdiagnosed reporter Jody Berger and then refused to return her phone calls. Berger, a 43-year-old award-winning reporter, journalist and marathoner, refused to accept that the light pins-and-needles tingling in her fingertips was multiple sclerosis, even when an MRI led a respected neurologist to this diagnosis. Instead she spent two years investigating holistic medicine, including Ayurveda, chelation, osteopathy and craniosacral therapy, and found, “To a man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail…. The doctor with an MRI machine and a self-proclaimed proclivity to diagnosing MS found MS. The traumatologist found trauma. The neuropsychiatrist found anxiety and depression. And the doctor with faith in a heavy metals test found heavy metal toxicity.” However, each specialist provided clues that helped Berger track down and arrest the true culprit of her discomfort: gluten.
Misdiagnosed is a gripping mystery that begins with the MRI that first revealed the lesions on Berger’s spine: “I felt my heart drop down, falling through my back, through the table I was lying on, through the floor and into the earth. I felt my heart falling through dark and quiet earth, toward what I didn’t know.” Throughout her journey, Berger explores the role of pharmaceutical companies in the epidemic of over-diagnosis in the United States, mind-body connections, imbalanced doctor-patient relationships and the role of food and nutrition as medicine. In Berger’s case, a simple elimination diet was the cure, so she recommends that more people start with food and nutrition rather than pharmaceuticals, and ultimately learn to trust their instincts. –Kristen Galles from Book Club Classics
Publishers Weekly said this:
After intermittent tingling in her hands and feet, Berger, a 43-year-old sports journalist, sees a neurologist who orders an MRI; from the lesions detected on her spine he swiftly diagnoses multiple sclerosis. Terrified by the ambiguity of the disease and unwilling to follow a prescription for steroids, Berger begins an odyssey through the health care system, visiting health professionals from various medical persuasions who diagnose according to their specialty, from heavy metal toxicity to depression. As she travels from doctor to doctor (occasionally paying out-of-pocket for tests that aren’t covered by insurance), Berger also delves into her personal life: her uneasy relationship with her mother, a childhood in which she felt disrespected, a divorce, and a shaky romance with a man she met three weeks after her marriage ended. As a journalist, Berger creates her own “assignment,” relentlessly “touring the American medical landscape” in a yearlong struggle to arrive at an accurate diagnosis. The author’s experience reveals that it pays to be armed with knowledge, fortitude, and—perhaps most importantly—tenacity, when entering the health care system. Readers will breathe a sigh of relief when Berger finds a team (an osteopath and Ayurvedic physician) that unravels the mystery. Her story is told with just the right portions of introspection and useful information. (Sept.)