Saturday, September 6, 2008

Interactive Blogging: What's on your tx reading list?

Okay, this worked so well the first time and was such a fun way to share information that I thought I would bring back the concept. I've heard a lot about people being "on the fence" as far as tx, which I totally understand and relate to, but I know for me when I was making my decision I was really interested in reading basically anything I could fin on the subject. So I thought I would share a couple of the books I read to get a sense of transplant (for better or for worse) and then let you guys weigh in on the subject. Maybe suggest a few of your own, or offer some reviews on the ones I've posted. Website or internet reading is totally allowed as well. Hope this is helpful to some people...I know I'm still looking for more to read so I'm excited to hear what people suggest!

Books about CF and TX:
-The Power of Two (Isa Stenzel-Byrnes and Ana Stenzel): This was an amazing book about twin sisters with CF and their individual journeys with the disease and double lung transplant. Totally recommend it for anyone interested in reading a heartening, but not cheesy or sugar-coated, view of tx and life after it. They also keep a blog about their book tour and life post-tx, which you can find here: http://blog.stenzeltwins.com/
-Sick Girl Speaks (Tiffany Christensen): Less about transplant than about taking control of your health and healthcare, but also describes a CFer's life through transplant, rejection, and re-transplant. Wow. She also has a podcast at Jerry Cahill's site, as do Ana and Isa (above).
-Other books I want to read on this: Blow the House Down (Michael Taylor); Bittersweet Chances (Dana Selenke Broehl); Breathing for a Living: A Memoir (Laura Rothenberg)

Books about TX in General:
-Sick Girl (Amy Silverstein): I'm not sure how I feel about this book overall. It's written by a fellow NY lawyer who underwent heart transplant at 24 and has survived for 19 years since. It's kinda brutal, and comes across as very self-pitying, but I also get the sense that it's honest (at least from her perspective). Worth reading if you can take it with a grain of salt.
-Other books I want to read on this: Taking Flight: Inspirational Stories of Lung Transplantation (Joanne Schum)

Medical Books:
-The Lung Transplantation Handbook: A Guide for Patients (Karen Couture)
-The Puzzle People: Memoirs of a Transplant Surgeon (
Thomas Starzl): I haven't read this yet, but I would like to, I think. I'm interested in getting a doctor's perspective, even if it's not (obviously) medical advice. What does this surgey really involve? Who makes the important decisions? I'm just curious about the process, really.

Fiction:
-Driving Sideways (Jess Riley): It's fiction, and it's about a kidney transplant. Not a bad read, but not earth shattering by any means.

Anyone else read any of these books? Have others to add?

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for posting these. I will be adding them to my list so I can hopefully decide what I want to do :)

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