- Paperback: 256 pages
- Publisher: Fusion Press; 1 edition (6 April 2006)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1904132944
- ISBN-13: 978-1904132943
- Product Dimensions: 21.5 x 13.6 x 1.9 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 264,896 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Synopsis
Nick Van Bloss was 7 years old when he had his first tic: a sudden compulsion to shake his head from left to right, twice in rapid succession. It wasn't until 15 years later that he was diagnosed with Tourette's syndrome and he could comprehend the condition that had plagued him for so long. Amidst his battles with unhelpful medical professionals, jeering bullies and his own very busy body, Nick managed to survive by discovering a gift and passion for the piano. Life, however, was still to throw a number of obstacles in his way before he could learn to accept his syndrome and wear his tics with a smile...Nick van Bloss' memoir gives a remarkable insight into a much-misunderstood condition, and allows us into the heart and mind of a wonderfully witty and talented man.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is one of those memoirs that has really hit a nerve. As a parent I can't begin to imagine how it must have felt having a son with such disturbing symptoms, only to be all but ignored by medical professionals. The book is a wonderful journey through the life of someone who has lived to the fullest despite having Tourettes - it is packed with description and told with an easy and readable humour. It also helped me understand Tourettes and showed me that it is not only a disease of people who swear. I think it stands as a testament of bravery and should be inspiring to anyone who feels that they are a misfit in our pressured society.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Like so many people, I thought that Tourette's was a condition that made people swear all the time. I heard the author on BBC radio and was spellbound by his story and about his struggle with Tourette's. It isn't only a syndrome of swearing at all and the book describes how it is to live with Tourette's, what it feels like and how frustrating and painful it is. At one point we are given an exercise to make us feel what it is that people with tourette's actually feel and this was fascinating. The story itself is moving, especially when we are given painful descriptions of the victimisation that the author endured because of his condition. Ultimately, I felt that I got to know someone with Tourette's through reading this. In view of all the empty celebreity biogs that are being marketed these days, it was wonderful to discover a real and wonderfully written story.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Tourette's is in the news a lot recently so I decided to buy this book to try and get a better understanding of it. I suppose I was expecting a medical based approach but I was surprised that it was more a narrative in which I not only got to know all about the condition, but also to know the author. I really felt as if he was talking to me as I read it. It was written in a way that allowed me to empathise and suffer with him, but also to share in the humour that living with tourette's has given him and this helped to shape a very balanced read.
The author points out that the book is not simply about tourette's but, more importantly, about embracing it as a lifestyle. I followed his life through many episodes, some excrutiatingly painful, some fabulously comical and others ironic and accepting. It was a great insight into exactly what tourette's is and also precisely how it is and feels to live with. I found it quite heartbreaking that such a gifted and sensitive person should have been afflicted in such a way, not only with tourette's itself, which is bad enough, but also with having to deal with a bullying and insensitive society, not to mention many other problems that the author has had to deal with in his intense lifestyle - he is still only in his 30's. I was so sad that he had to give up a career as a professional pianist because of his tourette's and found myself wishing that he hadn't. Nick van Bloss is obviously a man with a lot to give and in this book I think he has shared a moving and honest story of living with a nightmare of a condition.
The author points out that the book is not simply about tourette's but, more importantly, about embracing it as a lifestyle. I followed his life through many episodes, some excrutiatingly painful, some fabulously comical and others ironic and accepting. It was a great insight into exactly what tourette's is and also precisely how it is and feels to live with. I found it quite heartbreaking that such a gifted and sensitive person should have been afflicted in such a way, not only with tourette's itself, which is bad enough, but also with having to deal with a bullying and insensitive society, not to mention many other problems that the author has had to deal with in his intense lifestyle - he is still only in his 30's. I was so sad that he had to give up a career as a professional pianist because of his tourette's and found myself wishing that he hadn't. Nick van Bloss is obviously a man with a lot to give and in this book I think he has shared a moving and honest story of living with a nightmare of a condition.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Not a Tourette's sufferer, but fascinating
Fortunately, I am not a Tourette's sufferer, but this author's account of the illness which caused him such problems at school and the way in which he overcame these problems... Read more
Published 3 months ago by your average reader
Incredible
I urge you all to read this book and then read it again! Nick Van Bloss is an inspiration to us all in a modern world where we conform to government scaremongery and have our sweet... Read more
Published on 15 Feb 2010 by D. Murphy
Heart-warming and honest
As a sufferer of Tourettes myself, I have always been disheartened and frustrated by people's attitudes towards "that swearing disease", publicised falsely by the media. Read more
Published on 22 Oct 2008 by E. Davies
Inspiring, Moving
Given to me over Christmas, I imagined that this book would be really depressing and leave me on a downer. I was very wrong. Read more
Published on 1 Jan 2008 by Athos215
Moving, funny, essential
I loved this book. After its traumatic prologue I found myself crying and then, within the space of a few pages, I found myself laughing hard. Read more
Published on 16 Feb 2007 by Juicy Lucy
A Compulsive Read
This got me into the head of a Tourettes sufferer. It has all the jargon and info to inform you about TS along with all the gritty parts of an autobiography. Read more
Published on 14 May 2006 by Z. C. Streather
For anyone who has felt "different"
Not only has Mr. van Bloss written a witty and informative book on a very distressing condition, but he wisely shows how one may come to terms with being misunderstood, abused and... Read more
Published on 1 May 2006 by H. Michael Wieben
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