- Hardcover: 240 pages
- Publisher: New American Library (Jan 2004)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0451211596
- ISBN-13: 978-0451211590
- Product Dimensions: 23.1 x 15.2 x 2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,180,121 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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I'm in the intensive care unit of Beth Israel North waiting to go into surgery, where I have a 50 percent chance of dying. Read the first page
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I'm in the intensive care unit of Beth Israel North waiting to go into surgery, where I have a 50 percent chance of dying. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A friend and fellow 'MS'er' lent me this book, saying it was 'quite interesting'.
I read it very quickly. It is an easy read and I found myself quite absorbed with the bits I found interesting and easily skipping over those which I didn't.
I have to say, that despite desperately wanting to be able to highly recommend this book, I can't go that far. I admire Montel for facing his condition and publicly opening up his heart and putting this into the public domain. His experience of MS and mine aren't the same and I guess every person diagnosed with the condition will understand and expect this.
Montel acknowledges how difficult he must have been to live with while coming to terms with his diagnosis and symptoms, and I found this quite enlightening. He discusses his symptoms and depression in depth and seems to have explored every alternative and holistic treatment. His use of food supplements and vitamins seems excessive, although good luck to him in this respect.
Montel is dealing with MS within the constraints of the US healthcare system, and of course this differs quite considerably from our NHS healthcare here in the UK. He makes an enormous fuss about injecting himself once a day, a proceedure that myself and a lot of my friends have easily adapted to without a problem. This does make me wonder how much of a wimp he actually is when he talks about continuous pain (sorry Montel if you are reading this!).
My impression of Montel from his tv show (ok, it is rather vague not having been a regular viewer) was of a calm and sensible person. In the book he portrays a rather manic personality. Before his illness he obviously put a lot of energy into physical fitness and remains an extremely ambititious personality. He is inclined to rant about injustices that have happened to him and areas of strong belief, such as research into the use of cannabis in medicine.
All in all, hats off to you Montel. The world would be a very dull place without people who are prepared to stand up and be counted.
I read it very quickly. It is an easy read and I found myself quite absorbed with the bits I found interesting and easily skipping over those which I didn't.
I have to say, that despite desperately wanting to be able to highly recommend this book, I can't go that far. I admire Montel for facing his condition and publicly opening up his heart and putting this into the public domain. His experience of MS and mine aren't the same and I guess every person diagnosed with the condition will understand and expect this.
Montel acknowledges how difficult he must have been to live with while coming to terms with his diagnosis and symptoms, and I found this quite enlightening. He discusses his symptoms and depression in depth and seems to have explored every alternative and holistic treatment. His use of food supplements and vitamins seems excessive, although good luck to him in this respect.
Montel is dealing with MS within the constraints of the US healthcare system, and of course this differs quite considerably from our NHS healthcare here in the UK. He makes an enormous fuss about injecting himself once a day, a proceedure that myself and a lot of my friends have easily adapted to without a problem. This does make me wonder how much of a wimp he actually is when he talks about continuous pain (sorry Montel if you are reading this!).
My impression of Montel from his tv show (ok, it is rather vague not having been a regular viewer) was of a calm and sensible person. In the book he portrays a rather manic personality. Before his illness he obviously put a lot of energy into physical fitness and remains an extremely ambititious personality. He is inclined to rant about injustices that have happened to him and areas of strong belief, such as research into the use of cannabis in medicine.
All in all, hats off to you Montel. The world would be a very dull place without people who are prepared to stand up and be counted.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I found this book enlightening and comforting. My brother was diagnosed with MS which came as a terrible shock to us all. Since then he's hardly spoken about it, and tried to carry on living a normal life with work and family. I didn't ask too many questions about it because he seemed to prefer not to bring the subject up in conversation. I came across Montel Williams book by chance on Utube, where he was sharing his experience with Oprah. I brought the book and found it helpful to myself in understanding more about MS, and I recognized similar behaviour patterns and symtoms. Plus I've always thought of Montel as an open minded person and trusted in his integrity. Recently I had the opportunity to introduce the book to my brother. Im not sure if he's read the book yet, but it opened up the pathway of communication between my brother and I to talk more freely about his condition and the treatment he's now seeking for the relief of his condition. I recommend this book for those who need to understand this mysterious disease, and Montel does this beautifully. Its true there are parts that one might choose to skip through. But I love my brother deeply, so anything that inspires hope for the future has got to be a good thing.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
45 reviews
131 of 133 people found the following review helpful
Wonderful Book for MS Patients to Read!
10 Jan 2004
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book is a very easy read and I have to say I really enjoyed it. I was never a great big fan of his because he was always the Pollyanna type believing a good attitude and a strong belief system will get you through anything. That always irritates me and pushes my buttons!
In Climbing Higher he is very frank about his road trip with MS. How he felt right after being diagnosed. He talks about his career and childhood briefly, his symptoms and marriage & relationship problems.
I won't spoil the details of the book for those who want to read it but will only give a brief overview if you will. His main problems are bad vision in one eye, burning painful feet and difficulty walking when the pain is at the 10 level (which he says is often).
He also experiences the electric pain where a touch or even water is excruciating. He also has difficulties sexually. He's very frank and it's refreshing to see he does have bad days and is not the Pollyanna he used to portray. He's very emotional and admits to crying a lot (this is a big admission for a man as most won't come clean about tears).
His attitude is that MS can kill ones spirit especially if one is emotionally weak (and who isn't these days in this world) and he realizes there are still others far worse than him so he thanks his lucky stars most mornings when he wakes up.
He is a very confident, over achiever and some see this as arrogant.
I now see him in a different light and I like him. What his core message is MS does indeed suck but we have to fight whatever hand we are given and hope for a better tomorrow.
He is very big on congress allowing medical mj and decriminalizing it.
He acknowledges how lucky he is to be able to have the best healthcare when there are lots more struggling and becoming bankrupt etc.
He is a good voice for the MS community and I like that with his foundation 100% of the money coming in goes to MS. I was shocked to find out with the exact numbers going to MS with the NMSS foundation - it's definitely not 100%!
I encourage anyone struggling with a chronic illness to read this book but especially if you have MS. I was diagnosed 2 years ago and this book will hold a very special place on my book shelf!
36 of 36 people found the following review helpful
The..
23 April 2004
Format:Hardcover
I am not a fan of Montell at all, and I don't watch his show. I don't know what made me pick this book, but I'm glad I read it. The book was not what I expected at all. I had never heard of MS prior to reading this book. It was short and to the point. He makes some compelling arguments for the legalization of marijuana and the benefits and disadvantages of some other drugs. I felt his pain as I read the book. I felt every spasm, frustration, and fatigue episode. This will be a helpful read for MS sufferers. I hope a cure is found soon. I also hope that those who do not have MS will pick up the book and understand not just the nature of the ailment, but also those who live with it daily.
40 of 41 people found the following review helpful
Great book!
4 Mar 2004
Format:Hardcover
I was recently diagnosed with MS, and have been wanting to find more information about the disease, and as Montel states, it is hard to find any type of concensus on this disease. His roundtable discussion at the end of the book was a stroke of genius, and I found it very informative.
Most of the book was great, and it made the best arguement for legalization of medical marijuana research that I have ever heard. Also, I happen to live in Utah, and I have had a great experience with my neurologist. Just wanted to let everyone know that not all Utah doctors are like the one that he had to deal with.
Overall, this is a great book. Another book I would recommend is Lance Armstrongs "It's Not About the Bike". Montel made me feel better because I could relate to his symptoms and feelings, however Lance's book is a great story of fighting for life, despite increadible odds. They are both great books that help people understand what it means to fight to overcome life threatening and/or debilitating diseases.
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