Diabetes Burnout: Preventing it, Surviving it, Finding Inner Peace [Paperback]

He knows that people make a cost/benefit analysis when it comes to self-care. If the behavior is too hard or too unpleasant, and the rewards don't seem worth it, we're not going to consistently exercise, check sugars, or eat what we're supposed to.

This problem is not just true for people with diabetes. It applies to anyone with chronic illness, or really, to anybody at all. I knew about this from living with multiple sclerosis, and I wrote about it in my book. But I didn't think anybody else had developed these ideas. I was sure Dr. Polonsky must have some kind of chronic condition himself, because he knows what it's like. But he doesn't have an illness. He's just very insightful.

I really like the humor in this book. I know some reviewers accuse him of being "cutesy" or Disneyfying diabetes, but I think being able to laugh at your situation helps, even when it's really painful. His description of "werewolf eating" and "Diabetes police" are highly evocative -- they get the point across. I don't think he's talking down to anyone -- he has compassion for people's struggles and wants us to feel better.

It's true that Diabetes Burnout does not cite its sources very well and doesn't contain a lot of specific info on diets or other self-care practices. But that's not its purpose. He is giving tools for identifying and overcoming our barriers -- social, practical, psychological or economic. This is important -- some of those barriers may have been with us for decades, and overcoming them can change not just diabetes management, but also entire lives.

He also inspires by telling stories of real people he has worked with, who have made great strides in difficult circumstances. It's entertaining, inspiring and educational (just like my book :-). What more do you want?

David Spero RN, author of The Art of Getting Well: Maximizing Health When You Have a Chronic Illness (Hunter House 2002) and the upcoming Politics of Diabetes: Social Causes, Costs and Cures of an Epidemic (2005). www.davidsperoRN.com

On recommendation I bought this book with the thought "another book about facts and figures and how the perfect diabetic should rule his/her life".

On the first pages it goes straight into stories of real people who are going through what I'm going through "thank goodness I'm not the only one". At this point in my nightmare I wasn't looking for strategies on how to deal with this, only to know that diabetics who were in the same situation felt an dealt with it the same as me.

In this book there are sections which have questionnaires to make you really think about how you feel and think about your diabetes. These sections are labelled so you can tell which are relevant to you, so you don't have to read from beginning to end like other books and still feel none the wiser.

I enjoyed the way Polonsky uses humorous names like diabetic police, werewolf syndrome and sugar fairy. At last situations that made me angry and frustrated now make me chuckle to myself and deal with it in a calmer manner.

I would recommend this book to anyone and wish I had read it the beginning of my diabetes which would have helped me like it has helped me now.

WELL DONE DR. POLONSKY !

As observers, we forget that those who suffer from Diabetes are the same as the rest of us. They have bad days and good. They suffer from depression, stress, and boredom just like the rest of us. And to think that these day to day human experiences might affect the care we take in administering to a disorder like Diabetes is so simple and yet so profound.

I now look at those in my life with this disease in a new light. Perhaps an additional level of understanding and empathy. Through the testaments offered up in this book, I see how there are days or years when someone might reasonably feel like saying, "I don't want to be a Diabetic anymore!" And how this feeling can lead a person to stop caring for himself or herself.

I don't know if William Polonsky has all of the answers to overcoming what he calls "Diabetes Burnout". But I know that this book can serve those of us who love people with this disease to become better partners in their struggle to maintain good and healthy lives.