I am reading Sickened by Julie Gregory

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Has anyone read this book? I just bought it yesterday and OMG.. its soo sad what people/children are put through
[Edited 10/22/04 3:05am]

Link is "Access Denied" - damn firewall!

What's the book about ?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
The first of its kind, this compelling memoir recounts the story of a childhood affected by Munchausen by proxy disease, a.k.a. MBP, a psychological disorder in which caretakers, usually themselves the victims of traumatic abuse, "make an otherwise healthy child sick" as a way of gaining attention and approval. Set in towns of rural obscurity, Gregory's memoir movingly describes how, as a "sick" child, she believed that her constant feelings of exhaustion and lethargy were caused by some illness in herself rather than by her mother's complicated and abusive rituals. When her mother feeds her handfuls of pills, withholds food or instructs her to "act sick," Gregory does as she is told because she wants to please her. Then, undernourished and doped up on drugs for problems that don't exist, Gregory is dragged from hospital to hospital in search of "answers." Interspersed throughout Gregory's narrative are real medical records that show the efforts of dozens of doctors, procedures and surgeries to "heal" her, efforts which instead become the source of new illnesses. Not until adulthood, when she hears a professor describe MPB during a lecture, does Gregory realize what the real problem is. Gregory's impressive and disturbing memoir uncovers the truths of this elusive and disturbing form of child abuse that is often overlooked and misdiagnosed. 22 pages of b&w white photos.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Description:
A young girl is perched on the cold chrome of yet another doctor’s examining table, missing yet another day of school. Just twelve, she’s tall, skinny, and weak. It’s four o’clock, and she hasn’t been allowed to eat anything all day. Her mother, on the other hand, seems curiously excited. She's about to suggest open-heart surgery on her child to "get to the bottom of this." She checks her teeth for lipstick and, as the doctor enters, shoots the girl a warning glance. This child will not ruin her plans.

Sickened

From early childhood, Julie Gregory was continually X-rayed, medicated, and operated on—in the vain pursuit of an illness that was created in her mother’s mind. Munchausen by proxy (MBP) is the world’s most hidden and dangerous form of child abuse, in which the caretaker—almost always the mother—invents or induces symptoms in her child because she craves the attention of medical professionals. Many MBP children die, but Julie Gregory not only survived, she escaped the powerful orbit of her mother's madness and rebuilt her identity as a vibrant, healthy young woman.

Sickened is a remarkable memoir that speaks in an original and distinctive Midwestern voice, rising to indelible scenes in prose of scathing beauty and fierce humor. Punctuated with Julie's actual medical records, it re-creates the bizarre cocoon of her family's isolated double-wide trailer, their wild shopping sprees and gun-waving confrontations, the astonishing naïveté of medical professionals and social workers. It also exposes the twisted bonds of terror and love that roped Julie's family together—including the love that made a child willing to sacrifice herself to win her mother's happiness.

The realization that the sickness lay in her mother, not in herself, would not come to Julie until adulthood. But when it did, it would strike like lightning. Through her painful metamorphosis, she discovered the courage to save her own life—and, ultimately, the life of the girl her mother had found to replace her. Sickened takes us to new places in the human heart and spirit. It is an unforgettable story, unforgettably told.

REDFEATHERS said:

That sounds like a sad book , things like that disturb me too much unfortunately...

To answer your 1st question....



It's very interesting with Bill Bryson managing to put normally confusing topics in terms that even I ( ) can understand... I would definitely recommend it

I'm reading girly fluff

lollyp0p said:

Who wrote that?

RocknRollisalive said:

I havent read any of his books - YET!

The book is very readable though..

I'm reading a Rolling Stones biography at the moment. I'm kinda sad when it comes to music books - I have read FAR too many of them...guess that's why I get called things like "Rock N Roll Dave"
[Edited 10/22/04 3:51am]

RocknRollisalive said:

Yeah, Alive says he's gonna lend me this book when he finishes it, but it's taking him a while to get through it. Apparently, he only reads when he goes to bed, and he never goes to bed, cos he's always on the org.....

I'm reading Jeffrey Eugenides' book Middlesex, quite interesting novel

REDFEATHERS said:

Marian Keyes can't remember what it is called

other side of the story or something

RocknRollDave said:

lollyp0p said:

I never read novels, cos I struggle to remember who the characters are (terrible memory, brought on by lack of choclate, I fear) ....but if you are struggling to remember even which book it is, I thinks you got it bad, girl!

lollyp0p said:

Oh I love her books

But the bitch jinxed me..

I met her afew years ago, and now I cant read her books

REDFEATHERS said:

Why.....did she poke your eyes out or something? (People with umbrellas, eh? They NEVER look where they are going, do they?)

RocknRollDave said:

I dunno, it must have been her witchy Irish spells..

Mysteries of the Dark Moon - Demetra George ( second reading )

and ...

Cooking by Moonlight - Kerri Ann Allrich

REDFEATHERS said:

Tsk.... the Irish....

RocknRollisalive said:

That's it, mate, wind the Irish up in Birmingham - great idea!

REDFEATHERS said:

me too

watermelon was my favourite

oh and the one about the drug re-hab rachels holiday

why can't you read her books now? did she tell you you will die within 24 hours of finishing it?

RocknRollDave said:

lollyp0p said:

I'm thinking pubs and bombs....

RocknRollDave said:

let sleeping dogs ermmmmm sleep

you should have tried being in belfast

lollyp0p said:

I have all her books

REDFEATHERS said:

I have had all her books but i lend them to people who misunderstand the idea

of borrowing and i never see them again


[Edited 10/22/04 4:18am]

lollyp0p said:

Don't you just HATE it when that happens.....

RocknRollisalive said:

what when people quote you before you get chance to edit

RocknRollisalive said:

Two words:

Marillion records

RocknRollDave said:

.....erm.... Thread Jacker!!!!!

RocknRollisalive said:

Sorry mate, couldn't resist!