The Memory of Health by Edie Summers is more than a story about one woman’s story of becoming chronically ill. Her life, like all of us that live with one or more chronic illnesses, was turned upside down. After years of losing herself and the life that had quickly become a memory, she began taking control of her life by addressing various factors that were affecting her health.
Disclaimer: I have been given this product as part of a product review through the Chronic Illness Bloggers network. Although the product was a gift, all opinions in this review remain my own and I was in no way influenced by the company.
Common Ground
I enjoyed this book for many reasons. The first being that I am all about treating my conditions as naturally as possible. Throughout the past five years I have been taking baby steps and have been blown away by the results with each one. In her book, Edie not only shares the dietary changes she made, but she also explains why. She explains how certain foods increase our pain and gives many suggestions of what foods are better for our bodies.
Another reason I liked this book is that she drives home the fact that we can’t expect a pill or one or two changes in our diet or life to return us to our former lives. We must inspect all aspects of our lives, from what we eat to, how much we are exercising, the chemicals we are exposed to on a daily basis, to our emotional health. There is no one size fits all program to living a better life with a chronic illness. While I have been taking baby steps, Edie has motivated me to make even more changes.
What I appreciate the most about this book is that Edie is refreshingly honest. She doesn’t claim to be healed, in fact she admits that she still has tough days. The difference is her good days outweigh her bad, which is something I have also experienced since I began making changes in regards to my own life.
Encouragement
The Memory of Health has encouraged me to continue what I am doing. Plus to take more steps to improve my overall health. Many people, myself included, often look at exercise or making dietary changes as a form of punishment. Others might think of it as something we only do temporarily to reach a goal. We give up when it gets tough or have reached our goal. It’s important to remember that self-care is not a punishment.
Don’t just take my word! Read what others had to say about it. Learn more about Edie at her website PortlandWellnessCoach.com. Thank you, Edie, for encouraging me and providing information to make living better something I know I can achieve. It won’t be easy, but it will definitely be worth it!
