RETURN TO TABLE OF CONTENTS
Winter 2004 

Book Reviews
Your guide to published resources

Fixing Frannie
By Frannie Rose
2003, GMA Publishing. $16.00, 269 pp.
Review by Kerry Ryan-Kuhn

With openness and humor, Frannie Rose shares her journey with chronic illness and offers her insights and experiences as a guide for others on a similar journey.

"I have written this book as my gift to you. My purpose was to tell you what I learned about the medical system in the most creative way I could, by sharing my feelings."

In her simple and humorous style, she takes readers with her into places seldom discussed: the exam room, conversations with her doctor, parenting with chronic illness, abandonment by loved ones. In doing so, she shines light on the whole picture of the chronic illness experience.

In this second edition, Rose adds a chapter about her triumphs and challenges over the past six years since her diagnosis of a rare disease, subsequent treatment and return to health. Again, Rose confidently steps into a difficult topic, the aftermath of living with chronic illness.

Frannie Rose inspires her readers to never give up on themselves or finding the medical care they deserve.

I’d Rather Be Working:
A Step-by-Step Guide to Financial Self-Support for People with Chronic Illnesses
By Gayle Backstrom
2002, AMACOM,
$14.95. 252 pp.

Gayle Backstrom has had fibromyalgia since childhood, so she brings a tremendous amount of personal experience, combined with research and realistic guidance, to the topic of earning money when you have a chronic, unpredictable illness, such as CFIDS.

There are few topics more emotion-laden to Americans than employment and financial security. Many people primarily identify themselves by their function in the workplace (it’s more common to hear, "I’m an accountant" rather than "I’m a wife" when asking a person to describe herself). When chronic illness tears away at their ability to work, many people find that their self-worth declines too. This book tries to help individuals fill that void.

Backstrom opens the book with a series of self-evaluation exercises designed to help readers clarify their individual abilities and limitations, resources and liabilities. Part II covers government employment resources, including a thorough discussion of the Americans with Disabilities Act and its pros and cons. Part III helps readers find information about education, training and financial aid and gives advice on the job search process specifically relevant to people with chronic illness.

The wealth of data is supplemented by real-life stories of people with a variety of chronic illnesses, describing their individual pathways to seeking employment. Some are success stories — either in finding employment or starting small businesses — while others are not. This section, like the core of I’d Rather Be Working, is a realistic, informative and, above all, personal look at a difficult problem facing millions of Americans.

Interested in writing book reviews for the Chronicle? Contact the editor at The CFIDS Association of America, P.O. Box 220398, Charlotte, NC 28222-0398, or online at chronicle@cfids.org.