Evan and his dog Gracie
Books
As my sister (Evan’s Mom) and I have been learning about FA, we have done a lot of reading on health, neuromuscular diseases (FA and others like ALS and MS), nutrition and spirituality. These books span both Western and Eastern medicine practices. And others are true-life stories about courageous people like Jenifer Estes in “Tales from the Bed” and Stephen and Jamie Heywood in “His Brother’s Keeper.”
There are no cures for FA yet but we continue to educate ourselves on the best ways to handle change and to draw strength from the most interesting places. Happy reading!
Other Health, True Story, Nutrition and Spiritual Reading
| Tales From the Bed Jenifer Estess, Valerie Estess Jenifer was diagnosed in her mid 30’s with ALS at the height of planning life. She, along with her sisters, fought, and are astill fighting ALS with all their might – a great read. |
 |
| His Brother’s Keeper Jonathan Weiner Written by science/technology writer, this book lays out the progression of ALS with precision and depth. After reading, you want to join Jamie in the fight for Stephen and create your own fight as well. |
 |
| The Path to Phenomenal Health Sam Graci As the title states, a “phenomenal” book indeed. Explains the mental/physical/spiritual ties with the body and provides a great plan for eating and living well. |
 |
| The Heart Speaks Mimi Guarneri, M.D., FACC Eastern mixes with Western medicine as a heart specialist confirms the power of healing through energy and meditation techniques. |
 |
| The Antioxidant Miracle Lester Packer, Ph.D. and Carol Colman Great book that outlines the healthiest foods and vitamins to fight free radicals. |
 |
| The Invision Guide to A Healthy Heart Alexander Tsiaras A graphic, detailed book about the heart to better understand how it works. |
 |
| Reflections of a Peacemaker: A Portrait Through Heartsongs Mattie J.T. Stepanek If Oprah can brag about Mattie so can we. For his age, his writings are incredibly insightful and to the point. Inspirational just scratches the surface. |
 |
| The Essential Rumi Translations by Coleman Barks with John Moyne Rumi, born in 1207 in Afghanistan’s Persian Empire was a religious scholar turned visionary writer of poems and works that apply even to today’s crazy world. He “got it” even back then – every page is a discovery of peacefulness. |
 |
| Energy Secrets Alla Svirinskaya Alla comes from a long history of family healers from Romania. She now practices in London. Her direct instructions for cleaning and understanding energy fields in your life is transformational. |
 |
| Meditation as Medicine Dharma Singh Khalsa, M.D. and Cameron Stauth I didn’t know much about meditation upon picking up this book but the descriptions, instructions and case study stories of people being healed make one seriously consider the power of healing meditation. |
 |
Specific Ataxia Books
Keep A Goin
By Jeff and Melinda Cromwell. Fifty stories about fellow ataxians from around the world. A portion of the proceeds from this book benefit NAF's research program. Paperback.
$ 13.00
Living with Ataxia
By Maratha Nance, MD. New second edition! A compassionate, easy to understand explanation and ideas on how to live with ataxia. Paperback.
$ 14.00
Ten Years to Live
By Henry Schut, MD. The story of the Schut family’s struggle with hereditary ataxia and the impact it had on this extended family. Paperback. Photos. (includes S&H)
$ 8.75
New: Guidebook for Managing Speech and Swallowing Problems
A Guide for people with Ataxia. This is an updated version of Dr. Fox’s speech & swallowing book. It is packed full of new techniques and suggestions for speech & swallowing issues. (includes S&H)
$ 7.50