Me and My Shadow: Learning to Live With Multiple Sclerosis - Hardcover

This is the inspiring and heartening story of Carole's struggle to learn to live with this shattering blow. Her boyfriend, Craig, is unable to come to terms with her illness, and she soon discovers they have a communication problem. She has to give up her beloved long-haul flying and, although BA let her retrain as a short-haul stewardess, she is struggling financially. Meanwhile she and Craig are growing apart. Then he leaves her for another woman, something she finds more devastating than being diagnosed with MS. Carole flies to Australia to be with her mother, who has remarried there. The trip is a turning point, as she can relax and regain her old fighting spirit.

Back in England she makes a new start and forges a good relationship with the Multiple Sclerosis Society, raising thousands of pounds for research. Soon she is well on the way to becoming a celebrity, planning star-studded events, making a television documentary, giving interviews and lecturing on MS to research bodies and fundraisers. She is also working on a self-help regime which keeps her MS at bay, aided by a mixture of aromatherapy, reflexology, a healthy diet and lots and lots of sleep.

Multiple sclerosis is a baffling and mysterious illness. It affects an estimated 2.5 million people worldwide. For those with MS the illness is a shadow they live with every day of their lives. What is often forgotten is how it affects the people around them: sometimes it is difficult to understand an illness one can't see. For people with MS, their families and friends, Carole's story is encouraging and enlightening.

It is also a triumphant message of affirmation: proof that life with MS can still be fun, fulfilling and challenging in the most positive way.

Sue Brattle is a journalist and writer who lives with her husband in Hertfordshire. She says of Carole, 'Her honesty and courage in the way she copes with her illness are dazzling.'