The Alchemy of Illness or How Not to Look Fat

The Alchemy of Illness

Author: Kat Duff

Illness is a universal experience. There is no privilege that can make us immune to its touch. We are taught to assume health, illnesses being just temporary breakdowns in the well-oiled machinery of the body. But illness has its own geography, its own laws and commandments. At a time when the attention of the whole nation is focused on health care, Kat Duff inquires into the nature and function of illness itself. Duff, a counselor in private practice in Taos, New Mexico, wrote this book out of her experience with chronic fatigue syndrome, but what she has to say is applicable to every illness and every one of us.

For those who are sick, this book offers solace and recognition. For those who care for them either physically or emotionally, it offers inspiration and compassion. Finally, this fresh perspective on healing reveals how every illness is a crucible that tries our mettle, tests our limits, and provides us with an unparalleled opportunity to integrate its lessons into our lives.

Publishers Weekly

Drawing on her own experience with CFIDS (chronic fatigue and immune dysfunction syndrome), the author of this collection of eight essays explores the mystery of human pain. ``Illness is a familiar yet foreign landscape,'' she writes. ``It remains a wilderness . . . despite its continuing presence in our lives.'' Duff spent ``the better part of two years'' in bed; during her sickness she read widely and voluminously, pursuing ``the meaning and purposes of illness.'' Bringing together insights from psychology, religion and anthropology, and explicating the words of shamans and philosophers from many cultures, Duff tracks the universality of illness and the curious contradictions--the sense of freedom, for example--that emerge in its midst. Her own healing, achieved through ``tedious, tenuous and life-giving labor,'' is a model of hope. Duff is a counselor in northern New Mexico. (Mar.)

Library Journal

Library of Congress-assigned subject headings (``Sick-psychology'' and ``Chronic fatigue syndrome-psychological aspects'') suggest the gist of this book, which was written by ``a white woman of sufficient means and mystical temperament nearing forty in twentieth century America'' and unfortunately stricken with chronic Epstein-Barr virus, the yuppie flu. However, the LC listings fail to bring out the parapsychological aspects--the ``alchemy'' of the title--that are a major part of the story. Duff writes, ``For the only way I can evoke and describe this ultimately ineffable dark heart of the universe, that black hole that opens up in illness, and begin to address the question of healing that rises from its center, is through storytelling: the telling of my dreams, the stories of goddesses, my experience and those of other sick people.'' Duff proceeds to recount her dreams. A shaman tells her that she was ``a sacrifice dying so that others may live . . . we would not call you sick, but wounded.'' This reader just doesn't get it. For ``Sick-psychology,'' Arthur Frank's At the Will of the Body ( LJ 3/15/91) and Norman Cousins's Anatomy of an Illness (LJ 9/1/79) are better titles.-- James Swanton, Albert Einstein Coll. of Medicine, New York

Table of Contents:

	Acknowledgments
	Introduction
1	The Invisible Underworld of Illness	3
2	The Secrets Our Bodies Keep Safe	19
3	Toxic Health: Cultural Assumptions and Illusions	34
4	Dancing With Death: Vegetative Processes at Work	59
5	The Alchemy of Illness	77
6	The Underworld Journey	92
7	Shame and the White Shadow of the Collective	104
8	Mythology and the Dark Heart of Healing	125
	Notes	147

Interesting textbook: Emeril or Great American Sampler Cookbook

How Not to Look Fat

Author: Danica Lo

Whether you're a size 6 or a size 16, you probably have "fat" days. And everyone has fat outfits, fat shirts, fat pants and even, on occasion, fat hair. Maybe you haven't exercised in a while, or maybe you had too much salt for dinner last night. If you've ever woken up in the morning feeling the bloat-or the fat, as the case may be-and if you've ever had the haunting feeling that your existing wardrobe isn't exactly doing wonders for your figure, this book is for you.

Divided into twenty-five short chapters under four sections (Edit Your Closet, Occasion Dressing, Beauty, and Looking Great for Dates) HOW NOT TO LOOK FAT offers cutting edge fashion tips on how to maximize your slimming potential, from banishing back fat and finding flattering gym clothes to getting the right haircut and smelling thinner (yes, there's a scientifically proven way). You'll learn tricks for looking thinner in all situations, whether you're on the beach, at a family dinner, or going out on the town. She'll help you avoid the Ultimate Evils ("the hip-fat roll"), ease your way into the gym ("The Case of the Bouncing Fat"), and have a night on the town ("The Skinny Bitch cocktail"). With tips from fashion insiders, as well as sidebars on what specific brands and items work best, HOW NOT TO LOOK FAT is the first comprehensive package on defeating fat that encourages women to enjoy their figures, not take dieting (and life) too seriously, and have fun with their wardrobes and make-up.