Bag Lady: A Memoir - Softcover

Sandra Benitez

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0977484807 ISBN 13: 9780977484805

Publisher: Benitez Books, 2006

Synopsis

A triumphant true story of loss, illness and recovery. How one woman turned the sow's ear of a chronic disease into the silk purse of a fulfilling life. Bag Lady is the poignant true story of a woman's struggle with the chronic, debilitating disease of ulcerative colitis. It chronicles how she coped with it before and after making the momentous decision to have an ileostomy and commit to wearing a plastic bag on her stomach for the rest of her life. Bag Lady runs deep. It is more than the story of a woman and her disease. It is the story of a life buffeted by a mindboggling series of profound downers, any one of which would defeat most of us. It is a metaphor for the physical and emotional "baggage" that encumbers every person's life. It reads like page-turning fiction, but it is all true. Bag Lady speaks to the millions of victims of ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease and colon cancer and to the families and friends who live their illnesses with them. It trades frankness and understanding for the euphemisms and misconceptions of diseases that, for too long, have been consigned to the shadows of polite discussion.

About this title

From the Publisher:

bag lady . . . is the poignant true story of a woman's struggle with the chronic, debilitating disease of ulcerative colitis. It chronicles how she coped with it before and after making the momentous decision to have an ileostomy and commit to wearing a plastic bag on her stomach for the rest of her life.

bag lady . . . runs deep. It is more than the story of a woman and her disease. It is the story of a life buffeted by adversity, by a mind-boggling series of profound downers, any one of which would defeat most of us. It is a metaphor for the physical and emotional "baggage" that encumbers every person's life. It reads like page-turning fiction, but it is all true.

bag lady . . . speaks to the millions of victims of ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease and colon cancer, and to the family and friends who live their illnesses with them. It trades frankness and understanding for the euphemisms and misconceptions of diseases that, for too long, have been consigned to the shadows of polite discussion.

bag lady . . . an antidote to fear.

The doctor's words to the IBD patient are chosen carefully: "Maybe it's time to consider surgery." The rationale and explanation follow. And the patient's tension mounts . . . the apprehension is clearly visible. Doctors see it all the time at this critical moment. Fear of the unknown, of a radically changed life: the wondering: what will become of me after the surgery? How can I possibly cope with this for the rest of my life?

Sandra Benitez confronted that fear and asked those questions. And in bag lady, she answers them. And she does it in a way that can provide understanding and reassurance not only to the tens of thousands who each year make a decision to have, or not have, surgery, but to the millions who live with managed IBD.

In this sense, bag lady is an antidote to fear. As such it is required reading for IBD patients and their families. And it is highly recommended to the doctors, nurses and therapists who provide them with care.

About the Author:

Born in Washington, D.C., Sandra Benitez grew up in Mexico and El Salvador. She is the author of four widely acclaimed novels including "A Place Where the Sea Remembers," winner of the Barnes and Noble Discover Award; "Bitter Grounds," winner of an American Book Award; "The Weight of All Things," and Night of the Radishes. Her novels have been published in 10 countries. "Bag Lady: A Memoir," is her first work of non-fiction. You can find detailed information on her life and career at www.sandrabenitez.com

About this edition

• Publisher: Benitez Books
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0977484807
• ISBN 13: 9780977484805
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 216