Good Reads

Decide Success - You Ain't Dead Yet: 12 Action Steps to Achieve the Success You Truly Desire
John M. Baumann, BBA, JD, Proud Person with Parkinson's
John M. Baumann, author of Decide Success and internationally-recognized inspirational speaker, was a 41 year old high powered attorney until something happened to change his life forever. In this updated 2020 edition of his book, Decide Success, John shares with us his updated step by step road map to achieving unparalleled success. Learn how he changed his focus and priorities after being diagnosed with a chronic illness, Parkinson's disease in 2002, and in the process, discovered how to live the life he loves and inspire others. Are you looking for more success in your business? Want to achieve more in life? Learn the secret to making better choices, and using your time and energies to nurture success. Learn how to trust yourself and your instincts while you develop superior judgement. If you have a dream of success, but this book to discover the road map to fulfilling your dreams and creating the life you love. 

I'll Have it God's Way
Hattie Bryant
Living fully all the way to heaven might be harder than you think. Our fears about death, lack of planning, poor communication, and a complex healthcare system push us into a default end-of-life approach, instead of one that embraces our values and desires. While 70-80% say they want to die peacefully and pain-free at home, surrounded by friends and family, fewer than 30% do so. Forms didn't work for Hattie's mom, and they do not always work today. This study guides you gently through the steps from a vague idea of how to make your wishes known to a workable plan. It equips you with the biblical truth, healthcare facts, and practical steps you need to implement now. This is more than an advance directive; it is a powerful communication tool.

I'll Have it My Way
Hattie Bryant
Few people choose to contemplate critical illness or the inevitability of death until their time comes. Because possibilities are rarely discussed, many people are unprepared or unable to make critical end-of-life decisions and spend their last days in over-medicalized and unnecessarily painful and protracted situations. Breaking frankly through the taboo of discussing death, Hattie Bryant shows that we have a choice. Inspired by the peaceful death her mother was almost denied, Bryant began gathering information from national experts in palliative care, geriatrics, oncology, bio-ethics, psychology, and spirituality. I'll Have It My Way credibly and passionately presents the case for personal responsibility in the healthcare, legal, and procedural decisions that all of us must make -- if they are not to be made for us. By making our wishes known and communicating them effectively, we remove the burden from our loved ones of making the deeply personal choices that will enable us to live our lives more fully to the end. I'll Have it My Way provides useful information from experts throughout healthcare, real-life examples that illustrate the consequences of decisions made or not made, and a thought-provoking guide that takes the reader on a journey of discovery to learn what a life well lived means to them. Spoiler alert: we will all die. But if we follow Hattie Bryant's sound advice, our story can have the ending that we believe is best.

Every Victory Counts
The Davis Phinney Foundation
First published in 2010, the Every Victory Counts manual broke new ground as the only resource of its kind devoted solely to the principle of proactive self-care and a holistic approach to managing Parkinson's. In subsequent editions, it has gained international recognition as a superb and comprehensive resource for changing the way people live with Parkinson's. Now in its sixth edition, the manual is the cornerstone of the Davis Phinney's Foundation - Every Victory Counts suite of resources, a robust collection of printed and digital manuals that embrace the Davis Phinney Foundation's philosophy of taking action to improve your quality of life with Parkinson's.
 
The Wellness Principles
Gary Deng, M.D., PhD
For the first time, Gary Deng, MD, PhD presents to a general readership his unique, highly respected wellness approach, which is supported by scientific evidence and beloved by his patients. Taking into account his learnings after years in clinical medicine at the world's premier cancer center, combined with his passion for nourishing home cooking, Deng's authoritative guide to balanced and mindful eating and living includes both 100 recipes and expert advice beyond the plate. It incorporates traditional and holistic medical philosophies as the path toward optimal health and is the ideal book for anyone who wants to eat healthier, enjoy fresh ingredients, be guided to a more holistic lifestyle, maintain health, or look for the ideal nutritional path to wellness.

Making the Connection Between Brain & Behavior: Coping with Parkinson's
Joseph H. Friedman, MD
When people think about PD they usually picture tremor, shuffling, and other physical changes. But as many as 90% of all Parkinson's patients also live with behavioral symptoms that few families are prepared to handle. In this fully revised and updated edition of Making the Connection Between Brain and Behavior, Dr. Joseph H. Friedman, a leading expert in PD, explains the most common behavioral issues in down-to-earth, straightforward language, offers the most current research on available therapies and medications, and provides guidance on ways to communicate with your healthcare team for effective treatment.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Future: Twists and Turns and Lessons Learned
Michael J. Fox
Michael J. Fox abandoned high school to pursue an acting career, but went on to receive honorary degrees from several universities and garner the highest accolades for his acting, as well for his writing. In this book, he inspires and motivates graduates to recognize opportunities, maximize their abilities, and roll with the punches - all with his trademark optimism, warmth, and humor. In a Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Future, Michael draws on his own life experiences to make a case that real learning happens when "life goes skidding sideways." He writes of coming to Los Angeles from Canada at age eighteen and attempting to make his way as an actor. Fox offers up a comically skewed take on how, in his own way, he fulfilled the requirements of a college syllabus. He learned Economics as a starving artist; an unexpected turn as a neophyte activist schooled him in Political Science, and his approach to Comparative Literature involved staking books up against their movie versions. Replete with personal stories and hilarious anecdotes, Michal J. Fox's new book is the perfect gift for graduates.

Always Looking Up
Michael J. Fox
At the turn from our bedroom into the hallway, there is an old full-length mirror in a wooden frame. I can't help but catch a glimpse of myself as I pass. Turning fully toward the glass, I consider what I see. This reflected version of myself, wet, shaking, rumpled, punched, and slightly stooped, would be alarming were it not for the self-satisfied expression pasted across my face. I would ask the obvious question, "What are you smiling about?" but I already know the answer: "It just gets better from here." -- from Always Looking Up.

Lucky Man
Michael J. Fox
A funny, highly personal, gorgeously written account of what it's like to be a 30-year old man who is told he has an 80-year old's disease. "Life is great. Sometimes, though, you just have to put up with a little more crap."  Michael J. Fox stunned the world by announcing he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease -- a degenerative neurologic condition. IN fact, he had been secretly fighting it for seven years. The worldwide response was staggering. Fortunately, he had accepted the diagnosis and by the time the public started grieving for him, he had stopped grieving for himself. Now, with the same passion, humor, and energy that Fox has invested in his dozens of performances over the last 18 years, he tells the story of his life, his career, and his campaign to find a cure for Parkinson's. Combining his trademark ironic sensibility and keen sense of the absurd, he recounts his life - from his childhood in a small town in western Canada to his meteoric rise in film and television which made him a worldwide celebrity. Most importantly, however, he writes of the last 10 years, during which-with the unswerving support of his wife, family and friends - he has dealt with his illness. He talks about what Parkinson's has given him: the chance to appreciate a wonderful life and career, and the opportunity to help search for a cure and spread public awareness of the disease. He is a very lucky man, indeed.

No Time Like the Future: An Optimist Considers Mortality
Michael J. Fox
With his trademark sense of humor, Michael shares personal stories and observations about illness and health, aging, the strength of family and friends, and how our perceptions about time affect the way we approach mortality.  Time Magazine claims, "Filled with humorous and thoughtful anecdotes and reflects, the book offers insights into a man who know struggle all too well, but refuses to let it get in the way of living." USA Today writes, "A moving account of resilience and hope, as well as his hard-earned wisdom about health, illness, aging and mortality.
 
Pilot to Co-Pilot
Gloria Gottesman
This children's level picture and text book is to be used by parents and grandparents to explain Parkinson's Disease.
 
The Complete Guide for People with Parkinson's Disease and Their Loved Ones
Lianna Marie
A diagnosis of Parkinson's disease is as disorienting as it is devastating. The Complete Guide for People with Parkinson's Disease and Their Loved Ones helps make sense of what comes next and what can be done, not just for those suffering from the disease but for their family and friends as well. A trained nurse and primary caregiver for her mother, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 1991, Lianna Marie draws upon over twenty years of education, research, and direct experience. Written in a straightforward and easily accessible language, this essential guide aims to help patients better understand their role in their treatment so that they may continue to lead happy and hopeful lives.

Parkinson's Disease for Dummies: Second Edition
Michele Tagliati, MD and Jo Horne, MA
Whether the diagnosis is yours or that of a loved one, Parkinson's Disease for Dummies contains everything you need to know about living with this disease. This book is an easy-to-understand, straightforward, and sometimes humorous guide that offers proven techniques for coping with daily issues, finding the right doctors, and providing care as the disease progresses. This user-friendly guide helps you navigate through the important steps toward taking charge of your condition. You aren't alone - inside, you'll discover proven coping skills and first-hand advice, along with practical tools that will help you navigate the treatment journey. In classic, compassionate Dummies style, Parkinson's Disease for Dummies will answer all your questions, and guide you through the process of finding your own answers as well.

Semaphore
Rebecca A. Senf
In a visual journey of poetic images, Torrance York examines how living with Parkinson's disease has changed her view of the world. Essay by Rebecca Senf, PhD, Chief Curator at the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona, Tucson.

Parkinson's Primer: An Indispensable Guide to Parkinson's Disease for Patients and Their Families
John M. Vine
Here is the book that John Vine and his wife, Joanne, wish they could have consulted when John was first diagnosed with Parkinson's disease - a nontechnical, personal guide written from the patient's perspective. Relying on his experiences over the past 12 years, John writes knowledgeably about all aspects of the disease. John also interviewed other Parkinson's patients and their partners, whose stories and advice he includes throughout the book.