Review: Thriving with Diabetes - A Holistic Approach to Taking Action

By Maxwell Votey

Twitter Summary: New book by @DiabetesDaily founder @davidtalk + Dr. Paul Rosman lays out methods to deal w/ #diabetes

Taking action is the core message of the new book, Thriving with Diabetes, by Dr. Paul Rosman and Diabetes Daily founder David Edelman. As Edelman told us, while many diabetes books focus simply on providing information, Thriving with Diabetes aims to address the process of diabetes management, creating small steps to help change habits and overcome distress and burnout. The 240-page book, which will be released on August 1, is indeed an action-oriented tool for people with diabetes as well as their loved ones.

How the book is structured

Thriving with Diabetes breaks down into three sections: the first establishes baseline knowledge of diabetes; the second creates an action plan for individually managing diabetes; and the third focuses on improving life surrounding the disease (managing stress, working on habits, building a support network, etc.). Each section builds upon the previous, making improvements in diabetes care a stepwise process.

What we love

It’s critical that any diabetes book has up-to-date information about the latest technologies and care practices, and this book does not disappoint. The authors combine clinical knowledge of diabetes with their pulse on the diabetes online community. As we’ve advocated at diaTribe for years, the authors discuss “time in range” as an important assessment of blood glucose in addition to A1c. We also appreciate the book’s focus on the psychosocial — looking at changing and managing emotions, and most important, avoiding stress and burnout.

One of the best qualities of Thriving with Diabetes is how consistently it brings scientific or medical information back to real life examples, citing actual people with diabetes and how they manage it. These stories come from Dr. Rosman’s patients or Edelman’s work in the diabetes online community. This book highlights different people with diverse backgrounds, strategies, and outlooks: from Jack, who manages his diabetes with the irregular schedule of both going to school and working, to Georgette, who made strategies to prevent hypoglycemia while breastfeeding her son.

We applaud Dr. Rosman and the great David Edelman for their work, a major contribution to the cause.

Testimonials:

 “In this must-read volume for anyone with diabetes, Dr. Paul Rosman and David Edelman take the mystery out of this most mysterious of diseases. The language is clear. The science is understandable. The messages are inspiring. With knowledge, support, and a bit of effort, you can indeed thrive with diabetes. This book will get you there.”

- Kelly Close, Founder of The diaTribe Foundation

 “Diabetes may be chaos, but this book brings some order to the daily challenges with a straightforward, common-sense approach. The suggestions don’t hinge on a given therapy or diet – which may be obsolete in five years – but revolve around essential guidelines that will allow anyone with the disease to be healthy, pursue every dream, and thrive.”

- James S. Hirsch, author of “Cheating Destiny: Living with Diabetes”