I got are you my guru from the library today and it is really good.
lightning crashesleigh
I bought that book. But I wish I had paid more attention to the fact that Madonna is mentioned in the subtitle, ( "How meditation, medication and madonna saved my life") because there is an awful, awful lot about Madonna, -and Ms. Shanker's obsession with Madonna- in this book. Ms Shanker seems to have tremendous personal issues regarding her weight and of course she has already covered this in a previous book. But this doesn't stop her dragging it all out again. As a European I found it quite interesting to see how the American Medical business handled her (eventual) diagnosis. She also tries a lot of whacky , crackpot "alternative therapies" which I bet weren't cheap. She is a really good writer though, and the book is entertaining.... Up to a point....
She decides to stop taking all medication at one point, which I must say is a novel approach. She ain't no guru in my book, but she's a gifted and entertaining writer.
Last edited by Kimbangu; 05-06-2011 at 05:08 AM.
I did.
With this Youtube result...
YouTube - Are You My Guru?, Wendy Shanker - 9780451229946
Madonna is certainly not my guru, allthough I like some of her songs very much.
Still I found the things that Wendy says about stress, meditation and being in the moment quite interesting.
(I'm also the kind of person that looks at her watch after ten seconds...)
Thanks for this absolutely fascinating post, it is also quite a cautionary tale. I did wonder how Ms. Shankers condition had progressed. I saw an online review of her book which ( wrongly ) stated that it was a description of "how she had beaten Wegener's".....(?) What I DID like about the book was how relentlessly cheerful she is about the whole thing, and it's nice to read something upbeat about Wegener's , just for once. Personally I think "taking charge of your own destiny" might not necessarily be the best approach to take with a beast like Wegener's. But I guess Madonna is a good role model for her ( the book is like a homage to Madonna) and I agree mental attitude is probably THE best weapon we have for keeping in remission. I do like Ms. Shanker's writing and she is a good ambassador for WG, in my view.
Last edited by Kimbangu; 05-06-2011 at 07:17 PM.
It's fascinating that in the first few seconds of that video she says "doctors couldn't help me?". Then later she says the main thing that saved her was medication. I wish she had gone into more detail of the financial and medical insurance aspects of her diagnosis, and concentrated just a little bit less on Madonna. Surely a successful, vivacious young woman in NY could afford the best medical treatments? You can't help liking her though. And I do agree that stress is one of the biggest things we need to avoid.
Last edited by Kimbangu; 05-08-2011 at 04:57 PM. Reason: spelling
I finished the book and I really liked it. The madonna references did not bother me if they had I would have stopped reading it.
lightning crashesleigh
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