[.uk] Dirty Details Pb (ISBN 1566394260)

powerful and troubling look into the life of a well spouse:
This book is difficult to read, but difficult to put down as well. The unimaginably difficult life of a person with severe MS is virtually ignored by his spouse as she describes her daily routine of caring for her husband. This bothered me at first, but there are other books about those who live with MS -- this book is about how this disease cripples the life of a spouse who is in perfect health. My husband has MS and I have to say, this book scared me to death. Yet it was a comfort to know there are others who understand the frustrations, guilt, and anger a well spouse experiences.

Necessary Medicine for a Well Spouse:
This book is painful to read and even more painful to live. That is why it proved to be necessary medicine for this well spouse. A testament to the fact that I am not alone, I am not crazy, and there is "life after innocence." I will cling to that as I trudge this path of "chronic bereavement." For a Well Spouse, this read is a must for surviving the isolation and endless hard work imposed upon unwitting victims of devastating, chronic illness. Thank you Marion D. Cohen, God bless you for your brutal honesty.

Exceptional and Honest Account:
This exceptional experience of a person with MS and the problems of living with a well spouse are documented thoroughly here. I wouldn't say this is an optimal guide for the newly diagnosed, but it is an honest account of much of what a well spouse goes through in coping with a chronically ill spouse.

Narcissism?:
I don't understand the precise meaning of this psychological term, but I do know that it is not possible to diagnose the supposed mental condition of author of a book of this kind just by reading it. This book is a very honest account of a wife who was left almost completely alone for many years to care for her severely and increasingly afflicted husband, an experience few of us, fortunately, have to undergo. I was greatly impressed by the author's strength, courage, and love. Her writing skill brought her experience vividly to light.

Who really is the "well spouse"?:
It is evident that writing this book was probably quite cathartic for M.D. Cohen. It is a vivid portrait of narcissism and self-absorption of a rather high degree. Pity for Ms. Cohen's negativity and aspirations to martyrdom emerge early in the reading of this book. It is also difficult to imagine how Mr. Cohen was able to endure the rampant emotional DIS-ability of his alleged "well spouse". I was gratified to learn that he was finally released from her "care" and concomitant anger and negativity. If anything, this book shows who the "well spouse" REALLY is. And the author is NOT the well-spouse. Not in the least. I wish Mr. Cohen and his children well. And perhaps, by now, M.D. Cohen has been healed of her emotional illness. One can hope. An LCSW in Virginia