Chronic Illness Memoirs and The Problems With Writing Them

I read a beautiful book about a woman with bipolar disorder. It was a great book that I couldn't put down. I finished it with breakneck speed. It was fascinating to read about what this woman went through in her life and the challenges that she continues to face on a daily basis, including her hospitalizations and the effects on her husband and child. She was very candid about many things, including her violent episodes where she made an attempt on her husbands life, during a manic episode.

I left a dazzling review, however I read the reviews that were left from the book. While there were many five star reviews, there were a plethora of bad reviews. Mostly from those who suffered with bipolar disorder.

I live with bipolar. I could have written a more true to life book. The most true accounts were from her son and husband. Don't waste your time on this read.

Was quite disappointed in this book. Thought it was going to be about living in a bipolar mind on a day to day basis and the struggles-not just the crisis and hospital visits. Not worth reading.

I, suffering from depression and bipolar condition, was disappointed with this book.
It did not give me a lot of information, nor was it particularly interesting. I should have guessed from the title. Maybe just not my style.

I get really confused by reviews in this category of books. The reader often places expectations on a book by whatever means and then if the book does not live up to these expectations, they rate the book a failure. One of my books received a review from a woman who hoped that the book would be "inspiring" and "uplifting". But the title of my book is, "Diary of a Sick Chick". One woman accused me of navel gazing. Well if one can't "navel gaze" in a diary, where can you? Nowhere did I promise that the book would be inspiring and uplifting. It was just my life. Whether you find it inspiring, insulting, or downright boring is up to the reader. However, when I read books, I try not to put too many expectations on a book. I don't go into it thinking that it will somehow magically make me feel better. I'm either looking to be entertained or enlightened. I hope to come through the experience different. That's all. For better or for worse. I don't look for inspiration, especially in chronic illness memoirs. I look for truth. I look for honesty. That's all. I look for authenticity. I look no further and expect no more.

I'm writing a new book called, "The Bible of Chronic Illness". Where my last books about illness were about lupus, this one will be more inclusive of all diseases. I learned that there are many similarities with the struggle of living with sickness and that I could put together a book that would promote that. 

When reading a chronic illness memoir, don't look for entertainment. Honest, Truth, and Authenticity are good enough. When you're getting the truth, it is the best. You don't want to put lipstick on a  pig anyway. It's still a pig. 

So Many Titles

I have so many titles that are coming up right now I can't keep them straight. Just know that I've been a busy woman writing and also knitting. Hopefully I can stay focused and release something soon.

To The Murdered Child

This poem was written for children that died at the hands of the people who was supposed to save and protect them. The people that were supposed to love them and d care for them but chose to take their lives.

Every child in nearly every land,
All are familiar with the same drill,
That they shouldn't have to be afraid,
And that monsters aren't real.
Creepy demons crawling from the closet
Dead things living under the bed,
Hellish creatures from under the pillow,
Living ghouls underneath their head.
But there was a difference with this child
Who looked death in the face,
Having to face an awful reality,
That this was no ordinary place.
The last moments in terror,
That no child should have to face.
Alas, Evil Triumphed over Good,
While ripped from life's embrace.
Not the voice of a stranger,
Nor the face of an unknown,
A glance in the face of Evil,
Mirrored back to be his own.
These monsters showed no mercy,
With horrifying zeal.
Proved that death was to be its fate.
And the monsters under the bed were real.

By Sonya Dickerson © 2015

Dreaming of Okinawa

When the soldier goes to bed at night,

And he closes his eyes.

He dreams of Okinawa,

And all the men that died.

The bullets flying over head,

With the sand at his feet,

He prayed that God would watch over him,

He had promises to keep.

Many soldiers lost their lives.

On one fateful day.

He found God on the Battlefield.

As she shouldered his rifle to pray.

He locked eyes with one maiden.

Before she leaped to her death.

He tried to forget her and move on,

Soon realizing that he never left.

Marching through her jungles,

Blind to her beautiful land.

But soldiers can't see beauty,

When death is close at hand.

When he thinks of Okinawa,

And her beautiful sandy shore.

He wondered if things were different?

Could he have done more?

To save his fallen comrades.

As they died one by one,

Was it worth all the human cost?

For the battle to be won?

His battle wounds have since healed.

But his heart remains on her shore.

The two will always be one in the same,

Okinawa and he, forever more.

© Sonya Dickerson 2015

I wrote this poem to every US and Allied soldier that fought in the Pacific Theatre. The fighting on this little island was ferocious...as it was on Saipan and Iwo Jima. I hope and pray that this world will find peace and war to be something we did in the past. I pray that our children's children can figure out how to live with each other in a global community without having to shed each other's blood.

Historical Fiction: A Delightful Second Choice

...when done correctly.

First hand written accounts of historical events are something that I treasure greatly. There is nothing better than to get an accurate account of an important historical event. I love history just as much as I love writing. Today I found myself giving my daughter a history lesson about WWII and just how it affected the world today. When people say that history is in the past, I give a little chuckle. I could write a book on how that particular war changed the very face of the world and is the backdrop to the current events that are going on today.

Thanks to the ugly side of the Internet, I've been reading for white supremacists that African history is insignificant until the white man came through. I thoroughly reject that argument and began doing research and found it patently false. I turned to Haiti when I learned of the slave rebellion but there is not many witnesses that recorded the history. It was a gruesome history but history nonetheless.

During my research, I learned of a wonderful book, 'Island Beneath The Sea' by a wonderful author Isabel Allende. I am currently reading this book and I can't put it down. I haven't gotten to the Haitian Revolution and am having a fine time reading about the characters. Even though they are fictional, they seem so real and the story is building to a great climax to when the revolution starts.

I highly recommend the story, especially if you are into that time in history. Of if you happen to subscribe to white supremacist ideology....