March 31, 2008 -- 

If you haven't yet heard, the long anticipated Conquer Chiari book is now available.  The book, Conquer Chiari:  A Patient's Guide the the Chiari Malformation, is a 320 page, comprehensive look at what Chiari patients face. It is organized, with the exception of the first and last chapters, to flow in a manner similar to most people’s experience with Chiari:

Chapter 1:  This chapter provides a quick overview of Chiari including definitions, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes.  It is modeled after the very popular overview presentation on the website, and presents concise facts in bullet format.  It is useful for someone who doesn’t have time to read the whole book (such as a friend who wants to know more) or to quickly come up to speed on the basics.

Chapter 2-7:  This is the heart of the book and covers a range of topics, including:  The Basics, Diagnosis, Treatment, Outcomes, Recovery, and Living With Chiari.  It can be read straight through to gain a thorough understanding of Chiari, or used as a reference to look up specific topics or facts.

Chapter 8:  Looking To The Future is not focused so much on an individual’s experience with Chiari, but rather takes a broad look at different research fronts and reasons for hope.  

Chapter 9:  Conquering Chiari is a more personal chapter.  While the majority of this book is based on published research, this chapter focuses on my philosophy, developed from my personal experiences with Chiari, on how to overcome and conquer this disease. 

As mentioned above, the book is based primarily on published medical literature and interviews with leading experts.  However, since I have lived the Chiari experience myself, there are also a number of features (denoted by icons) which help to present a more complete picture of the Chiari experience.  These include:

Practical Tips:  Exactly as the name implies, tips drawn from both my own experience as a patient, plus tips gathered from talking with other patients and families.  Please realize that not every tip will apply to every person, and what worked for one person may not work for someone else.

Personal Experience:  Anecdotes from my own Chiari experience.  Some are humorous, some not so much; but they are intended to provide real examples for what is being discussed and give people an idea of what they might expect.

Did You Know:  These are interesting facts which are not critical in understanding Chiari, but which are interesting and help provide a more complete and rich picture of the condition.

You Gotta Laugh:  Humor is a touchy subject when it comes to something as serious as Chiari.  Some people use humor as a way to cope, others think that humor is out of place in this situation.  While I tend to use humor to help cope, I also respect the other point of view.  That is why, while humorous anecdotes are included in the book, they are clearly noted and can be skipped if so desired.

Editorial Comment:  Most of the book is based upon published research and a discussion of other people’s opinions on a given subject; however at various points I do weigh in with my own opinion.  These are clearly marked with the 2 cents symbol.

The book has only been available for a couple of weeks, but already I'm getting positive feedback, such as this from Kathy:

"Thank you, thank you and did I say thank you???!!!! AWESOME book!!!! ! My neurologist is going to love this book too!!!!! Thank you and God bless you!!!"

Other people have told me that after reading the book their family understands for the first time, possibly in years, what they are going through.  Because of this, many people are ordering multiple copies.

It is personally very gratifying that the book has already helped many people and hopefully it will help many more in the future.

I would like to extend a special thanks to Melissa S. Neff for all her hard work on the cover, graphics, and layout. 

More details and ordering information can be found on the Conquer Chiari home page.     

-- Rick Labuda

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