Needles: A Memoir of Growing Up With Diabetes
Andie Dominick
All her life, Andie Dominick adored her older sister, Denise. She wanted to look like her, talk like her, be her. Unfortunately, she got part of her wish when, at age nine, she was diagnosed with the same disease from which Denise had suffered since age two: juvenile diabetes. In this beautifully written, revelatory, and profoundly affecting memoir, Dominick recounts her transformation from a free-spirited kid who enjoyed giving shots to her stuffed animals with her sister’s castaway needles to a life-long patient who must learn to inject herself twice a day. Emotionally charged, tragic, but in the end hopeful, Dominick tells how she found the courage to embrace love and hope in the face of fear, and to live with a disease that has taken so much from her.
Needles: A Memoir of Growing up with Diabetes is an outstanding autobiography of a young woman diagnosed with diabetes at age 9. Andie Dominick recalls her diagnosis, done by her older sister and mentor, Denise, who’d been diagnosed in 1962, and her parents. She details her rebellious teen years, when she skipped her shots to lose weight, and subsequent consequences, how she reacted to the early death of her beloved sister, and her development of retinopathy. Ms. Dominick also describes her agonizing decision about not having children in light of the potential complications childbirth could cause. This very moving story is highly recommended for everyone with diabetes and parents of children with diabetes. This book contains some graphic descriptions of the treatment of diabetic retinopathy and may not be suitable for the squeamish.
Published by Scribner. ISBN 0-684-84232-7. US$22.00.1998
