The Blame Game – Whenever I have something new going on with my body, the first thing my doctors think of is multiple sclerosis, and truth be told, that’s always my first go-to. Is it MS? It could be, but it isn’t always.
Last summer, I woke up with vertigo just before leaving on a trip to film the Wyoming Jeepers—episode “Detours to Dick Creek.” I fell completely over at minute 7:18 in the show. I blamed it on MS. Vertigo had been a symptom in my past, so it made sense that it would be multiple sclerosis.
The next day, I lost my hearing in one ear and spent the summer in physical therapy, learning to walk with hearing loss. A month later, I took two weeks of steroids and all of my hearing returned. The specialist said he had never seen that happen and that the only explanation was COVID—I had severe fatigue all summer too—or a reaction to the vaccine, which was a documented reaction. So, it wasn’t MS after all.
BOOK OF THE MONTH – August 2022
Book Recommendation – I recommend books that will benefit multiple sclerosis patients, people with chronic illness, and caretakers each month. I select books based on my recommendation and receive no compensation for choosing them. All links to Amazon are affiliate links, however.
I do not like to waste time; I seldom watch the same show twice and almost always donate my books to the local library when I am done reading them. I save a few books on my shelf because I just might want to read them again, but only a few. And then there is The Alchemist, a book I have read so many times that I have lost count. It is a book in its own category when it comes to my reading habits.
So why have I read this book so many times? I pick up The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho anytime I need to find myself or my next mountain to climb. I read it not for its story but for the mindset I walk away with when I am finished. Inspiration is found within its pages. I set the book down between chapters, encouraged to dream up the next phase of my life. I put the book back on the shelf at the end, highly motivated to begin my next journey.
I don’t know if The Alchemist does this for everyone, but if there is a chance it will, I encourage my readers to choose this book the next time they want to find a new passion in life. The Alchemist isn’t a textbook or how-to book—it is the story of a young man who dreams beyond his means and, despite all odds, reaches for the stars.
“A remarkable tale about the most magical of all journeys: the quest to fulfill one’s destiny.” — Anthony Robbins, author of Awaken the Giant Within
“It’s a brilliant, magical, life-changing book that continues to blow my mind with its lessons. […] A remarkable tome.” — NEIL PATRICK HARRIS, ACTOR
Resources
Coelho, Paulo. The Alchemist. Harper One. 2014.
