A beautifully written account of the horror of chronic illness (Another Alice - Alice Peterson)

Member Name: crazyminx

Product:	Another Alice - Alice Peterson
Date:	19/04/09 (163 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: An easy to read and emotional story of a brave and determined woman

Disadvantages: Slightly uncomfortable attitude at times

'Another Alice: An Inspiring True Story of a Young Woman's Battle to Overcome Rheumatoid Arthritis' is an autobiography written by Alice Peterson, who is also the author of 'Look The World In The Eye' and 'You, Me and Him'. It was previously published in 2001 with the title 'A Will to Win', but has been updated and republished this year.

I was particularly interested to read this book because I too am a young woman with an illness that prevents me from doing all I would like. Thankfully though, it is not as severe as Alice's.

THE BOOK:

Another Alice is a frank, open and honest account of Alice's life. We begin with her early years, from 11 to 18, where her whole life focuses on tennis. She is exceptionally talented and would no doubt have gone on to be a professional player. She was playing in the same national competitions as Tim Henman, which gives you an idea of the timing and standard. However, at 18 and as she is about to leave for a tennis scholarship in America, Alice is diagnosed with a sudden onset of Rheumatoid Arthritis. The disease is aggressive and appallingly painful, and blights her life despite her constant attempts to go to university, get a job and have a normal life. Alice goes through great physical and emotional troubles, but her determination always shines through and she does not give up.

MY VIEWS:

This book, despite its traumatic subject matter, is very easy to read and very well written, and at times I found it tricky to put down. I was very eager to know what happened next for Alice at all times. Alice describes in great detail the physical problems of arthritis and the mental stress of these, plus the pressure it puts on relationships. If you are squeamish you may wince a lot, and if you are prone to crying then you will need to keep the tissues close by, like I did. At times the book can be depressing, but ultimately that was not the impression I was left with.

I can imagine, however, that some people might find the book difficult to get into, as the first 100 pages (a third of the book) focus exclusively on Alice's early tennis career and are written in quite a young style. Personally I like teen fiction and I found it really interesting, but if you're not into this sort of thing you may struggle. I would advise you to keep at it though.

This is a really valuable book for anyone who has a chronic illness, or for any family or friends of someone suffering in such a way. Unlike some books, this doesn't ignore the fact that the surrounding people suffer too. Alice has done really well to write this so honestly and I'm sure it will help many people.

However, I would like to say that there is a lot of emphasis in this book on the fact that it was unfair that such a promising tennis player got this illness. It was unfair, and my heart goes out to Alice, and it definitely makes the book poignant. However, such an illness is devastating whether you had a high profile career or not, and no one should have to suffer like this. I think perhaps the latter part of the book could do with a little bit more recognition of this, as I was left with the slightly uncomfortable impression that Alice felt it would be more acceptable if a non-sporty person has gotten this illness.

This book has an RRP of £7.99 but is currently available for £3.99 on Amazon.co.uk.

(This review has been updated and revised from my review on Amazon.co.uk.)

Summary: A book Alice should be proud of