Against Medical Advice: A True Story

By: and

Synopsis
One morning when he was almost five years old, Cory Friedman woke up with the uncontrollable urge to shake his head. From that day forward his life became an agony of irrepressible tics and involuntary utterances. Cory embarked on a thirteen-year odyssey of medication upon medication, treatment upon treatment - a constantly changing regimen that left him and his family feeling like guinea pigs in an out-of-control experiment. It soon became unclear which tics were symptoms of his condition and which were side effects of the countless combinations of drugs. The only certainty was that it kept getting worse. Simply put: Cory Friedman's life was a living hell. Subjected to debilitating treatments and continuous ridicule, Cory became devastatingly aware of how he appeared to others. With the love of his family and the support of a few steadfast teachers and medical professionals, he fought for his very life, and you will cheer his amazing successes. Against Medical Advice is the true story of Cory's battle for survival in the face of extraordinary difficulties and a sometimes maddening medical establishment. Written by James Patterson and Cory's father, Hal, with the relentless pace of a Patterson thriller, this is a heartrending story of one family's courage, determination, and ultimate triumph.
Copyright:
2008

Book Details

Book Quality:
Excellent
Book Size:
297 Pages
ISBN-13:
9780316024754
Publisher:
N/A
Date of Addition:
Copyrighted By:
James Patterson
Adult content:
No
Language:
English
Has Image Descriptions:
No
Categories:
Nonfiction, Disability-Related, Biographies and Memoirs, Health, Mind and Body, Psychology, Medicine
Submitted By:
Dave Russell
Proofread By:
Dave Russell
Usage Restrictions:
This is a copyrighted book.

Reviews

5 out of 5

By on

Against Medical Advice is a term used in a situation where a patient checks himself out of a hospital in non-conformance to the advice of his doctor. The patient usually needs to sign a form that limits the liability of the hospital in question. The book begins with the protagonist, Cory Friedman taking the step of being discharged from a psychiatric facility against the advice of his doctor. The atmosphere of the institution and the feelings of Cory and his parents are captured vividly. The book then goes into flashback and we learn of Corry's struggle with Tourette's syndrome. The timing is handled well and we move into the present without any abrupt changes. Cory's symptoms started appearing when he was 5. For the next 13 years, he battled Tourette's syndrome. He never really gave up despite of almost setting his house on fire, enduring taunting at school etc., and the family stuck together until he finally conquered it. The book is disturbing especially as it outlines how little doctors know about how to treat such conditions. There were times when Cory felt that he was a labret. I shared those feelings with him as I read his account. The truly interesting bit is that Cory's cure does not come with any fancy medicine but with a determination to do better and pull himself out of the rut that the cocktail of medicines he was taking had gotten him into. Written by Pranav Lal.

5 out of 5

By on

This is a really good book. I would reccomend this book to anybody who likes James Patterson.