These are the thoughts that leaped into my mind, as I read the brief introduction on the co-author, Eugenia Zukerman. Eugenia is an international flutist with a career as a television correspondent (and writer) for a major television network, whose career was in danger due to a life threatening lung disease- Eosinophilic Pneumonitis. This disease is not viral nor bacterial, but causes massive inflammation, affecting the ability of the lungs to oxygenate blood.

Once the musicians received her diagnosis, she contacted her sister (Co-Author) Julie R. Ingelfinger, MD. who is head of the Pediatric Nephrology Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, as
well as an Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Ingelfinger had been in Practice for 25 years (at the time the book was published.)

Fifty-year-old Eugenia was in the prime of her life, enjoying a fruitful career and happily married with two-grown daughters, when she received the life changing news that she had lung disease which had to be treated and controlled with Prednisone. The first thing that came to mind was her career and her appearance. Eugenia was a flutist, music was her life and playing the flute requires a healthy set of lungs. But given that Eugenia was also a television correspondent, her appearance was also a major concern. She knew first hand about a colleague who was taking Prednisone to treat her MS, who gained 40 lbs. Eugenia was worried about the side-effects, the weight gain was a huge issue. Eugenia confided in her sister who had plenty of experience treating patients with high doses of Prednisone.

The siblings teamed together to write an amazing book that is packed with definitions and the over-all personal experience. that you really don't get when you seek to educate yourself about a medical condition or a particular medication. They give you views, both from a patient's and a doctor's standpoint. The dialogue between the two in regards to what is Prednisone was a surprise to me. I honestly expected to just read a lot of medical terms and why doctors prescribe Prednisone but I was mistaken. This book takes you on a 10 month journey of personal view-points and medical view points

Reviewer rating: 9 ---I have to give this one a strong nine. Living with a chronic Illness is hard enough and taking medications adds to the over-all frustration of dealing with your illness. This book holds up a two-way mirror for both doctor and patient and can even aid in caregivers. Pick it up if you've been just diagnosed with an illness that Prednisone is prescribed to treat, have been taking Prednisone, or have a close relative or friend who is on this medication, so you can understand the drug in depth. It also gives ways to slow weight gain, one of the drug's biggest side effects. PICK IT UP!!!