Epilepsy: A New Approach

by Adrienne Richard, Joel Reiter

This book is a unique collaboration between a gifted writer with epilepsy and a skilled physician who has brought new insight into the treatment of this condition.
At the age of twenty-six, when Adrienne Richard was seven months pregnant, she was diagnosed with epilepsy. For years she took anticonvulsant drugs to control her seizures, but she wanted to wean herself from the powerful drugs if she could. During the first ten years without medication she had only one seizure. Her goal was to live seizure-free. Ms. Richard practiced yoga, biofeedback, and mind/body techniques in the eighties to help her reach that goal. While writing an article for a magazine based in California, she learned of Dr. Joel Reiter, who was exploring epilepsy self-care in his clinical practice and through his groundbreaking research. Epilepsy: A New Approach combines Adrienne Richard's own inspiring story of overcoming a debilitating condition with Dr. Reiter's up-to-the-minute medical knowledge of diagnosis and treatment. This self-help program offers people with epilepsy and those who love them a chance to regain control of their lives.

Genres: Nonfiction

288 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1990

About the author

Adrienne Richard was born in 1921, and is a 1943 graduate of the University of Chicago. She is the author of four novels (Pistol, The Accomplice, Wings, and Into The Road), the medical book, Epilepsy: A New Approach, a book of poetry, plus many newspaper articles and short stories.

Reviews

[John Henderson · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was disappointed to see that co-author Adrienne Richard has written nothing else but fiction. I found it very odd for a fiction writer to be co-writing a medical book.

I was initially impressed that the other author was a neurologist with lots of experience but throughout the whole book he explains things that “other doctors might be skeptical”of or things that “might” work and things that “some people believe work”. He then describes those things but never gives good (biological or medical) reasons why something might work other than claiming it has been used by others (that's not good evidence). He suggests doses of supplements that go beyond the RDI and gives no reason how he concluded that those doses are the best. The whole book seems to be based on anecdotal evidence which is known to be the least dependable evidence anyone could offer. As such, I truly have to question his capacity as a neurologist.

His approach consists of 4 aspects: ones knowledge & treatment of epilepsy, ones mental attitude, ones preventative program, and ones ability to use intervention methods. Just from the first 2 aspects I can’t help but get the impression that this approach involves a lot of confirmation bias so that when they work you remember and when it doesn’t work we forget about it. I also take issue with those 2 aspects because when people present things in such a way that it blames the victim (or they blame themself) if it doesn’t work. I’ve seen many books that claim to be positive but set people up to be blamed for their lack of “positive thinking” or “positive attitude”. I’m not saying I don’t believe in taking responsibility but to think that I have seizures that aren’t cured or controlled because of my attitude blames me and I’ve seen it done too often with many other books & healers.

The author also tends to suggest treatments that are not only unlikely but have been proven to not work like homeopathy and various supplements where even he says the evidence is anecdotal. He is honest about the fact that it is all anecdotal but it makes me feel as though I’d wasted my money on a book of gossip & unproven facts. The only things I found valid to helping epilepsy were things I considered common sense like drugs, alcohol, & tobacco should be avoided or that relaxation will help.

[Erica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd give this book 4 stars, but it's quite outdated--the drug info is terribly out of date.
The best information comes in the vitamin chapters. Also liked the historical and literary references. Her final thoughts linking epilepsy with death were wonderfully provocative. Also liked the descriptions of how to address one's program/auras before they turn into full-blown seizures.

[Justin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alternative-style self-help. Kind of dorky, kind of inspirational.. lots of new information made accessable.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best guide for the patient that I have found on treating epilepsy.