Type 2

by Ben Ditmars

Type 2 is a journey from being diagnosed to living each day with diabetes. If you feel shocked, if you feel angry or need healing for yourself (or loved one) there is a poem within these pages.

Genres: Poetry

91 pages, Hardcover

Published November 4, 2021

About the author

Ben Ditmars was first published in his college publications the Cornfield Review and KAPOW and has since been featured in several online literary journals. He is the author of six poetry books including Night Poems, Haiku in the Night, Inhale the Night, Sleeping with Earth, Number Poetry and Splinters with Susie Clevenger. He lives in Ohio with his wife, De’Garrica, and dachshund, Elsa.

Reviews

[Nathaniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I highlighted more in this book than I normally would. The poems just stuck with me. Aside from being personal, they were also beautifully written and opened a window to something I don’t have experience with. Ditmars is good at what he does. His words are sweet and honest, like some sort of deception hiding the pain.

[Helle Gade · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book! As usual the author guides you through a rollercoaster of emotions.

Take this journey with Ben Ditmars as he shows the raw unfiltered emotion of a man who has had his world changed drastically, faced with his own mortality. Follow him through shock, anger, depression and healing, shining light onto an illness surrounded by prejudice.

[Erelah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book not knowing what to expect, but being very excited nonetheless. Ditmars has been in many collections and has published many works but this was my first read by him.

I’m always ready to read a poetry collection by a chronically ill individual. I despite not having the same illnesses, I usually can find something to empathize with. This book was a new perspective into something I knew almost nothing about, and for that I’m very grateful. The writing style is different from what I’m used to, so I’m not 100% sure how I feel about that, but I did enjoy reading it quite a lot. It was interesting and full of emotion and I think all the chapters fit together nicely. And now that I am done spitting out the more logical bits of the review, here’s some of my favorite things about it-

One of my favorite quotes comes from the Foreword- “We often underestimate the ways illness affects our lives… until we’re living it.”

And my Favorite poems and the chapters they’re in are as follows-

The moon inside my blood (shock)

ON FUMES (Pain)

Erosion (Depression)

Building blocks (Healing)

3.5 rounded up to 4

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can relate to this poetry book as I was diagnosed with Pre-diabetes two years ago. I in ten people have diabetes and one out of three have pre-diabetes. This book can help so many cope with this disease. The struggles are real as this poet gets into the process from hearing you have it to living with it. His words cut straight to the soul of the disease and how the world around us perceives it and struggles to control it.
A poet writes from their souls! This books shows you that in spades! I know this book will help many who are struggling with this!
I thought it was one of the most important poetry book I’ve read. I totally recommend you read it, this poets words are harsh reality and will touch all your nerve ending with reality’s truth! It’s a awesome and pure emotional read!!!

[Lynn Hallbrooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poems that have expressed experienced emotions.

As a poet and author, Ben Ditmars is no stranger to expressing emotions either within his prose or his poetry. This book, however, it's personal and deep.

I could feel what he was feeling at the time the poem was written and it touched my heart.

[Brieanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely LOVED this book! It was exactly what I needed at the time that I needed it. It helped me understand feelings that I was having about my own battle with diabetes and helped me to start recording my own journey. Would recommend to anyone who wants to understand how type 2 diabetics feel.

[Amber Showalter · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a nurse, I have taken care of many new-onset diabetics of all ages. I know what it's like to be on the healthcare side of this diagnosis. But I was never truly able to see from the view of the person who is being diagnosed with this illness until I read "Type 2". Ben Ditmars is able to put into words the roller coaster of feelings a person has when going through this situation. There is so much to learn in diabetes management and I think in healthcare, it's easy to get stuck on the teaching and the tasks that go along with educating patients on how to take care of themselves. But there is so much more to it, especially for the individual having to learn all these things--the fear, the unknown, the anger, the feelings of it being unfair. Ditmars has managed to capture all these emotions from his first hand account in this book. This book has taught me to to have more empathy when teaching the skills a newly-diagnosed diabetic will have to master for the rest of their life. This book has taught me to be a better person. Thank you to the author for this perspective, and for putting this book into the world to help others in his shoes.