Harnessing the Wind: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and My Son

By Shanon McQuown

Book Overview

In a conversation with Anthony's homebound teacher, we discussed the nuances of maneuvering a sailboat. She explained how she didn't understand the technological workings of the boat, but she could just "feel" what she needed to do in order to control the boat. My mind made an immediate connection to educating a child with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. As with a sailboat, many books and articles can be read. You can understand the technical terms without knowing how you'll respond should a crisis arise. You can't see the wind, you have to feel it and respond to what you feel. Once a crisis does arise, will you freeze up or will you automatically respond. If you respond to your instinct and feelings, more than likely, you will avoid capsizing and ride the waves created by the wind and currents. You keep your eye on the horizon, waiting for the wind to bring you safely back to land. My son and I have traveled on this journey with his Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in this same way. We have kept our God-given instinct as our guide. We sometimes take "water in the boat", but we continue to bail (sometimes frantically) the water back into the sea from which it came. We have hope as we watch the horizon. We have dreams of setting our feet on firm land. No matter what, we are committed to traveling this journey together. We are determined to complete our course. In Harnessing the Wind, we share the physical battles Anthony faced. We share the struggles we faced with physicians, family, educators, friends and insurance companies. We share these things so others realize that they're not being singled out. We share these things hoping to spare others the "stormy seas" we had to struggle through. We want to encourage you to continue. We also want professionals, friends and family to understand that you can either become waves to block our passage or harbors for us to replenish our strength. The final part of the book add

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1418439525
• ISBN13: 9781418439521
• Release Date: May 2005
• Publisher: Authorhouse
• Length: 184 Pages
• Weight: 0.61 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Sailing Along with Shanon

I have read only excerpts from Shanon McQuown's book, Harnessing the Wind, but what I have read thus far has been compelling. The author takes the reader on her journey through the discovery, diagnosis and treatment of her son's illness, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Sail along with her as she navigates through the educational and medical storms that she and her son, Anthony must weather. In the end, the writer becomes, not only her son's caregiver and advocate, but transforms herself into an academic reformer so that all children with this often disabling disease have the oppurtunities in school that all are entitled to. Eileen Holderman

Harnessing the Wind

This is a very informing book. It really explains what the problem is and how it can be mistaken by laziness. The child does have a problem with energy and is not just lazy. Shanon really explains how the doctors were mistaking the way her child was and just said he was lazy. I recommend this book to any one.

Heart warming

Very detailed and thorough. Whether you have CFS, know someone with CFS or are simply curious about the illness, you will be blown away by the personal accounts and the straight forward facts this book presents. The book sucks you in making it hard to put down. I highly recommend it. Be prepared to laugh and cry.

A Journal of a Mother's Battle ---

Many patients and their families struggle daily to come to terms with a name for their illness that sounds benign and harmless (chronic fatigue syndrome), as well as traditional views that see illnesses that predominantly strike women should be treated as emotional, brain, or horomonal issues. Shanon McQuown's writes about the price of this lack of acceptance in her book, "Harnessing The Wind -- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and My Son". The book, written in journal format, details a mother's struggle for her son's survival, month by month. As the chapters unfold, the effects of a society that has yet to see her son's illness as disabling become more and more apparent. The book message is clear: CFS sufferers and their families face so much more than just a physical illness, they face a societal attitudes and misinformation. The book is littered with government officials, clinicians, and local officials who seem unaware or unconcerned about CFS, on any level. The name "chronic fatigue syndrome", given to the Anthony's illness by government officials years ago, sounds trivial and has undoubtedly led many to dismiss the illness which Ms. McQuown's son, Anthony suffers from. In McQuown's book, we see the damage this dismissal can do -- to her son, to her family, and to society. But in recent years, research has proved this is a systemic and devasting ilness. People who suffer from CFS, such as "Seabiscuit" author Laura Hillenbrand, have spoken out on the price it has exacted on them. This book is a book about overcoming one of the most disabling and devasting illnesses known, it is a book about one family's struggle to deal with a society that is largely uneducated about a devasting illness whose time will someday come.