ABOUT THE BOOK
Overview
EMAIL JIM HIRSCH
Order
Cheating Destiny
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Overview
Watch
any television commercial for diabetes, and you’ll believe
that we live in a biomedical golden age in which genetics, immunology,
and stem cell research are unlocking the secrets of this disease.
The reality is that diabetes
is the only major disease whose death rate is rising; whose care is getting
worse; and whose cost of complications (blindness, kidney failure, heart
disease, amputations) is devastating families, communities, and our entire
health care system.
Cheating
Destiny explains
the gap between the fantasy world of corporate marketers and the reality,
casting a bright light on a health care system that actually rewards poor
care and a research industry that favors me-too science. The book also reveals
the hidden subculture of patients, exposes the hypocrisy of fundraising organizations
and scientists, and describes the maddening search for the cure.
What’s always given
diabetes its special poignancy is that it affects children, and Cheating
Destiny offers a moving portrait of the author's young son’s first
year with the disease.
Back Story
The idea for this book began at my mother’s funeral.
Gloria Hirsch did not have diabetes, but as both a parent and a volunteer, she devoted much of her adult life to the cause. After she was diagnosed with cancer in 2001, the American Diabetes Association honored her at a dinner, announcing that the camp where her children once worked had been renamed the Gloria Hirsch Camp for Diabetic Children. She died the following year, and at her funeral service, the rabbi discussed her work in diabetes, noting that my father had been her indispensable partner in all her efforts. He talked as well about my brother’s contributions in the medical field; our sister, Lynn, had also been a counselor for many summers at the camp. “When they finally find a cure for this disease,” the rabbi said, “this family will have played a significant role in that achievement.”
Everyone in my family had indeed done a lot. But near as I could tell, I had done very little, other than survive. So it was at that moment that decided to write a book about diabetes. I didn’t know when or what it would say, but I hope Cheating Destiny is seen as part of my family’s contribution to the cause.