In this book, Cohen, a journalist who had multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosed in his early 20s, offers a unique and valuable perspective on chronic illness. Cohen is honest about his struggle to integrate the debilitating effects of MS with his identify as a successful professional and a caring parent. He is remarkably unstinting in describing the painful impact of the disease on his wife and children, and poignantly describes the yearning to be normal that those without chronic disease take for granted. His early experiences exemplify how denial, which we often view as a barrier to acceptance, is a powerful mechanism for combating the fear and loss engendered by chronic disease. After giving a keynote address at an international conference on stem cell research, Cohen embarks on an examination of hope, first as a foundation in different religions but ultimately as a secular phenomenon. As he considers entering into experimental...

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