The DRM Guide to Disability Resources on the Internet: Sponsors

	DISABILITY RESOURCES ONLINE
	Monitoring, Reviewing and Reporting on Resources For Independent Living
	Updated 1/6/2003
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Long Time, No See
by Beth Finke
University of Illinois Press, 2003. Hardcover, 204 pages, $24.95.
Living well with diabetes presents many challenges, difficulties, and, in the case of Beth Finke, an opportunity to write the best memoir I have read in ages. In Long Time, No See, Finke chronicles her life as someone with juvenile diabetes and how the disease has had an impact on her, her immediate family, and an assortment of extended family and friends.
When she lost her vision in her mid-twenties, Finke and her new husband Mike didn't have a roadmap for the long, uncharted journey ahead of them. The birth of Gus, their son who has multiple disabilities, also brought new concerns for the couple. Long Time, No See, fashioned from journals and writings the author kept along the way, is an honest, compelling account of what life can be like on a daily basis during the initial medical crisis as well as the years to follow. Ingenuity, humor, family support, and two wonderful guide dogs helped Finke, and she, in turn, will prove to be an invaluable help to others looking for guidance.

Pie Pantry
by Flavia Crowner
Koenisha Publications, 2003. Softcover, 268 pages, $19.95.

Who says reviewing disability books should be all work and no play? Certainly not I – especially when the book in question is Pie Pantry by Flavia Crowner. The initial installment of a new mystery series featuring amateur sleuth paraplegic Sunny Farnum, Pie Pantry is a welcome addition to the “cozy” genre of mysteries.

After the upheaval of a move to a small Midwestern town, recently injured Sunny expects life to settle down, but she soon becomes embroiled in discovering what lies behind a series of burglaries and just who among her new circle of friends and acquaintances can be trusted. Fans of mystery “cozies” will recognize the care with which Crowner has begun to develop the genre’s essential trademarks and cast of characters. Readers with an interest in disability issues will also enjoy seeing how the author incorporates ADLs and attendants into the plot.
What makes Sunny Farnum so believable lies in the author’s own experience. Injured in an auto accident, Crowner has transformed her own experience with paraplegia into detective fiction that should appeal to all mystery lovers but have a special draw for disabled readers.
-Sally Rosenthal, MSLS, OTR/L Contributing Editor Disability Resources Online