Review: Through the Shadowlands, by Julie Rehmeyer
Over the course of a few short years, Julie Rehmeyer went from being an active outdoorswoman who loved to hike, and who had hand-built much of her New Mexico home, to a life of low energy, foggy-headedness, frailty, and occasional paralysis. Her symptoms were dismissed by some doctors, described by others as psychosomatic, and written off as “untreatable” by others. A catchall diagnosis of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome didn't help Rehmeyer or her doctors get her back to functioning, so the mathematician, researcher, and science writer began the hunt for her own solutions.
Rehmeyer's book Through the Shadowlands follows her journey through debilitating illness to a stronger, more stable life she describes as “relatively good health.” Along the way, Rehmeyer consults with leading mainstream experts on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and associated medical issues (for example, Dr. Nancy Klimas, head of the Neuroimmune Institute) as well as with other health providers from physical therapists to psychotherapists.
One of the most fascinating parts of the book is Rehmeyer's interaction with online patient communities. At first skeptical of the DIY approach of many longtime Chronic Fatigue Syndrome patients, she comes to take the strategies and suggestions found on message boards and in Facebook groups more seriously. Identifying one of her issues as a hypersensitivity to mold, she follows the lead of some patient activists, including “Mold Warrior” Erik Johnson, and the result is significant improvement in her overall health.
Some of Rehmeyer's other treatment strategies are even farther off the mainstream medical path. Working with a psychic, she focuses on overcoming some childhood experiences that may be holding her back. Tipped off by some fellow patients to their successful use of coffee enemas, she experiments and finds them beneficial. Rehmeyer's struggle to reconcile her positive personal experiences with the lack of scientific data supporting some of these alternative treatments is enlightening to watch (and easy to empathize with for those of us living with under-researched medical challenges).
The greatest accomplishment of Rehmeyer's book is the light it sheds on the limits of medical knowledge about Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, environmental sensitivities, and many other chronic disorders. Her emphasis on patient community and self-experimentation touched a chord with me as well. Definitely worth a look.
