Book cover (above) of sociology professor Rebecca Hensley’s new book about a life with diabetes has been released. Hensley’s book cover represents her hopes that those who read her mini-manual can see how it is possible to have a life that is comfortable, fun and manageable even under the conditions when one is diagnosed with diabetes.
Hensley was diagnosed with diabetes eight years ago and knew nothing about it or its treatments. She learned from self-experience and pinned these experiences to share with the world.
“I was diagnosed with diabetes eight years ago,” said Hensley. “This book didn’t exist, and I wish it had, it would have made my life a lot easier, but I figured all this stuff out by myself and put it all in this book so that people could read it.”
You can go to any bookstore to find resources on how to help with this illness, but Hensley feels those only inform the reader about the disease and are not helpful.
“Look up on Amazon what books are out there,” said Hensley. “There are some bright colored ones, 480 pages, everything you need to know. You don’t want that. If those were doing the job, I wouldn’t have written this.”
Hensley’s book is not just about her experience, but she also gives hints and tips about diabetes.
“That is the way this is written,” said Hensley. “That is what’s different. And in the meantime, it teaches you which glucometer requires the least amount of blood to get a reading, so you can tell your blood glucose. How I got my brain around it, how I came to grips with it, how I dealt with fear, how I dealt with resentment. All of that is in there.”
The first paragraph is a great example of how her book is written.
“Lets face it. Being told you definitely have diabetes of any type is a headbutt,” writes Hensley. “Nobody wants to hear they have a potentially terminal illness. Let alone that no one knows exactly how specific individuals get it or exactly what will work for specific individuals to manage it so it doesn’t kill them. I get it. As a matter of fact, I’ve got it.”
Her inspiration for writing the book was drawn from her own experiences with the disease.
The cover of Hensley’s book shows a picture of her leaning back in a chair relaxing with a pizza. She is wearing a shirt that reads ‘Love fades. Pizza is forever.’
“That is why I wanted this kind of a picture on the front,” said Hensley. “I wanted them to see me being happy, being comfortable, having fun and eating pizza.”
The book is currently available on Amazon, Kindle and the audio versions are about to be released. It also has larger print and was made to help people in her situation.
“I made it larger print because a lot of people that are going to be reading it are older people and that’ll make a difference,” said Hensley. “I call it easily readable.”
Hensley is currently working on the book launch and would like to have the launch at the North Oaks Diabetic Education Program in mid-September.
Online, Hensley describes herself as having “decades of experience teaching, training, designing programs and working in a wide range of social settings with individuals and families in crisis, as well as male and female adult and adolescent addicts and offenders. In addition to my full-time responsibilities an instructor of sociology for the past eight years, [she is] a highly-respected trainer and motivational speaker with a reputation for the passion [she] bring to [her] topics.
To purchase your own copy of her mini-manual, visit amazon.com or to learn more about Hensley, visit rebeccahensley.com.