Book Overview

In 2007, Beckie Butcher was stricken with a debilitating autoimmune disease (a disease in which your immune system attacks your own body) known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or CFS. The exact cause of CFS is not known, but it is suspected that certain viruses are the culprits. One such virus is The Epstein-Barr virus, a herpes virus which causes infectious mononucleosis. According to an article in Science Daily (October 2, 2008) research has shown the virus is linked to certain kinds of cancer.

Beckie Butcher, Author, My Battle with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
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The US Review of Books

My Battle With Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
by Beckie Butcher
iUniverse

book review by Donna Ford

“Chronic Fatigue Syndrome patients truly suffer. It is a serious illness which attacks the organs, muscles, and nervous system. We are not simply ‘tired.’”

In August, 2007, a doctor’s report informed the author that her strange and disabling symptoms resulted from high levels of the antigen for Epstein-Barr. Triggered by exposure to this virus, her body over-responded, causing the autoimmune disease known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Prior to this, Butcher led an active life: working twenty years in clinical laboratories; singing in a choir; and preparing to open The Butcher’s Block, a catering service. Instead, a few months later her brain was literally foggy; she became confused, and her joints and muscles ached, leaving her bedridden.

Still, finally having a diagnosis meant that there likely was a way to heal. Butcher started reading resources of an online support group. There were warnings that friends might leave (which did happen to the author). However, in this book Butcher shares the positive help she received. Her mother took over the shopping and laundry. Eventually, the author swallowed her pride and let church members bring her meals. One church member told of a chiropractor using the NUCCA method to ease neck misalignment and promote body healing. Visits with her pastor allowed Butcher to forgive herself and others. She shed tears of grief for a life that might never return and found additional help in religious booklets on suffering. Progress has been slow, but after several years the author is much improved.

The author’s book is a combination of memoir and rebuttal. Butcher bravely speaks out, believing that those who deal daily with disabling illness need an advocate on their behalf. The book’s end matter includes neck X-rays demonstrating NUCCA treatment along with tips for how well-meaning friends can best help a chronically-ill person. This hopeful and informative 38-page book is a veritable healing package.

Pacific Book Review

Beckie Butcher was by all definition an ordinary and healthy person, that is, until she began to feel tired. Gradually but rather quickly symptoms of intense fatigue began to overtake her ability to cope with everyday living. She came down with a devastating condition known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. There is not much known about this disease, but it is believed to be a virus such as herpes which is the root cause for mononucleosis, and often linked to cancer. In Beckie’s case, she lost so much energy making it impossible for her to function any semblance of a normal life. At one point, I was taken by her telling the story how she was so tired she couldn’t get out of bed one day, only when needed to attend to herself in the bathroom, even then she had to crawl on the floor to get there.

This fatigue continued to a point when she simply thought she was going to die. Many improper diagnoses were made, offering her no relief. A disease without any known cure, all she could do was pray to God to heal her. This was a major turning point in her life, as she reached deeper and deeper in faith and prayer as the only resort to sustain her life. It came down to her belief God IS there for her. He’s the reason I’m still here, she prayed to herself.

Although there wasn’t a medical breakthrough, it was determined that Beckie had a misaligned vertebrae at the top of her neck, C-1. Chiropractic manipulation of her vertebrae seemed to slowly have a positive effect on her. Eventually she was able to regain much of her energy. However not to minimize the power of prayer and the wisdom gained when she surrendered herself to God’s faith.

Beckie concludes in My Battle with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, thoughts of how she learned to cope. I found them all interesting but in particular she says to let go of past hurts and anger. “Negative emotions are stresses on the body, and stress does not help the healing process.” Aside from that psychological change, physical activities including yoga, meditation and eating healthy and exercising all were good – but deepening your faith in God was paramount to her healing.

This book is a brief reaffirmation of how the strength of prayer and God’s love is fundamentally a healing process, when cases where modern medicine is still ineffective. It is a lesson many have learned. Forgetting past negative instances, letting go of anger, is another lesson in which everybody can benefit from.

Foreword Reviews

My Battle with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Reviewed by Kristine Morris
May 29, 2014

Butcher’s encouraging tone helps people find meaning in life during a debilitating illness.

It was 2007, and forty-three-year-old Beckie Butcher thought she was dying. Something was dreadfully wrong. Every joint and muscle in her body ached; her brain and vision had fogged over. She was unable to get out of bed except to eat and use the restroom, and she couldn’t carry on a coherent conversation. When she was finally diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), an autoimmune disease, she was devastated. In My Battle with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Butcher shares the intimate and moving story of how the disease impacted her life and led to personal and spiritual transformation.

Butcher had worked as a lab technician, but had made plans to follow her dreams and open her own catering business until CFS struck her life. Although warned by a support group, she was completely taken by surprise when the person she least expected to leave her did just that. “It was worse than a death for me,” she writes, “because it wasn’t a death at all. It was a conscious decision made of this person’s own free will.” Butcher’s hope is that, by sharing her experiences, she can offer hope to others who are frightened, angry, and feel that they are alone as they deal with the ravages of CFS.

Christians especially will find her story encouraging, as it was through hearing of God’s ability to turn her suffering to good and believing that, no matter what difficulties she was facing, God was always with her, that she found the strength to go on. Ultimately, she found a chiropractic treatment that improved her condition, and she shares this information in her book.

Butcher’s “Five Questions to Ask God” are designed to help Christians find meaning and purpose in their lives even when they are downed by a debilitating illness, and her “Five Questions to Ask Family and Friends” can help those who are ill and their loved ones build bridges of mutual cooperation, shared faith, and honesty. Especially helpful are her pointed examples of what not to say to someone who is ill—the well-worn clichés that are more likely to provoke irritation and anger than to provide comfort.

Conversational in tone and generally well written, the book nonetheless has errors, including the frequently incorrect placement of quotation marks (“While I was doing’ ok,’”) and apostrophes (“Gods’ promise); a few sentences could be improved, such as “after twenty years of helping others, I was helpless to myself.”

The cover design, while obviously well-intentioned, is a bit dark and murky, leaving the relevant features somewhat obscured. The back cover matter, with its words of praise for the book, is clear and inviting, and the author has supplied an attractive photo that enhances the brief biographical statement. The table of contents and copyright pages are clear and informative, and the book’s design and layout are pleasing and easy on the eye.

The author has succeeded in providing information, hope, and encouragement to those who suffer from CFS. She shows how it is possible, even when faced with a devastating illness, to grow in understanding, tolerance, and faith.

CUTV News Radio spotlights Chronic Fatigue Syndrome expert Beckie Butcher

CUTV News Radio spotlights Chronic Fatigue Syndrome expert Beckie Butcher

Book giveaway for My Battle with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome by Beckie Butcher Jul 10-Sep 30, 2017

Book giveaway for My Battle with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome by Beckie Butcher Jul 10-Sep 30, 2017

Beckie Butcher, Author, My Battle with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Book giveaway for My Battle with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome by Beckie Butcher Oct 05-Nov 30, 2017