Savvy Books: Bright Spots & Landmines by Adam Brown

AMAZING!

At the risk of repeating myself, AMAZING! I’ve been reading Adam’s column on diatribe … always interesting. But this is a masterpiece of wisdom, experience, tips and techniques in an easy-to-read, MUST READ resource for how to live as well as possibly with Type1 diabetes. WOW!

I started reading the book as soon as I got it … and the subtitle says a lot: The Diabetes Guide I Wish Someone Had Handed Me.” I scanned the reviews by all the prominent folks in the diabetes community. I felt a bit intimidated. I thought, uh-oh, another “whatcha oughta do” books. In a way it is … but it all makes sense.

Adam, a born achiever and oldest of 6 children in his family, was diagnosed with T1 in 2001, at the age of 15. At the tender age of 21, three events changed his life, all for the good:

He started learning about nutrition and eating fewer carbohydrates and how to make better choices
He joined a diabetes-focused organization as an intern, where he learned to write about diabetes
He started using a continuous glucose monitor, which empowered him to figure out what worked well for his diabetes and what didn’t work well.

In short, he started to take charge of his diabetes, beyond just taking insulin.

He tells his journey and his living lessons with openness, honesty and real insight. He shares what he has learned and what works for him and why. He offers variations of these lessons so that you may choose to use them or modify them to work for you.

His book is divided into four VERY important topics:

Food
Mindset
Exercise
Sleep

Very few books on diabetes discuss these subjects as essentials. It’s really a perfect breakdown of what is really important.

Everything he talks about makes sense, all packed into . Important items are highlighted. Examples are proffered. It begins to seem very manageable, even to take a few baby steps towards better management. He gives great recipes, techniques to become more present, how to fit in exercise and most importantly (which few people talk about) the critical value of sleep.

Granted, Adam is a very disciplined and detail-oriented young man. We are not all quite that regular in our lives. But we can make some changes which lead to vast improvements.

I really enjoyed reading about his experiences and how he integrates all these topics into his daily life, with great results. I actually carried his book with me to the grocery store so that I could buy a few items he recommended in recipes.

He references some very interesting websites for resources … and they are really interesting! For example:

www.stickk.com developed by an economics professor at Yale), it offers the opportunity, through ‘Commitment Contracts’, to show to yourself and others the value you put on achieving your goals
www.calm.com app to reduce anxiety, sleep better and feel happier
www.buddhify.com app for meditation
www.headspace.com which helps cause a cultural shift in how we think and talk about meditation
www.thefitdesk.com a bike desk to exercise while you work

This book will live on my shelf, close at hand … an incredible resource in living well with diabetes. GREAT JOB, Adam, THANK YOU!!!