
- 325 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
About this book
A memoir of triumph in the face of a terrifying diagnosis, Up the Down Escalator recounts Dr. Lisa Doggett's startling shift from doctor to patient, as she learns to live with multiple sclerosis while running a clinic for uninsured patients in central Austin. Recounting before and after the discovery of her MS, she chronicles vexing symptoms while trying to be an attentive mother, wife, and a caring family doctor. 2024 Gold Winner, Benjamin Franklin Awards, Health & Fitness Category
2024 Silver Winner, Nautilus Book Awards, Medical Memoir Category 2024 Best of Austin in Austin Chronicle Readers Poll, Nonfiction Writer Category 2024 Winner, International Book Awards, Autobiography/Memoir Category and Health: Women's Health Category 2024 Finalist, International Book Awards, Parenting and Family Category and Women's Issues/Women's Studies Category 2023 Finalist, IAN Book of the Year Awards, Non-Fiction: Health/Medicine/Fitness/Dieting Category Facing the prospect of a career-ending disability as she adjusts to life with multiple sclerosis, Dr. Lisa Doggett is forced to deal with a new level of uncertainty and vulnerability, and the everyday fear that something new will go wrong. Taking off her white coatābecoming a patient herselfāshe confronts unimaginable fears, copes with her limitations, and sidesteps her skepticism of alternative medicine to seek help from unlikely sources. Drawing on riveting patient stories, Doggett reveals the dark realities of the dysfunctional U.S. healthcare system, made all the more stark when she becomes the one seeking care. MS pushes Doggettāa perfectionist at heartāto soften her inner drill sergeant and embrace self-compassion. As a patient, she learns to advocate for herself to ensure on-time medication deliveries and satisfactory treatment plans; to navigate chronic dizziness, relapses, and parenting frustrations; and to push her physical limits as a runner to go farther than ever before. As the director of a health clinic for the uninsured, Doggett's MS inspires an even deeper empathy as she confronts challenging cases, prompting her to work harder on behalf of those in her care, many of whom struggle with illnesses more serious than her own. This hopeful and uplifting book will encourage those living with chronic disease, and those supporting them, to power forward with courage and grace. It will spark conversations to redefine perfect parenting and trigger uncomfortable discussions and outrage about the vicious inequalities of health care in the U.S. Most of all, it will inspire readers to embrace the gifts of an imperfect life and look for silver linings, despite life's detours that sabotage plans and take them off their expected paths.
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Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Title Page
- Authorās Note
- From the Author
- Dedication
- Chapter 1: Mr. Sloane
- Chapter 2: Caring for Our Own
- Chapter 3: The Tall Guy at MIT
- Chapter 4: Worthy Pursuits
- Chapter 5: Striving for Perfection
- Chapter 6: Something Bad
- Chapter 7: White Spots
- Chapter 8: Whereās the Beef?
- Chapter 9: A Life Sentence
- Chapter 10: The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
- Chapter 11: Sex, Drugs, and How ābout Staying in School?
- Chapter 12: Out of Control
- Chapter 13: Diseases That Really Suck
- Chapter 14: Whac-A-Mole
- Chapter 15: The Waiting Place
- Chapter 16: Another Catch-22
- Chapter 17: Back So Soon?
- Chapter 18: An Ill-Equipped Life Raft
- Chapter 19: Sprouts and Eggs
- Chapter 20: I Didnāt See It Coming
- Chapter 21: Your Call Is Important to Us
- Chapter 22: Up the Down Escalator
- Chapter 23: From Clueless to Competent
- Chapter 24: Will You Hold My Hands When I Die?
- Chapter 25: The Renovation
- Chapter 26: Happy to Be Wrong
- Chapter 27: You Win Some, You Lose Some
- Chapter 28: A Little Bird
- Chapter 29: Itās Happening
- Chapter 30: A Pebble in My Shoe
- Chapter 31: I Never Thought Iād Leave
- Chapter 32: This Is the Way It Is Right Now
- Chapter 33: A Near Miss
- Chapter 34: Cotton Balls
- Chapter 35: The Finish Line
- Epilogue
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- Endnotes
- Copyright