Foreword
17 million people worldwide suffer from a severe, complex, neurological disease that affects every system in the body. It affects people of all ages, genders, ethnicities and income groups. It is more debilitating that most other diseases; when severe it is equal to undergoing chemotherapy, or having multiple sclerosis or late stage AIDS. The most severely affected are confined to bed in a darkened room and have to be tube-fed.
It is called Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, or ME. Some however call it Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. The cause is unknown and there is currently no cure, despite many claims to the contrary.
During the last 14 years I have written many poems, articles, etc on the subject of my M.E. and have now decided to put them all together into this book. I started writing poetry many years ago and, although I first became ill in 1985, the first piece I wrote about my illness was in 2001. After that they just kept coming, partly as a way to express my frustrations.
The articles are more recent and first appeared in a blog: Moons and Junes and Ferris Wheels.
The cover art is from a video I made called Behind the Lies which can be seen on Youtube.
All the work contained in this book is my own original work. However some of the poetry may have been posted online at times, perhaps under a pen name. Poems are arranged in chronological order.
Please excuse any errors in editing. My mind doesn’t always function as well as I’d like.
I dedicate this book to all the many thousands of people living with little or no hope of recovery, especially those completely bed-bound. Bless you all.