Chronic illness can be a nuisance at best, debilitating at worst. I should know; I wake up every day not knowing if a migraine is going to force me back into bed or send me rushing to the bathroom to keep the contents of my stomach off the floor. That does not mean we cannot learn to live with it. In fact, the challenge just makes us work harder, and we rise to meet it. For proof, look no further than Carl S. Armato, author of A Future With Hope: An Inspiring Guide to Overcoming Diabetes.
A Future With Hope follows Armato’s lifelong struggle with diabetes, beginning with his diagnosis at only eighteen months old and continuing through his childhood, going to college, starting his career, all the way to the present. In addition to telling his story to inspire others, Armato uses his fifty-two years of experience to impart invaluable wisdom and advice on his fellow diabetics. With exercise, a healthy diet, ever-improving medical technology, a strong support system, and a positive attitude, he has not only come to live with the disease—he has thrived because of it, and he assures other diabetics that they can, too.
I’ll be honest, I started this book with only the slightest understanding as to what diabetics go through. TV and the internet had given me a general idea, but it was vague and, as with all information in the digital age, I took it with a grain of salt. A Future With Hope provides not only advice and support to diabetics but insight into the disease for those of us who do not suffer from it ourselves. Readers learn how diabetics can keep their blood sugar under control, how easily the delicate balance can be thrown off, how a good support system can make or break a diabetic’s survival, and the thoughts—both uplifting and devastating—which go through a diabetic’s mind every day. To read about living with diabetes from someone who has had success managing it is eye-opening.
The book, at only one hundred and eighty pages long, is a quick read. Armato writes in an engaging conversational tone which makes it easy to follow and entertaining. While inspirational, the guide is far from cheesy. Armato has a very down-to-earth approach to his condition and to his account. He focuses on the good which has come from his modified lifestyle and the positive influence his support system has had on him and his outlook. However, he also addresses his struggles, his frustrations with having to explain his diabetes, and the victim mindset which has sometimes crept into his thoughts, as inevitably happens with all diabetics. Armato does not lament the “normal” life of a non-diabetic. Rather, he utilizes these challenges to show readers how he surpassed them so that they might learn how to overcome them as well.
With all there is to praise about A Future With Hope, one incredibly minor aspect of it might be a problem for some readers. Throughout the work, Armato makes references to faith and a higher power, especially when it comes to his father’s influence as part of his support system. Still, this is not a religious book nor does it try and push any particular religion on the reader. Rather, Armato speaks of looking to a higher power as a way of getting through life’s challenges. While I am not myself Christian or even religious, I think that the idea of there being a higher power to turn to during hard times and that sends people in need to people who want to help is very comforting, so it shouldn’t bother non-Christians too much.
Overall, A Future With Hope by Carl S. Armato is powerful and uplifting. Diabetics will feel encouraged by Armato’s personal story and will find his guidance incredibly helpful. Those without diabetes will have their hearts warmed by his uplifting attitude and the way he has helped other diabetics, not to mention the understanding that this look at a diabetic’s life will give them. You never know when you might encounter someone going through this emotional and physical struggle, and we could all use a little more empathy and hope in our lives.
If you want to snag a copy of A Future With Hope by Carl S. Armato, you can buy a physical or eBook copy from Amazon.
Do you know of a book I should read? E-mail me at thewritersscrapbin@gmail.com and let me know!
Designed by Stephanie Hoogstad circa 2011