Life on Cripple Creek
Essays on Living with Multiple Sclerosis
by Dean Kramer/DeanOP

Published by Demos Medical Publishing, 2003
Available at Amazon.com $12.89 (see link below)


Reviewed by LizOP
MSWorld Book Reviewer

The awesome task of reviewing another writer's work became more than real while reading Dean's book, since she is one of MSWorld's very own and an excellent author.
Her writing is what I call "a slice of life" style. Many with, or without, MS can believe the circumstances she writes about - whether it be trying to "run" from bees on a garden path or maneuvering through WalMart in a motorized scooter - I feel she is sitting with me, telling me a story about her life - and I laugh, knowing it must be true.

Get past the title and open the book: "I chose the title . . for several reasons. Most concretely, I live in a very rural area alongside a creek, I play the five-string banjo and "Cripple Creek" is a tune I love to pick and, back in the late 1960s, early 1970s, a group called The Band did a song called "Up on Cripple Creek," that was a favorite of mine."

Plus, early in the book she explains that semantics do not bother her and the word cripple is just that - a word. Often it can describe how we, living with MS, feel when we try to do the ordinary.

Dean writes, "When I use cripple to describe myself and someone responds, 'Gee, you don't look crippled,' I can paraphrase Ms. Steinem saying, 'This is what crippled looks like.'"

I related to most of her writing but, in particular, "The pitfalls of good health, or, now that you are in remission, dear, please mow the lawn." Maybe because when I am having a good spell, be it days or weeks, I almost feel guilty if I don't push the envelope and do, do, do...and then when the MS returns with a vengance, I fear some may not understand my "doing" days are over.

This is a must read for people who have a sense of humor, need a good laugh, need to know others understand MS -- oh, it is a must read for anyone who likes smooth writing with a purpose - to inspire and to realize we cannot take ourselves too seriously just because we have MS.

It is almost a guarantee that when you finish Dean's book, you will have favorite parts or stories. You will find them coming into your mind when you hear words such as, Chicken Little and the Terminator, You Wear What You Eat, Walk This Way, or Demolition Shopping.

Believe me, this + $12 is worth every dime. If you don't believe me, ask anyone who has read this book.

What the hey, just believe me! Have I ever let you down?

P.S. Check our MSWorld's link for more recent columns by Dean:
Life on Cripple Creek Column

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