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Tales from the Bed: On Living, Dying, and Having It All (Advance Reader's Excerpt) | 
 enlarge | Authors: Jenifer Estess, Valerie Estess
Creator: Katie Couric
Publisher: Atria
Category: Book
List Price: $24.00
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You Save: $23.99 (100%)
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Rating:  40 reviews
Sales Rank: 616545
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 224
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 8.8 x 5.9 x 1.1
ISBN: 0743476824
Dewey Decimal Number: 362.196839
EAN: 9780743476829
ASIN: 0743476824
Publication Date: May 18, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Shipping: International shipping available
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Product Description
Jenifer Estess is a woman on the verge: She's about to launch her own company; she's looking buff and dating vigorously; she's driving in the fast lane -- with the top down. At the age of thirty-five, Jenifer dreams of falling in love and starting a family. Then she notices muscle twitches in her legs. Walking down a city block feels exhausting. At first, doctors write off Jenifer's symptoms to stress, but she is quickly diagnosed with ALS, a fatal brain disease that is absolutely untreatable. "Max out your credit cards and see Paris," suggests one doctor. Instead of preparing to die, Jenifer gets busy. She dreams deeper, works harder, and loves endlessly. For Jenifer, being fatally ill is not about letting go. It's about holding on and reaching -- for family, friends, goals. Jenifer's girlhood pact with her sisters Valerie and Meredith -- nothing will ever break us apart -- guides them as Jenifer faces down one of the most devastating illnesses known to humankind. That same enduring pact inspires the creation of Project A.L.S., a movement started by the sisters that changes the way science and medicine approach research for ALS and the related diseases Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, and which has already raised more than $18 million. Will Project A.L.S. help scientists discover medicine in time for her? Jenifer answers these questions and others in this beautifully written and wholly inspiring memoir that celebrates a life fuelled by memory. "Tales from the Bed" forces us to reconsider society's notion of "having it all," and illustrates, more than anything, the importance of endurance, hope, and, most of all, love.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 35 more reviews...
 Touching story - worth reading. May 28, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I came across this book in a stack of books my mom had and I read it only because my dad died of ALS when 31 years ago (I was 3 at the time.) Jenifer and her sisters tell a very touching story about their life past and present and about the struggles Jenifer had with living with this horrible disease. I found it very interesting and a way I could picture what my family went through with my dad as I was too young to remember. Kudos to Jenifer and her family for their hard work in doing fundraising for Project ALS. It didn't take me long at all to get through the book!
 Filled To The Brim With Heart March 1, 2008
In 1997, at the age of thirty-five, Jenifer Estess was forced to confront life and a debilitating illness head on. She did so with the help of her two sisters, Valerie and Meredith. Years before the diagnosis, the three sisters had made a pact with each other: "Nothing, no one will stop us." They never lost sight of that pact, nor did they lose sight of the powerful connection they had with one another even in the bleakest of times.
This is a memoir of life--of a life worth celebrating and a life learning the fine points of how to live while dying. Jenifer is diagnosed with A.L.S. (amyotropic lateral sclerosis), better known to many as Lou Gehrig's Disease. She sets the stage from the beginning. We know that there will be no "happily ever after" ending, but there will be a legacy of love and concern for mankind.
With a foreword by Katie Couric, we are introduced to Jenifer and her sisters as well as Project A.L.S.,the company they formed to combat this terrible disease. As Katie so eloquently puts it, "ALS robbed Jenifer of so much. But through it all, she continued to appreciate the beauty of life even when her ability to live it was so creully curtailed. ALS couldn't take away her brilliance, and the one muscle it could not destroy was her heart."
This book is filled to the brim with heart. Jenifer used her heart, even when the rest of her body was failing her, to champion the cause of finding a cure for ALS. Through Project A.L.S., the sisters became political activists for stem cell research, speaking before congress along with Christopher Reeve and other well known people. They enlisted big corporate sponsors to fund research for a cure. And they kept on living despite the obvious progression of a killer disease.
Jenifer is one of those uncommon people who exemplifies grace under pressure. She might have withdrawn from the world, hiding behind her failing body and the cruel fate with which she had been presented. Instead, she reached out to the world, to the healthcare community and to her friends and sisters. She was the strength behind them all, even as she could no longer care for herself or use most of her muscles.
To read this book is to feel as though Jenifer has become your friend as well. In the afterword, written by Valerie Estess, we discover: "For Jenifer, having it all was a simple, exquisite recipe... Combine love, work, compassion, and you will some day, in some way, get to the mountaintop. Making the climb is the ultimate honor and privilege."
Jenifer lost her battle with ALS in 2003. Her legacy lives on in the lessons she taught her sisters, this book which is a true inspiration to all who read it, and through Project A.L.S., which continues to work toward a cure not only for ALS but also for its "sister" diseases--Parkinson's, Alzheimers, and Huntington's.
by Lee Ambrose
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women
A very moving memoir August 30, 2007
This was another memoir I wasn't sure I would keep reading. I am glad that I gave this book a chance. It is a very moving, sad book. I think about it fairly often.
LOVED IT!! August 18, 2007
I've never been moved to write a review before, but this is such a moving memoir. Jennifer's story inspired me in every way. Although I'm completely healthy, I could relate to the book. Life is hard but we all should feel lucky for what we have, for what Jennifer didn't get to have. I want to kiss my kids more than I ever did before, after reading this book. And Jennifer was a great storyteller and writer. I'd recommend this to anyone in need of a good read in front of the fire. That's the kind of book this is. Curl up and enjoy.
 Meh. Very sad and somewhat moving, but not entirely memorable. August 4, 2007
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
First off, I have to admire how Jenifer used her illness and influence to educate others and raise awareness and money for ALS.
That said, I have to agree with the others who said that this book seemed to be heavy on the early-childhood memories and name-dropping than it was about Jenifer's self-awareness and feelings throughout her illness. I would have liked to know how more about how she created and structured Project ALS--it seemed like she just picked up the phone and called a few of her celebrity friends to organize a fundraiser. It might have been more powerful and meaningful if she had gone into more detail about her feelings and thoughts as the disease progressed.
I'm glad I read this book. I certainly do appreciate the courage that Jenifer and her sisters had around ALS, but I agree with the other reviewers who could have done without the list of her many celebrity friends and childhood stories.
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