Why I decided to write this book
I felt utterly lost when I got sick. Although I knew deep down in my guts that I would get better, finding information on what I should do was exhausting. I just did not have enough energy to dedicate a good chunk of my day to searching, assessing, and finally testing what I found. Nevertheless, the information is out there. There is no question about it. However, seeing what worked for me was not easy. It got better when after about two or three weeks, my energy started to return. Before, I had to be very selective about how I could distribute my scarce resources. A bit of work, rest, research, and finally, a bit of quiet time to relax trusting my body in what it was doing.
So, once I got on my feet, and things started to look promising, I thought I might organize my notes into a journal - a kind of journal I was looking for, not necessarily a guide or recipe on what to do, but a form of examples to evaluate, consider and apply if something strikes the right note.
I got to work and had around 200 pages ready after a couple of months. I printed a copy that looked impressive, but it wasn't very good after I started reading it. My family confirmed this after trying to go through it. It was not what I wanted. Too much and too complicated. So I waited for the right moment. I asked for guidance, and one day, I woke up knowing exactly what to do. Then, within three weeks, the book was ready. It was much shorter and more straightforward. After all, what I found through my project was relatively simple—simple ideas should be easy to explain.
Next, I looked at the design. For sure, it should be a handy format, small but not too small - a volume that is nice to hold and pages with enough room to rest your thumbs while holding it. After a bit of testing and going through our library (we have a lot of books), I selected the simple 5.25" wide by 8" tall size. Once I created a document in Adobe InDesign, it turned out that I needed around one hundred pages to fit the copy, which, again, was a nice, manageable size. At one point, the look took a very different direction, clearly satisfying the graphic design aspirations, but after looking at the big type, some diagrams, and sketches, I ditched it. Too complicated. Finally, I found the perfect typeface - Dante, a mid-20th-century old-style serif typeface designed by Giovanni Mardersteig, originally for use by the Officina Bodoni - his press located in Verona, Italy, famous for printing books of the highest quality and the finest craftsmanship. It is a serif type influenced by the types cut by Francesco Griffo used between 1449 and 1516. Set against Dax, a humanist sans-serif typeface designed by Hans Reichel, which I used for the ID package for my design studio, emplus. What can I say - I like typography.
I was ready to share it with a few friends and get their opinion. For all of them, it was a big surprise. The book, of course, but even more, that I was sick. Nobody knew about my encounter with rheumatoid arthritis except for my wife and son. The reception was very positive. However, a suggestion came along that perhaps some sort of summary added at the end would give the reader a high-level view of my project. So I set to work, and this is how the "retrospective" chapter was added. And that's it.
Now, looking back, I know that for me having a book like this one would undoubtedly give me confidence and hope. The information is out there, but it is tough to look for it when in distress. It is not a medical book, nor a guide or recipe. But I hope my journey, despite the struggles, shines a positive light on how incredibly fortunate we are, and our self-healing and self-regulating bodies are full of surprises. At least, that's how I see it.
Find out why I got sick and how "incurable" became "curable."
