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Book review: Dealing with disease with humor and faith in ‘Amusing Grace: A Second Helping’
Warning: "Amusing Grace: A Second Helping" by Rosanne C. Romero will make you cry. I did, actually.
Romero has multiple sclerosis, a disease she has been dealing with for decades now. And while others may feel that everything's crashing down on them when they fall ill, she feels otherwise. Throughout the book—the follow-up to her first book of musings, with the same name—she states that her disease has drawn her closer and closer to God every day.
It also has an annual incidence rate (the number of new cases appearing in that period) of 2.5 per 100,000 globally.
In short, a significant number of people in the world have it.
Just imagine learning you have MS. Imagine losing the use of your left leg and experiencing the feeling of constant pins and needles all over your body. Imagine having blurred vision, weakened arms, a constant spastic pain, and constant fatigue. That's exactly what the author's dealing with, according to her daughter Rinka. She can't play sports, or dance ballet like she used to.
Written in a very conversational, down-to-earth manner, "Amusing Grace: A Second Helping" will make you feel like you're chatting with the author herself over a cup of coffee, inspirational sense of humor included. Perhaps this unusual manner of sharing profound life lessons—conversationally, with a sense of humor—is the most effective tool that He can use to talk to us. This book does seem to prove that God has a sense of humor.
Book of perspectives
Romero shares some lessons she learned while dealing with MS that might help the reader and change the way they think about life.
It's all right to be human. "I write me." This is the declaration the author makes in the first few pages. Romero talks about herself in the most humanly honest way possible. No preaching, no judging, no implications of "I live a perfect and holy life." In other words, hindi plastik. She rants, she gets mad, she sometimes takes things for granted, just like the rest of us. But this may exactly be why we always ought to find the beauty in the broken: in our imperfections, we find redemption and forgiveness—not to mention the strength to go on in our journey through life. Throughout the book, Romero emphasizes that it's okay to be human, because we are human.
Even the most mundane things are miracles in themselves. I think the best example Romero gives about this is the thumb. Imagine not having thumbs. Would you be able to type? To hold things? To text? I think I wouldn't be able to write this review without thumbs. The book exposes the common mistake most of us make: we tend to want beautiful things that do not exist, while overlooking the beautiful things right in front us.
Romero cites a man named Igualberto de Leon, who, despite not having feet, still presses on to make a living for himself and his family. So you don't feel like walking because you have aching feet? Maybe you should be thankful they ache. The things we have and often overlook may be the things others desperately long for. We're a miracle in ourselves, you and me.
In the midst of crisis and disease, trust in the Healer more than the healing. In one chapter, Romero imagines what she would do if she were miraculously cured of MS. She admits that she might forget all the years she walked with God in exchange for the joy of being free of the disease's bondage. Not too many people, she says, appreciate the fact that throughout their time of suffering, God never lets go of them. The author nails it when she writes, "After MS, a lot of people will be jumping around celebrating the miracle of healing. And why not? But for me, they missed the even greater miracle—that of being held in the palm of God's hand in adversity." — BM, GMA News
Rosanne C. Romero is an author who has lectured nationwide on handling adversity. "Amusing Grace: A Second Helping" is available in major bookstores.
