ANNE BLACK GRAY
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To order, send a check for $14.95 to
 
Anne Gray
3123 Butler Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90066-1301
 
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Email your order to anneblackgray@aol.com, and I'll send you the book with an invoice.
 
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Phone  310.391.0125
 
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FAX     310.572.6093
 
 
 
                                                                                     
Based on a true story, Laughing Sickness plunges the reader into Jessica Shephard's desparate struggle with a crippling disease. 
 
Jessica is a young woman living the California dream life - good family and friends, a promising career. And she's a joker who always knows how to get a laugh. But one day she begins experiencing episodes of paralysis. Ironically for her, she becomes temporarily paralyzed every time she laughs. This is a real disease - cataplexy, nick-named "laughing sickness." Someone close to me has it. To protect the patient's privacy and to extend the scope beyond her personal experience, I've chosen to fictionalize the story.
 
Basically, Laughing Sickness is the story of a young, disabled woman who brings all her determination and courage to getting a diagnosis and treatment while trying to hold her life together. The reader hears, in her voice, the needs and wants of the disabled and learns how a seemingly trivial act, such as having tetanus shots spaced too closely, can result in anyone's losing their so perishable abilities.
 
If you agree or disagree with the opinions portrayed in this book, I'd like to hear from you. If you email me at
anneblackgray@aol.com, I'll answer.

 
  

                                  REVIEWS

                                                                                                 
I found this book to be a grabber from beginning to end. Although fiction, truth was there, and the author brought to light many problems faced by people who have illnesses not of the norm; and all the trials and tribulations, pain and suffering they go through seeking their answers. I truly recommend this read - great story, informative, and inspirational as well. Well worth your time.
MIDWEST REVIEWS


The book is extremely well written and beautifully printed. The style is engrossing and the suspense is kept up. I could put the book down only with a lot of difficulty and finished the book in 2 or 3 days. There is a lot of useful information about many medical conditions and diagnostic procedures. At the same time, it is entertaining too. All in all, an excellent read.
SWAMYREVIEWS.COM


This is a striking story that can be read easily in one sitting. The plot is gripping and the novel is a real page turner, since it is based on a real medical case. The story addresses important issues, such as the disabled, discrimination against them and ways to assist them. The reader can easily identify with Jessica and sympathize with her and her plight. The story is well structured and the language simple enough to be understood by all people. It caters to a wide audience who love fiction and nonfiction alike, since the novel is based on a real story.
RAMBLES.NET


It’s practically impossible to find a novel that offers an insider’s view of a relatively untouched subject, via fictional characters who are as admirable as they are likable. Anne Black Gray did just that in Laughing Sickness: A Medical Mystery. I allowed myself a flip-through read to see what Gray had done with this latest addition to the mystery shelf. Once started, I couldn’t stop. I had to see how young, smart, healthy Jessica, benched by an undiagnosable disease, plows her way through the laughably (if it’s not you) bungling medical system to a diagnosis she can live with.
Good for Gray.
Harriet Rochlin, author


This work, admirably, shows the author’s intent to foster awareness of “orphan” diseases, the need for improved medical research and development of therapeutic approaches, and a greater respect and understanding of those with disabiltiies. This novel is more than the sum of its parts.
Pat Lohr-Williams, RN


This book allows you to imagine things that seem impossible – like being incapable of communicating, losing the ability to walk, and having no answers to why you are slowly losing everything valuable in life. It unravels at a fast pace, and is a teaching story that would be rewarding to medical show voyeurs, or people in the medical profession.
L. Stein, RN