To wish Miranda Hart had written a different book?

[WWLD]

OK, I know I am, but for the 4th time in as many days, I've had someone suggest I read her book because "she cured herself from ME, you can too" (or something along those lines). I'm sure she had the best of intentions in writing it, I know she's said she's not claiming to be cured, or that it will work for everyone. However, if 4 intelligent people have taken the same thing from it, I'm worried.

I've had ME for nearly 35 years, I have tried many different things to try and help over those years. I've lived through the 'yuppie flu' and the whole NHS believing 'it's all in your head's, so I'm pissed off that someone with a platform is basically continuing this narrative. Especially coming out at the same time as the coroner's inquest report on the death of Maeve Boothby O'Neill.

As I said, I know I ABU, but I honestly thought we were getting somewhere.

I don't think the fault lies with Miranda for writing the book, she's free to write a book about anything she likes and certainly if I had the means to sell the book I want to write, I would.. (but I am not Miranda Hart and no one really wants to read about the inner thoughts of WiddlinDiddlin!).

The fault lies with the people recommending you read it, as if it will be a fix, if they know you well they should know what you've tried or that you're not happy to be given suggestions and would rather find things for yourself. If they don't know you well, they're being a bit thoughtless I think (assuming you haven't tried xyz, are sat around waiting for a cure to hit you between the eyes).

I think even she knows that it’s being misinterpreted as she said so on X . My daughter has quite severe CFS and it’s hard enough to have your disease taken seriously without people thinking that it’s purely down to stress .

YANBU to feel that way.

The people recommending it to you after so long are, frankly, idiots. As if there'll be anything out there that you don't know after 30+ year. Probably the people who recommend ginger biscuits to pregnant women with hyperemesis.

Why shouldn't she write a book about what's worked for her?

Would you rather she lie about herself?

I've read it and don't see any malice or intention to deceive anyone. It's mainly her own experiences & what worked for her. If you have an inspiring story that can help others then why not share it.

I haven’t read the book but it sounds like your friends are misrepresenting what she has written. She is doing her best to correct this.

I'm assuming those 4 people haven't actually read the book?
And if that's the case then your irritation should be with them.

What did she say helped her ME?

You are being unfair to Miranda. It's the people recommending the book you should be angry with and let them know they are misrepresenting what has been written.

Have you actually read the book? I'd give it a go before deciding you hate even the idea of it. I don't think it's meant to be seen as a "cure" for chronic disease, more an honest account of finding ways to live with it (and letting go of some of the pressure/stress/guilt has also helped her physical condition as well)

And then, even if you do hate it, at least you'll be able to explain, in great detail, why! (maybe borrow it if you don't want to pay for it!)

YABVU
You've totally got the wrong end of the stick.

She does not profess to be able to cure ME etc.

It is a very insightful book.

She is merely sharing what she went through and how she helped herself.

Whether you choose to listen and take away something, however big or small, which 'might' benefit you, is entirely up to you.

I thought she had Lyme disease not ME?

I think she suffered from Lymes not ME.

@magneticpeasant I thought that too

Reading the book now and I don't believe that is what she's saying at all. Its worth a read to understand how the mind/body connection could be worsening your symptoms but there is no mention of being "cured" as such, it's more about learning to cope with the symptoms and mental anguish of a chronic condition, which ultimately might go some way to making you feel a little better.

And yes it was Lyme disease not ME

Thanks for your views, I guess the difficulty is we've had years of people (including the NHS) telling us ME is a psychological condition, and prescribing CBT and Graded Exercise Therapy (GET) as a cure. They have caused untold damage to some people, including me.

Now both, and the Lightning Process (one of the 'designers' of which runs the clinic Miranda has been involved with - she endorsed one of his books) have officially been completely debunked, having someone with a voice, with 'influence' harping back to those sort of theories is really upsetting. We have had to work so bloody hard to change minds, using the little energy we have, it feels like a massive step backwards.

Considering she has limes disease and hasn't written anything about ME or even that Lymes or ME is curable - YAB very U and should be mad yourself for posting a load of untrue crap claiming someone's else's book is untrue crap.

I think it's really hard for people who have no experience of the fight we have to go through to be heard, to understand how damaging these sort of things can be to the perception of the condition.

And yes, for people asking - these 4 people have read the book, and all have said she had ME caused by Lyme.

But her book isn't about ME. Because she didn't have ME, she had Lyme disease. The reporting has been really clear she had Lyme disease.

The 4 people who made well intended albeit shitty comments to you can't be that intelligent if they managed to miss that. Don't give them so much headspace.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0jwjssm

That just sounds like they don't understand what ME is. I don't think that's Hart's fault. She wasn't writing an educational volume.

What has Miranda’s book about her experience of living with Lyme Disease got to do with your experience of ME though? I mean, it’s not her fault that you don’t have very intelligent acquaintances who don’t know the difference between the two 🤷🏻‍♀️

It seems to me that the OP is determined to drag Miranda into this despite the fact that so many people are pointing out the disconnect between what she is being told is written in the book, and the actual reality. Very sad but some people will never admit they are blaming the wrong person.

Everything I HAVE read (which, I'll admit is not a lot), says she had Lyme which turned into chronic fatigue syndrome (another name for ME).

Am I/are my acquaintances/the articles wrong? Does the book/do the interviews not say that?

If you read my OP, I said "I know she said she's not claiming to be cured". It was my 4 acquaintances who said that.

She wrote the book in good faith - I also said something along those lines in my OP, this isn't a massive bash on her. I'm sorry it came across that way.

She was interviewed on, Women's hour I think, and she has Lymes disease, since she was young, which eventually resulted in chronic fatigue. I don't think she mentioned ME.