From the New York Daily News and MSNBC, news about a book by Richard M. Cohen, bestselling author whose earlier memoir ‘Blindsided’ gave readers an insight into his life with multiple sclerosis and colon cancer.

Ninety million Americans live with chronic illness. In his latest effort, Cohen helps readers explore their world by documenting the journeys of five people who have adapted to illness. Among the illnesses represented are ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease), non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, muscular dystrophy and bipolar disorder.

His message: these “citizens of sickness” are resilient, valuable people who are determined to live life on their own terms. In bearing witness to their lives, Cohen challenges public ignorance and offers lessons of courage and hope.

Married to “Today” show co-anchor Meredith Vieira, Cohen had trouble talking to his wife and their three kids about his anguish. In his autobiography, “Blindsided: Lifting a Life Above Illness: A Reluctant Memoir,” he disclosed all the details.

“I really was reluctant because I fought tooth and nail against revealing myself,” Cohen admits. “I didn’t want to tell my own story because the thought of actually laying open my life was unthinkable. (more…)

By Gretchen Berland, M.D., in the New England Journal of Medicine. Access to this article is free.

Berland is a documentary-filmmaker-turned-internist as well as an assistant professor of medicine at Yale University School of Medicine. She recently completed a lengthy project that culminated in the film “Rolling,” documenting the lives of three people in wheelchairs in Los Angeles. Berland gave her subjects videocameras with which to explore the activities, thoughts and perspectives of their daily lives, and compiled more than 200 hours of material into a single narrative.

An excerpt from her account of the project:

The participants filmed events related to their passions: basketball, camping, disability rights, music …

Moments of extraordinary frustration were also recorded, a scene captured by [Vicki] Elman being a striking example. After 20 years of living with multiple sclerosis, Elman required a power wheelchair. One afternoon, her regular public-transportation service picked her up from an event, and during the ride home, her wheelchair stalled inside the van. (more…)

– Alzheimer’s advocates counter misconceptions among minority communities. From the Boston Globe. The campaign is part of an effort to address cultural barriers to dementia care among African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Latinos and other groups.

“Driving the initiatives is concern that increasing numbers of African-Americans and Latinos are at high risk of Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia because they have cardiovascular disease or diabetes, and because they are reaching their 60s, 70s and 80s, when dementia typically strikes.”

– Tips for planning vacations for people with disabilities. From the Dallas Morning News.

– Harvard business school student with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) uses B-school techniques to encourage research into drug treatments. From the Boston Globe.