Another Alice

Alice Peterson

Description

Love, lust, boys and shopping - the main worries of a teenage girl? Not for eighteen-year-old Alice Peterson, who, at the height of her youth and promising tennis career, was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In the midst of shock and denial, and the enduring question, 'Isn't it old people who get arthritis?', Alice had to learn to live with what quickly turned from the odd ache and pain to a very aggressive form of the illness, and rediscover a new path in life.Alice's brilliant account of both her tennis-mad childhood and battle to live with RA is an uplifting, humourous and heart-warming story. Here is a story of how, armed with courage, she left behind a world she loved to overcome the pain of a degenerative disease.Another Alice is also a story of friendship, family, growing up and the desire to be normal. Above all it celebrates the power of the human spirit.A compelling tale, told with wit, charm and frankness that is absolutely unputdownable.Another Alice is dedicated to Alice's mother and father.

Informations

• Publié par: Alice Peterson
• Date de parution: 04 septembre 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781783012220
• Langue: English

Extrait

Another Alice
An inspiring true story of a young woman s battle to overcome rheumatoid arthritis
Originally published in the UK in 2001 by Macmillan, an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Ltd
Republished in the UK in 2009 by Icon Books Ltd
Text copyright Alice Peterson 2001, 2009, 2012, 2013
The moral right of Alice Peterson as the author of the work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from Alice Peterson.
ISBN: 978-1-84831-398-9 (ePub format) ISBN: 978-1-84831-397-2 (Adobe ebook format)
Typesetting in Sabon by Hands Fotoset, Nottingham
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
About the Author
Acknowledgements
Also by Alice Peterson
Dedication
Foreword
Introduction
One: The Trial: Part I
Two: The Seed About To Grow
Three: The Elastic Band
Four: Cheats and Chances
Five: Bill
Six: The Regional Trial
Seven: Training
Eight: A Day in the Life of a Tournament
Nine: Edinburgh
Ten: Fractured Nerves
Eleven: Rules, Rules, Rules
Twelve: The Sunshine State
Thirteen: The Red Carnation
Fourteen: The Wimbledon Championships
Fifteen: College Life
Sixteen: America!
Seventeen: It hurts, Mum
Eighteen: What is Rheumatoid Arthritis?
Nineteen: Initial Reactions
Twenty: King Lear
Twenty-One: The Party
Twenty-Two: The Brown Envelope
Twenty-Three: The Cat Sat On The Mat
Twenty-Four: Cider Vinegar and Honey
Twenty-Five: A Day in the Life of an Alternative Freak
Twenty-Six: Indecision
Twenty-Seven: It s like the colour of your eyes
Twenty-Eight: Seb
Twenty-Nine: Why me?
Thirty: Illness Shame
Thirty-One: Black
Thirty-Two: Jenny
Thirty-Three: Bedpans, Thermometers, Needles, Pill Trolleys, Nurses Charts, Blue Kidney-shaped Bowls, Plastic Sheets and Mattresses, Zimmer Frames, Grapes, Plastic Jugs, Ribena, Brown Paper Bag Bins
Thirty-Four: Student Life
Thirty-Five: Blind Date
Thirty-Six: Conflicts
Thirty-Seven: Results
Thirty-Eight: The Trial: Part II
Thirty-Nine: Placebo
Forty: Things That I Love:
Alice Update: Around the Corner to 2013
Contact Page
Praise For Alice s Writing
About the Author
Alice Peterson is the author of two non-fiction books: a family memoir based on her grandmother s life in Rhodesia, M Coben, Place of Ghosts , and A Will to Win , now republished as Another Alice . Her latest novel, By My Side is her third novel for Quercus. Other titles include Ten Years On and Monday to Friday Man , a romantic comedy that became an eBook sensation, knocking 50 Shades of Grey off the Kindle No. 1 spot. Alice lives in London with her very handsome Lucas Terrier, Mr Darcy.
Acknowledgements
I will always be profoundly grateful to Robert Cross, whom without him and his undying faith, my first line would never have been written. And to Mary, Robert s wife - thank you. To Bella Pollen, for urging me to dig deeper, to tell people what it is really like for someone young to have rheumatoid arthritis.
To my sister, Helen - my best friend.
My story is a fight involving a whole range of people. It isn t only me - that pain deeply affects others is one of the most important lessons I have learnt. I want to thank all my family and friends from the bottom of my heart - to make sure they understand how vital their support and love has been.
Also by Alice Peterson

Another Alice
M Coben, Place of Ghosts
You, Me and Him
Letters From My Sister
Monday to Friday Man
Ten Years On
By My Side
For my mother and father
Foreword
Alice s book reminds me of my junior tennis days - the tournaments, the training, the nervous parents standing behind the court. I remember Alice being one of the best dozen or so girl players in the country in the late 1980s.
I could not believe she was struck down with rheumatoid arthritis at the age of 18. I do know from experience how frustrating it is when injury stops you playing your sport for a time. But at least you know the injury is only temporary. For Alice it was much worse. Her tennis came to an end; she missed the opportunity of going to America. Her life changed in every way.
I found her book moving. It opened my eyes to the pain and suffering that goes on in this world. I also found it inspiring. Who could imagine someone subjected to this continuous pain putting themselves through a university course and getting a First. It is hard to imagine being in her shoes - but if I was, I hope I would be brave enough to build my life again and not let such a cruel blow defeat me. I am sure anyone who reads her book will find themselves admiring her courage, enjoying her humour and spirit and wishing her all possible success.
Tim Henman August 2000
Introduction
Early summer 1997 Jasmine, my miniature wire-haired dachshund, had just had two puppies, a boy and a girl, and Mum was trying to find homes for them. I was sitting in the garden, recovering from a foot operation, when Mum told me that Robert and Mary Cross, who are old family friends, were coming over that afternoon to look at the girl. My heart sank. I didn t want to let go of either puppy.
Robert kissed me on the cheek. Hello darling, your mother told me you d been in hospital. How wretched, he said, looking down at my white plastered boots. How are you feeling?
Instead of saying the standard, Fine, thank you, I started to tell Robert exactly how I felt. I told him how much I still missed my tennis and that I dreaded the summer because Wimbledon was on the television. I told him how difficult it was to be at home and described the agony of the recent operation. I told him I felt lost and scared of the future. I bet Robert wished he d never asked
However, he listened patiently until I stopped, suddenly embarrassed at having confessed quite so much. Have you ever thought about putting this down on paper? he asked, finally.
Mary cut in. Robert s a great one for writing nervous notes. Whenever something s worrying him, I find little scraps of paper around the house.
I think you should try it, Robert continued. Writing is a great way of thinking things through. It might help you to make some sort of sense of what has happened. And He paused. You do have a story to tell.
I became interested. Should I go on a course?
You could, but I think it s much better to write uninhibited by rules. Write spontaneously, from the heart. Why don t you write something and send it to me, Robert suggested. I ve been in the publishing business for a while, I can cast an eye over it. The puppy was immediately forgotten.
Mum! I called with excitement after Robert and Mary had left. I need your help! I asked Mum to scramble up to the attic to fetch my old Canon Starwriter, a word processor that I d used at Bristol University. Mum dutifully climbed up the ladder, into the attic, and found the machine in a cardboard box, along with all my old work files. When she brought it down, I wiped off the dust that had settled between the keys and started to write about my time at Bristol. As I started to type, something came alive within me. I wrote chapter after chapter and could hardly contain my excitement as I waited to receive Robert s feedback.
Writing about my illness was at first therapeutic. Putting down in words my anger, fear, pain and grief gave me a great sense of freedom and relief. It all came pouring out in a great jumble of thoughts, but it was not until I began to piece events together that I really came to understand my feelings.
The more I wrote, the more I was able to look at events objectively, see why friendships broke down, see how my mind worked and what had pulled me through. It was as if I were standing outside the picture, looking in.
When I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, it seemed like the worst imaginable thing. I wished I had never played tennis because then I would not have felt such a harrowing sense of loss. I wanted to erase the tennis from my mind, pretend those days had never happened. However, when it came to digging out all my old tennis diaries and photographs, remembering the competitions made me think not only of the excitement and fun I d had on court, but also of my dogged determination. It made me realize that my tennis experiences have been invaluable because I have been able to channel that determination I had on court into beating the RA. To this day I will never give up because my training has instilled in me the spirit to fight. I have come to see it as my saviour.
With renewed inspiration I sent Mum back up to the attic to find all my old tennis tournament drawers, the scrapbooks, photographs, my old diaries which I had promised to myself I d never read again, but yet couldn t quite throw away. Mum handed them over to me. She also looked at the photographs, smiling at the memories of her darning my brother Tom s socks as she watched me play.
As I wrote about my tennis, characters came alive on paper. I enjoyed revisiting the past, recalling the cheats and the pushy parents. Writing made me want to get back in touch with my tennis coach, Bill. It brought old friendships, torn apart at university, back into my life. I was healing open wounds and reliving memories for the first time.
I began to piece the two parts of my life together to make a whole and, instead of going to sleep worrying about how I was going to feel the next day, I went to sleep planning the next chapter in my mind. My book opened a new door. It did not take the pain away, but I had something else to think about. Writing was beginning to replace tennis, to fill the gap I thought could never be filled. I had found a project which came to mean everything to me.
However, there were many times when I found writing my story difficult too. Describing the sad