== Reviews ==

By Editor, ImmuneSupport.com, 03-09-2007

We all know that “Call me if you need anything” is a giant cop-out when you’re talking to a friend who is laid up or chronically ill. But what should a person say or do instead?

Consider this little paperback (it's about 4 inches wide and costs only $4.50) the best investment in friendly support that you could make. Every page of Beyond Casseroles: 505 Ways to Encourage a Chronically Ill Friend, by Lisa J. Copen, is packed with creative little ideas – from the fun to the practical - that will really help and cheer your friend. And, besides suggesting things that you can helpfully do and say, this book tells you what not to do and say. It conveys a sense of what it’s like to have a chronic illness.

Following are a few examples of the many ideas we liked in the book. (When we compared our favorites, we discovered that kind deeds are like jokes – different ones will appeal to different people. So it’s great to have 505 to choose from.)

#28 – Purchase matching coffee mugs for you and your friend, and then commit to pray for one another each morning while using them.
#390 – Clean out your friend’s refrigerator and swear that yours has looked much worse. (Or # 18 – Mop the floors.)
#309 - Have your child pick out an item that will make your friend smile. For example, Veggie Tales videos of “Silly Songs” leave adults roaring with laughter.
#355 – Leave a May Day basket on your friend’s doorstep.
#21 - Ask, “Do you have an errand I can run for you before coming over?”
#348 – Help her color or highlight her hair.
#20 – Buy a brightly colored umbrella as a gift.
#289 – Do a crossword puzzle together.
#464 – Make a soup basket with mugs, bowls, soups, crackers, and a note that says, "Your strength just bowls me over!"
#377 - Books on tape make great gifts. [Public libraries offer books on tape or CD.]
#393 - Give your friend rubber stamps and ink. They are fun to use on cards.
#195 – Watch for local events that may bring a bit of joy to your friend’s life, and rent a wheel chair if necessary. For example, would your friend love a cat show, a harvest festival, or a local parade? Do something out of the ordinary.
#392 - Paint her toenails and add decals for fun.

Readers say their support groups are buying this book for members, and that they are giving them as personal gifts to caregivers and friends. One reader wrote that she gives a copy to friends who are laid up so they can make suggestions to those who say “if there’s anything I can do…”

Comment from reader in response to review: It seems to me that a great idea would be to give a copy to an ill friend; and ask them to mark the ideas that they would like to have you do, and then give the book back to you. That way they don't have to ask verbally, and you can choose the items that you are able to do. You could even mark the ones that you can/will do, and then pass the book on to other friends or family members of the person with the illness, so that they could choose other items.

Migraine Chick Writes...
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Beyond Casseroles

Beyond Casseroles 505 Ways to Encourage a Chronically Ill Friend is quite a handy little book. It’s easy to read, helpful, insightful and written by a truly compassionate author, Lisa J. Copen, who knows what it’s like to have a chronic illness.

This book is small enough to fit in your purse or your tote bag, but it’s packed full of ideas to help with people with chronic illnesses. The ideas range from the practical like helping with the mail to lending emotional support and offering encouragement. What I really liked were the suggestions on what not to say to someone with a chronic illness.

Although the book is intended to offer ideas to encourage a chronically ill friend, there are many ideas that someone who has chronic illness, like myself, could apply to their own life. One thing I’ve learned living with migraines is that I have to be a good friend to myself, although some days it’s hard putting up with me. With the imaginative and caring ideas in this book, it might just be a little easier.

We here at ChronicBabe HQ are so spoiled! Editrix Jenni has a great support team full of people who always find ways to help when she's in need. Years ago, it wasn't that way - and boy, does she wish she'd had Lisa's book then!

Whether you're a ChronicBabe who wants to teach friends and family about the many little ways they can help, or a ChronicPal who wants to get creative in supporting a friend, this book is for you.

Lisa founded Rest Ministries as a Christian organization that serves people who are living with chronic illness or pain. Lisa's generously given us five copies of Beyond Casseroles: 505 Ways to Encourage a Chronically Ill Friend, and while we LOVE the book, it's just not fair of us to hog them all to ourselves. So we devised a little contest...

Review Diana Pederson BellaOnline's Christian Literature Editor

It is so difficult to know how to help someone with a chronic condition. Beyond Casseroles suggests over 500 ways to help and encourage someone with a chronic illness, whether they be your coworker, a friend at church, or a family member. The suggestions in this book are short and practical. It will help anyone who knows someone with a chronic illness.

I wish pastors would keep the first book on their desk to hand to people that need to know how to help a chronically ill friend. It would smooth the pathway for continued friendships or even new friendships.

We all want to help people but we don't know where to start. We hear others who want to reach out to us, or other chronically ill friends, but they make simple offers that we never feel comfortable accepting. This book is a wonderful way to give people ideas to be creative, approachable, and a great friend. It also teaches a person how to allow an ill friend to be independent and respected, yet still give her/him hope that may be needed. I wrote this book so that churches, counselors and individuals would have something concrete to grab and get ideas when they hear about someone who is hurting and want to reach out.

All proceeds, as with all of our books, go back into the ministry.

Please let us know if you have ideas of spreading the word or know of someone who may be interested in reviewing the book for their publication.

Rest Ministries Publishers, softcover, 94 pages
Size: 4¼ x 7

• Why Can't I Make People Understand?
• Chronic Illness & Hopes & Dreams
• Mosaic Moments: Devotionals for the Chronically Ill