<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> To Whom it May Concern and please forward to Ms. Truss, For those of us with biopsy diagnosed Celiac Disease, I take great umbrage from the news of her commentary in the book "Talk to the Hand". First and foremost, the title of the book connotes a lack of regard for the situation in which most CD patients find themselves. Through no fault of our own, but only a genetic predisposition and a triggering event, we face a lifetime of dietary avoidance in order to maintain some semblance of health. For those who were diagnosed too late and have suffered permanent physical damage from this disease, it is still a life long commitment to a diet in order not incur additional physical harm. Personally I feel fortunate to have a treatment for this disease that only requires a dietary change though I was undiagnosed for approximately 16 years and do not know what the long term damage has been and will be. "I now can't abide many, many things, and am actually always on the lookout for more things to find completely unacceptable. Whenever I hear of someone being 'gluten intolerant' or 'lactose intolerant', for example, I feel I've been missing out. I want to be gluten intolerant too. I mean, how much longer do we have to put up with that gluten crap?" How dare she? For shame! Before we carry out the sentence she desires: a life of Gluten Intolerance, I would like to send her pictures of me when I was 15 years old, was 4 feet, 4 inches tall and weighed 70 pounds. (These memories were brought back painfully this past weekend when I was visiting family and my soon to be 6 year old niece informed me that she was now 4 feet 5 inches tall.) I would like her to nurse me through an episode of accidental gluten ingestion. I would like her to witness the hours of vomiting while I am not being able to rise from the bathroom floor. I would like her to then witness the 2 to 3 days of my concomitant diarrhea. I would like to see her witness the 'knowing' glances of those who have not seen the consequences Celiacs face when we tell them that no, I can't use the butter you do because you have used it on other pieces of bread made with wheat because I will get sick. I would like her to experience a visit with relatives, a trip to a hotel, a cruise, camping trip, a simple dinner out while not knowing if she could trust the tiniest morsel she placed in her mouth. If she can witness these and still stand up to her statements, I will give her a written apology. I doubt that would happen. "...gluten crap..." Oh my, this displays a lack of sensitivity that defies all sensibilities. Apparently she did not do her research. I have done so. Please look at the following websites for more information. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/celiacdisease.html http://cpmcnet.columbia.edu/dept/gi/celiac.html There are so many more. I encourage Ms. Truss to spend some time researching the diagnoses of those she chooses to disparage. In summary, we can surmise that there are people out there who state they have a gluten intolerance without a diagnosis. In fact they do exist. However, CD was not recognized in this country until recently and we were diagnosed as being or having: malingerers, psychosomatic illnesses, poor dietary histories to explain low weights, unexplained gastrointestinal infections, unexplained bacterial infections, anemia, Munchausen's syndrome and the list goes on. Please do us the service of acknowledging this DISEASE and recognize it is not a chosen CONDITION. Could there be something else to explain the undiagnosed? You tell me after you have done some research on history and current medical knowledge. I ask that you provide a written retraction for the untoward statements in this book. It is the least you can do. Regards, Moira Sheehan, MS *Support summarization of posts, reply to the SENDER not the CELIAC List*