#BlogTour #CerebralPalsyAStory #IlanaEstelle #RedDoorBooks #RandomThingsTours

Living with cerebral palsy is enormously difficult. But what if you never knew you had it?

This is the incredible story of Ilana Estelle.

Born the second of premature twins, an hour apart, from a young age Ilana knew she was different, but for all the wrong reasons. A child of the 60s, Ilana experienced first-hand the way that disability was, at the time, so often brushed under the carpet, not spoken about. Her constant physical and mental struggles made her feel isolated, alone, frustrated, and misunderstood. It took 46 years for her to find out why.

Part memoir, part motivational guide, Cerebral Palsy: My story is Ilana's open and honest journey from an angry, confused child, knowing something was wrong, not knowing what was wrong, what her disability was, or that there was a diagnosis - to the 'real' her - a courageous woman using her experiences and lessons to create inspiring messages about mental and physical health, resilience and change.

 

Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cerebral-Palsy-Story-Finding-After/dp/1913062112

Ilana was born with a disability she didn't know she had until the age of 46, when through her medical notes she discovered she had been diagnosed with cerebral palsy at the age of 2.

That discovery turned out to be a unique and life-changing experienced that has forced Ilana to stand back and look at her life experiences differently. On her late diagnosis, Ilana set up her website The CP Diary and uses her experiences to explore her emotional and physical health, with inspiring messages advocating resilience and change.

Ilana likes to spend her days writing and blogging about anything that contributes to her health and wellbeing. She is an animal advocate and is passionate about environmental issues. When she is not writing, or tending to her blog, Ilana enjoys days out exploring the Yorkshire countryside.

Ilana lives with her husband and their much-loved cat, in Yorkshire. Her grown up son and daughter both live in London.

 

Twitter @TheCPDiary

 Cerebral Palsy: A Story

By 

Iana Estelle

Review 

By

Heidi Lynn’s Book Reviews

First, I want to thank Ilana Estelle, Red Door Books and Random Things Tours for providing me with this book so I may bring you this review. 

Ilana Estelle is courageous in opening up and sharing her story with her readers in Cerebral Palsy: A Story. It is a beautifully written book full of her personal story, medical facts and so much more. 

This book is dedicated to those trying to find their voice in a world where they have to speak louder, just so they can be heard.

Parts of Ilana’s story hit very close to home for me. I was born with a rare congenital disorder called hemidystrophy. Meaning my left side of my body is smaller and weaker than the right side. I also have a dropped foot like Ilana does.Up until I was 13 I too wore a lift under my shoe like she did. I can empathize with her when she states she was made fun of for wearing it and how she walked. I too got bullied in school for that. Kids can be so cruel at times. 

Her Mom really upset me by saying to her that you can’t have a pretty face without a pretty leg! No mother should say that to a child or at any age! You are beautiful Ilana on the inside and out! 

My heart went out to her as her father could not cope with her disability. 

I loved learning that she put together a website called My CP Diary and now it is a blogger. 

Reading that there are nothing many resources out there for those with Cerebral Palsy I am glad that she took it upon herself to write this book. I hope that it will help others in the same situation and give those a better understanding of it. 

Ilana provides a lot of great informative medical statistics and information about CP. She also includes helpful websites as well. 

One thing I love about Ilana is how positive that she is and how she doesn’t let this define her! 

She makes an incredible point in this book.  Being around someone who deals with a disability can teach us about ourselves, but we must be prepared to look for understanding. This is so true! 

I agree that there needs to be more compassion and empathy towards people with disabilities!