A Minden man has chronicled his experience with multiple sclerosis in a new book.
Jeff Pinney will launch Zen and the Art of Multiple Sclerosis at the Dominon Hotel on Aug. 24.
While there are many written accounts of the physical restrictions of the disease, “there’s nothing about the mental change you go through,” says Pinney, who was first diagnosed with MS in 1980. “You lose your ability to interact with your environment. It’s a process of letting go of all the things that you at one time valued.”
Pinney practised Buddhism as a method of coping.
“That helped,” he says.
It’s not all serious, though.
“It’s written with a humorous side to it,” Pinney says, explaining some of this humour includes anecdotes from his 20 years living in the bush off Buckslide Road.
Pinney used a computer to write the book, which he started about 15 years ago.
“I think it would have been faster if I’d used a pencil and paper,” he jokes, thanking his editor for helping bringing the project to fruition.
“I don’t think it would have got off the ground without the help of Doug Smith,” Pinney says. “He got behind it and liked what I had written.”
The event will start at 7:30 p.m. at the Dominion and include readings and a musical performance by Sheri Hawkins.
The book was published through self-publishing company iUniverse.