Adrienne Richard - Epilepsy: A New Approach

In the course of researching and writing this book, and in thinking about epilepsy in its many facets and contexts, I have been stimulated, challenged, and helped by many people in the United States and elsewhere. My debts are so numerous that I cannot acknowledge them all. I have been particularly encouraged along the way by my husband, Jim, and my three sons, Jim, Dan, and Randy. In the medical profession, Eugene Smith helped me to strengthen the initial insights and enlarge my vision. After every visit, Simeon Locke, chief of neurology at the New England Deaconess Hospital, Boston, sent me in new directions with his challenging questions and statements. Ulrich Hutschenreuter, neurologist and psychiatrist in Saarbriicken, West Germany, and a beloved friend, gave me the first validation that this material was publishable when he translated an early abbreviated version for a German publication.

I am especially indebted to the people around the country who called and wrote to tell me about sources of information, books, and articles that I might have otherwise missed. Louise Mahdi, Edith Sullwold, and Rosella Howe particularly come to mind. Often one person led to another who led to another. For instance, Edith Sullwold called to tell me of Lyall Watson's book Lightning Bird, and my correspondence with Dr. Watson in London led to sources in South Africa, where the medical librarian of the University of Witwatersrand dug out further rich and rewarding material. Another such source was Mary Gilbert, Ph.D., of the federal Environmental Protection Agency's Health Effects Research Laboratory in North Carolina. Our telephone conversation about seizures led her to send me research reports on the effects of caffeine on seizures that I had not seen before. Many such serendipitous trails led me into areas I had not yet explored.

My personal experiences in working with people with seizures were the most rewarding of all. At first I counseled only a few individuals. Then Meredith Sabins, R.N., gave me the opportunity to work with individuals with seizures at the James L. Maher Rehabilitation Center in Middletown, Rhode Island, where I discovered that the methods I had read about in the medical and psychological literature really did work. This discovery was validated further in the Boston-area workshops for persons with seizures that I have led with neurologist Harold Schiff. The contributions to this book made by the participants in those workshops are beyond measure. I cannot conceive of the book without them. The experiences of Jim, Tom, Carol, and the indomitable Marilyn spring immediately to mind. Each individual's story struck me as having a precious and sacred quality.

In the course of researching the vast material on epilepsy I was immeasurably assisted by a number of great libraries and their indefatigable reference librarians who thrive on tough questions. I made repeated use of the incomparable collection at the Countway Medical Library of Harvard Medical School, and I sat for many hours in the great vaulted reading room of the Boston Public Library, perusing nineteenth-and twentieth-century literature on epilepsy. The computerized National Epilepsy Library at the Epilepsy Foundation of America in Landover, Maryland, and its librarians, especially Robyn Ertwine, never failed to bring answers to my questions.

The literary agent Mildred Marmur steered this book to its hardcover and softcover editions, and I am grateful for her experience, skill, and commitment.

The typing I did myself.

ADRIENNE RICHARD

Stone Gate Vineyard

Westport, Massachusetts

Many people have contributed to my understanding of epilepsy, especially my patients, who will go unnamed but not forgotten. Donna Andrews is a continuing source of ideas and inspiration. I would like to thank Phyllis Grannis and the board of the Andrews-Reiter Epilepsy Project, Inc., for allowing us to use material from Taking Control of YourEpilepsy: A Workbook for Patients and Professionals. Dr. Michael Samuels has provided a unique perspective into self-care issues and medical philosophy through many years of dialogue. I am grateful to Dr. Sheldon Losin for covering my practice and encouraging my work. Dr. Irving Janis has given me valuable up-to-date references in behavioral medicine. Dr. Robert Hamburger assisted me by arranging a crucial interview. Most important, my wife, Charlotte Janis, has helped me immeasurably through stimulating conversation, excellent editing, and love.

JOEL M. REITER, M.D.

Santa Rosa, California