Can't Eat, Can't Breathe and Other Ways Cystic Fibrosis Has F#$%*d Me Paperback – September 15, 2013

For anyone who has ever dealt with a serious chronic disease, this book is a welcome respite from the usual BS, positive thinking, good-doobies, faith healers and other assorted non-sense. I don't know the author but I do know a lot about life with a major lung disorder...how people respond, how they fail to respond, the absolutely asinine and stupid remarks, the well intentioned but oh so utterly predictable 'help", the constant and ongoing comparisons and complaints which are as far removed from the day to day reality of life as they can be...it's like seeing someone with a dagger sticking out of their head then saying you've had a headache. This book tells it like it is - straight talk about living with a serious and chronic disease that can...and probably will...eventually take your life.If that sound somewhat dull or morbid...it's not. The author does a great job infusing humor into the utterly ridiculous chaos of life while also providing much needed insight into how to take it seriously while still taking it all in stride. Yes, it's a fine balance but one that everyone facing a serious disease must eventually grapple with...along with their family and loved ones.The book is also informative. In fact, the first few chapters covered more than about a dozen overpaid specialists managed to communicate when we were initially faced with the prospect of flutter devices, postural drainage, salt treatments and so forth. Some of the content is pretty graphic...but that too is valuable especially for those who have little to nothing to compare. In short, this is real information from a real patient...it's the type detail rarely available from the "experts" who have nothing more than second hand experience to share.Who should read this book?1. Anyone with a healthy sense of humor!2. Anyone with a chronic health disease who is sick and tired of the BS.3. Anyone with a NEW diagnosis who will soon encounter a new side of family, friends and coworkers.4. Family, friends and coworkers of anyone with a major medical diagnosis.5. Anyone with a lung disorder...seriously, you will relate!6. Anyone with a digestive disorder...again, you will relate!7. Anyone who has been F#$!!*d by a situation in life.In short...well worth the read! Good stuff, straight talk on a serious subject and worth more than the price of admission!

Jay Gironimi's personal narrative of life with Cystic Fibrosis is an honest, direct take on living with the disease. He doesn't beat any bushes and he doesn't spoon feed the reader. There are times when he talks about his disease like a friendenemy and times when he takes a distant association with it, which leaves the reader both understanding CF on an up-close level, then having to read between the lines to grasp the metaphor. Give those metaphors a chance. Think them over because they are worth your time. That being said, take each chapter as an essay and separate point. Don't look for a flowing story here, but do look for a glimpse of the confusion and rage that come with a chronic illness, and the love and courage that go with living each day finding the most happiness you can, while employing the skill of using the F word as a release valve for what can not be expressed. All in all, this book is an excellent read and I recommend it to anybody who wants to deepen their understanding of the experience of having Cystic Fibrosis.

This book was amazing. I heard Jay on TPKWY this last week and knew I had to read his book. I bought it the next day and read it within about 30 hours. Should I have been focusing on my work? Probably. Was it worth ignoring the world around me? Heck yes.As someone with an autoimmune disease and chronic pain, it was awesome to read how another person just gets the BS of life. Jay's morbid humor is everything I look for in a person. His voice is incredibly relatable, if you are a sarcastic A-hole, like myself. I was a few pages in and already suggesting it to so many people.I can't articulate how much I loved this. Thank you, Jay for your story, and to the Erins at TPWKY for introducing me to this awesome dude.Edit: This review had to be edited for language, probably...PS: Check out his YouTube channel! He has a few videos that will help give visualization to some of his experiences.

I came to this book from a Cracked article about what it's like to live with a terminal illness. I was promised poop jokes and mucus, and this book delivers those things -- but it also has laughs, insight, and a unique voice that makes it feel more like hanging out and chatting with a friend than a study of "terminal illness."I want to emphasize that part: reading this book is like hanging out with a funny friend who has CF. The chapter topics ramble (in a good way, like a good conversation does), the humor is dry, ironic and matter of fact, and at no point does it feel as if the reader is being cajoled into caring about the author just because he has CF. When I say this book is "insightful," I don't mean there are a lot of passages about embracing life's difficulties or how we all need to stop and smell roses, etc...I mean that it was written by someone who appears to be both genuinely insightful and also able to communicate those insights without any attempt at manipulating the reader. That's a hard balance to strike, and this book does it better than any memoir I've read to date.I'd say my only complaint is that it wasn't longer, but it's hard to even complain about that, since it would feel like complaining that your friend wasn't hanging out "right."

Great book. Everyo should read. I have a grandchild with cf and it helped me understand a lot that may be in his future. Bought as a gift but got to read.

Received the book quickly. It's an amazing book, so glad I purchased

I thoroughly enjoyed this read. The humour is so real. It’s stuff we think but never say out loud. It’s raw and truthful. And honestly... Its very nice to not feel so alone.