Sugar high – The unexpected journey of a unexperienced type 1 diabetic by Alexandra Park

 

Published on May 12^th, 2021

277 pages

I read the paperback version

Back cover

Two unrelated yet equally momentous things happened to Alexandra Park at once: she was cast a lead character in a big American TV show, “The Royals,” and she was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.

Sugar High follows the next four years of Alex’s life as she leaves home and travels the world, vacillating between the highs of starring in a hit TV show and the fear, denial, and loneliness that stem from a life-threatening, commonly misunderstood medical condition.

Sugar High is not a sob story, nor is it a humorless lecture. It is a meditation on dusting yourself off and trying again. The memoir flickers aspirational notes of celebrity and living one's dream while, simultaneously, exploring the struggle of an inexperienced type 1 diabetic. It's about a journey to acceptance, learning to let go of the illusion of perfection, and searching for humor in even the darkest moments but, most of all, it’s about reminding yourself to simply enjoy the ride.

My review

I will start this review with telling you that I am not diabetic, but since I have Turner Syndrome I have more chance that a normal person to have I, so I was curious to know more about the path of someone who get though all the different stage. Since I will never have a normal life and I have to be careful, I could relate at some points with the author ‘story.

I like biography and like strong women story and the author is one of them. She only had 23 when she learned that she was diabetic and I could relate when she was living her denial stage and her wish to have a normal life like other people. I recommend it to everyone over 13. The author had a great sense of humour. I laugh a few times while I was reading even though it’s not an easy subject to talk about. It’s not a medical book, so even teenagers could get into the story and learn something from the author experience.

She also talks about her acting career back then and how she had to deal with her health problems. I did not knew this actress before I saw the contest to win this book on Instagram, but since I am curious about artist life in general, I decided to buy the book. She seems like a positive person and I enjoyed knowing her more after I closed the last chapter. It makes me want to follow her in her future project.

Excerpts

I had mood swings lately; they were coming out of nowhere and starting to take an unwelcome toll on our otherwise idyllic home life. It was one of those gorgeous days I’d longed for, but for some strange and unidentifiable reason, the feeling enveloping me was warped. It was like a deep swirling black hole of fear and general yuck. (p.6)

I believed in myself before diabetes and I still believed in myself. If my recent diagnosis kept from my path, what else would it keep me from doing? What kind of life would that create? How much regret could I be prepared to live with? (p.34)

FOMO occurs when a hermit (a person who primarily prefers to live in seclusion from society, may also be described as a loner and a recluse according the internet) has spent a prolonged period of time dodging social events with friends and family and hasn’t left the house in several weeks to restock the fridge. Naturally, my recent diagnosis exacerbated this tendency in me and I started to fear being excluded from the outside world. (p.57)