Take the Trip by John Geates

Two of the most understated chronic medical conditions are Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis unless of course you have them. The impact they can have on someone and their family is devastating. However, the levels of knowledge and understanding of these conditions by the people who have them, across the medical profession and in society in general are poor due to their complexity and, for some reason, lack of prominence. Living with them and managing them, like any chronic condition, is a real challenge and the purpose of Take the Trip is to help sufferers and their families do that. This book in a very detailed but straightforward manner does examine the difficulties of living with any serious illness or condition but primarily focuses on Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. TRIP from the book title is a mnemonic for Think subtle - Real knowledge - Individual management plan - Practical guidance. Visually these are shown as the 4 strong roots of the beautiful lavender flower that will help the plant to better health namely the bloom. In other words the author believes that taking this TRIP will lead sufferers to better health and achieving their own ‘health bloom’. Once the bloom is achieved the focus then shifts as to how to manage and maintain this better health and wellbeing. Tangible options are given for sufferers on how they can make this happen. A considerable amount of detailed information about Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, the symptoms, the importance of accurate diagnosis, the treatments, the drugs and the critical aspects of all of this is presented in a manner that is easy to read and understand.