Classic Pacing for a Better Life with ME is a self-help book which explains pacing and how it can be applied to daily life. Although aimed at patients, the book can also be of interest to professionals. Pacing is a coping strategy used in illnesses that cause low energy levels. It consists of splitting activities into small chunks so that symptoms are not worsened, as well as alternating activity and rest to maintain energy levels throughout the day. Pacing can be done in a variety of ways, and there are several different tools which can be of help. Classic Pacing for a Better Life with ME presents a full range of strategies to enable the reader to find the ones that suit their situation. It covers all degrees of illness severity and there is a special chapter on how to pace education, making the book useful to young readers. The first part of the book covers basic pacing, and is well suited to beginners, whereas the second part covers advanced pacing, which is relevant to patients who have been ill for a long time and have tried many ways to improve their situation. The third part of the book consists of chapters on different themes, such as how to pace social activities and big events. Great care has been taken to ensure that the book is as easy to read as possible. All the chapters begin with a summary. This means that even people who can only read very small amounts of text can still benefit from the book. In addition, all the basics are covered in Chapter One, which means that the reader can get going straight away without having to read the entire book first. Each chapter can be read on its own like an article. The detailed table of contents makes it easy to find the sections that are most relevant to the reader’s needs. The language of the book is reader friendly with everyday words and short sentences. Although the book is geared particularly towards people with ME, much of the content is general enough to also be relevant to people with other illnesses that cause low levels of energy.
