Mari Skelly & Andrea Helm

The idea for this book was originally Mari's. After combing bookstores and libraries for information and not finding enough, Mari put up fliers in local stores, newspapers, and her doctors' office looking for people who wanted to be interviewed about their experiences. Andrea saw the flier, wrote down the number, and then promptly forgot about it for two months until she happened to see it again in her journal. At the time the two met to do the interview, Mari's editorial partner had become ill and had to bow out of the project. Andrea stepped in to do the job.

Mari was a florist when she began experiencing excruciating pain in her feet. She eventually had to quit her job. Andrea wrote user guides for a computer software company when she, too, became unable to work because of her condition. She was fired when she could no longer work full-time. This left them both with the time and the desire to write the best FM/CFS book on the market. That's how this project was born.

During the interview process, patients were given a questionnaire as a guideline for discussion. Interviews were conducted either in person or over the telephone. Many people mentioned the names of doctors and other treatment providers who had been helpful to them. Some of those practitioners contributed articles to this book. While many of the providers we interviewed are located in Seattle, Washington (because that's where we live), we have included an extensive Resources guide at the back of the book that gives readers information about treatment providers all across the United States.

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