Elle & Coach

August 1, 2015

Receiving a diagnosis of diabetes is traumatic for most adults; much more so for a child. New Hampshire-based councilwoman Shaheen tells of the impact that such a diagnosis for her eight-year-old daughter Elle had on their family. Determined to learn all she can about diabetes, the author focuses on discovering ways to find relief from the seemingly endless fear and anxiety that accompanies a chronic illness. Her resolve has borne fruit in that she is the cofounder and CEO of Good Measures, a company that develops online tools and services to help people manage their health. During the family struggle to cope, they uncovered a new and growing recognition of the role dogs play in the detection and monitoring of human health conditions. Enter a medic-alert Labrador retriever named Coach. The bond between Elle and Coach is amazing, and the relief and comfort it provides to both Elle and her family is nothing short of miraculous, giving testament to the benefit and power of the human-animal bond. VERDICT Strongly recommended for its insight into coping with the consequences of diabetes and inspiration to turn a negative for one into a positive for many.--Edell Marie Schaefer, Brookfield P.L., WI

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2015
In this uplifting and educational memoir, Shaheen (with coauthor Dagostino, a former senior writer for People) tells the story of her daughter, Elle, diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age eight, and her medical-alert superdog, Coach. When Elle began exhibiting classic symptoms of the autoimmune diseasegetting up to go to the bathroom at night, losing weight, and being uncharacteristically irritableShaheen, who grew up in a take-action family (her mother is U.S. senator and former New Hampshire governor Jean Shaheen) enrolls Elle in medical trials and finds out how to acquire Coach, a remarkable yellow Labrador trained by a prisoner in a program called CARES. Miraculously, Coach can sense when Elle's blood sugar is too low (which can cause a seizure) or too high (which can cause a coma). Lassie pales by comparison to this pooch, who sleeps in Elle's bed, accompanies her to school, appears in a play with her, and nudges her or her parents if she needs to check her blood sugar. Parents of kids with special needs will find Shaheen's passionate advocacy informative and inspiring.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)