Book review for a fabulous mercury recovery memoir

When I was contacted by author Aine Ni Cheallaigh, to review her new memoir, “Getting the Mercury Out”, I admit to having selfish reasons for wanting to read it.  As a fellow-mercury poisoned reader, I knew I would identify with her, but little did I know that I would connect with her experiences on so many different levels...even areas of my life that I didn’t know to relate to my own mercury exposures.  I never could place a finger on my anxiety and uncontrollable distress during my college years.  Considering I had 8 of my 9 fillings put in when I was 14 years old, my deteriorating moods suddenly made sense!

By page 9, I was already hooked.  I felt as though I could feel her words coming from my very own mouth, right down to the self-diagnosing!  The paragraph below particularly hits home:

“In later years, when I learned about mercury toxicity, I read about how the first symptoms manifest as subtle emotional changes.  Depression creeps in.  There is an unwarranted sensitivity and irritability.  Emotional reactions become less reasonable, even as the mercury toxic person insists that their reaction is a totally logical response to their circumstances.”

I also had a good laugh when she described how the sheer number of pills she had to take daily didn’t fit into her pill organizer.  I struggle with my own pill organizers every time I try to cram all those damn pills into the little cubbyholes they were intended to fit into.  It’s clear that these organizers were not made for mercury toxic people!  I love that she brings humor to everyday annoyances that can sometimes seem so disturbing to the mercury-toxic brain.  A sign of a good author is one who can strategically force a smile on your face even while sharing a serious account of ill health. 

By the time I reached her recollection of the nightmare commonly known as the “dump phase”, I was confident that I was looking into the crystal ball known as my future.  Although I already know to expect this phase, I didn’t know how devastating it really could be.  It’s clear to me now how the sum of such symptoms combined with a child’s neurological development and smaller organs would equate to an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis.  Aine herself experienced something that put her squarely on the spectrum, temporarily! 

I feel better equipped to weather the storm ahead now.

Aine delicately balances the intrigue of her personal story with the dark facts surrounding mercury poisoning, combine that with how to successfully heal from this devastating illness and you have a powerful story with purpose.  Once a non-believer in alternative healing herself, she eloquently shares the intricate details that turn her around, making her such a believer in alternative health that she wants to shout it from rooftops....or store shelves, lol. 

“Getting the Mercury Out” is an easy and interesting read, the story kept my interest from cover to cover.  I found myself reaching for the book whenever I had a few precious moments to myself and before I knew it, I was passing the book to my husband encouraging him to read it so that he would better understand what I am facing, since this ultimately effects him as much as it does me.

If you suspect heavy metal toxicity in yourself or a loved one, this book is a great place to start.  It is also a nice memoir for those who would like to identify with a story similar to theirs.  I have read multiple mercury poisoning books, but they tend to be technical and hard to follow for a beginner.  “Getting the Mercury Out” will encourage you, inspire you and educate you in one fell swoop.

Click here for a Kindle version of this book