Book
Review: Carry A Big Stick
Back
when Jodie started her Febfast journey, she was worried about having
to blog every day. When Mary did her guest post, I asked Jodie if she
would like me to do one too. I write a book review blog called Little Black Marks so it only seemed
appropriate that I find a book about MS and write a review of it.
While
cruising the catalogue at the library, I came across Carry a Big Stick by Tim Ferguson.
I knew the name, I'm a long time fan of The Doug Anthony Allstars, but I
never realised Tim Ferguson has MS. Perfect! A book about MS written
by someone I actually wanted to read about!
Doug
Anthony Allstars – Tim Ferguson, Richard Fidler and Paul McDermott
Carry
a Big Stick charts Tim career, from his pre DAAS days, right through
to the writing of the book. While the MS doesn't take centre stage,
it does make appearances every now and then. Obviously to start with,
Ferguson himself did not realise there was a problem. He simply put
it down the grueling schedule DAAS kept. Anyway, things usually
righted themselves within a week or two. However, as symptoms
worsened (numbness in fingers, pins and needles in his right ear,
loss of his ability to wiggle his ears, twitching eyelid, numb toes -
you get the picture), Ferguson simply didn't want to know - didn't
want to acknowledge his body was letting him down.
"I
started each one [show] strongly but after half an hour of running,
jumping and jitterbugging, my left leg would slacken. By the end onf
each show, my left foot was dragging...I never recorded these events
or sought answers. It's only now that I look back and piece
everything together that it all makes sense"
"I'm
often asked why I didn't see a doctor or seek some sort of conclusive
medical advice along the way. The answer is simple: I didn't want to
know. I didn't want anything getting in the way of the Allstars'
success...I just kept going and compensated for any weird body
malfunction with exuberant disregard."
However,
eventually Ferguson does seek and receives a diagnosis. He continues
with Allstars', until it becomes obvious to him he no longer can. The
rest of the book details his acceptance of MS and the other
directions his career took, from hosting shows such as Don't Forget
Your Toothbrush, writing, producing and eventually teaching.
Ferguson
writes exactly how you imagine he would. The flamboyance and
silliness so obvious in his Allstars days comes through in the book.
He examines the effect of a transient lifestyle as a kid on his life
as an adult and it's contribution towards his incessant need to be
liked and successful.
The
tone of the book changes through out, following his own journey in
relation to MS. From the early mentions of MS in the book, through to
his denial there was anything wrong, onto his diagnosis and his
belief that it should change nothing, followed by his realisation
that it does and his acceptance of MS, Ferguson becomes more
reflective, analytical and, for want of a better word, serious. I
found the first part of the book that dealt with his DAAS days,
frantic and quick paced. It jumped from one thing to another, with
slight mentions of what was causing a few issues, but was under
control. As the MS progressed, the writing became less frantic, but
an air of confusion and hurt came through - and denial. Finally as
Ferguson accepted his diagnosis and it's effect on his life, the
writing becomes calmer and thoughtful.
Tim
Ferguson in recent years
Carry
a Big Stick is well worth the read for any DAAS or Tim Ferguson fan.
For those looking for an understanding of MS, it provides a look at
one persons journey with the disease. Either way, I think it's well
worth the read.
This
clip is from the TV show Good News Week and was the first time Tim
publically “outted himself” with MS.
No comments:
Post a Comment