A film & a book

The new teaser trailer for WHAT ABOUT ME? film documentary is up. 'If nothing's being done about it - ME - then we've lost our humanity, we've lost our science, we've lost our medicine.' Professor Malcolm Hooper

And some good news, Mischa Hiller's new novel Shake Off, gets a fine review in the Guardian.

Baggage

Susan Douglas, the producer of WHAT ABOUT ME? announced a few months ago that her ME/CFS documentary was taking a different direction. I have been - naturally - curious as the film was going to originally be a partial dramatisation of my novel. Blogging recently about the film, American journalist Mindy Kitei writes that 'the spine of the film' is XMRV. As I have said before I am not putting all my eggs in the XMRV basket - I am afraid to - but it is hard not to feel optimistic when you look at the Whittemore Peterson Institute website. The possibilities are dazzling. Allow yourself to imagine not only a cure for ME, but a time when you can talk about the illness without all the baggage. That is so much part of the ME experience, the baggage, the defenses we have all had to construct. Latest film developments here.

Not an option

Update, March 2017. This film is now available on Amazon rental in UK and Germany:

I am sad to report that my book is no longer being optioned by Double D Productions for dramatisation in the WHAT ABOUT ME? documentary. My understanding is there have been some legal glitches, and also the director now wants to take the project in another direction. As Susan Douglas, the producer, says on her blog, this is indeed the nature of the beast but, still, it is hugely disappointing for me as the film was very much being promoted as a partial dramatisation of my book. The ups and downs of this novel of mine certainly reflect the ups and downs of the illness and have come to be symbolic. However, although the film now has a very different complexion, I am still glad it is being made. I am sure Geoffrey Smith will do a fabulous job and that the documentary will further the truth about ME. If you are curious, the USA teaser trailer is now up alongside the UK one.