Review: Beryl Eichenberger
Hot Tea and Apricots, by Kim Ballantine (Self-published)
When I saw the title of this memoir, I was immediately eager to read it. I mean, Hot Tea and Apricots – where would you find a title like that? And within moments the explanation was there as part of the author’s note setting the tone for the book.
Because Kim’s story is unlike any I have read. And the title reveals so much in terms of coping, taking those steps towards conquering the mountains that faced Kim.
Hot tea and apricots is a sherpa’s response to climbing a high peak, a response to that loss of faith when you think you won’t make it, a response of hope and finding the strength to move on.
Every so often I felt the need to sup on tea and chew on apricots to give me the strength to move to the next part of the story. While the heartfelt foreword had prepared me for what I was about to read, the reality sometimes hit me between the eyes.
Searing, heartbreaking, agonising, funny but above all hopeful amid so much devastating loss, is this recounting by a brave woman whose life was literally put on hold by a debilitating rare illness, spasmodic dysphonia, that hit her just as she turned forty.
Losing her voice and being subjected to larynx spasms, coughing fits, inability to swallow and breathe is terrifying and disabling. The best treatment at that stage was the use of botox.
For the sporty and energetic Kim, whose young family sorely needed her, a consulting business that required high level communication – how do you cope?
Kim’s long journey and the devastating medical diagnosis are painful. Every nick and pothole in the long road is recorded faithfully through the journals she was able to write during this time.
It’s tough as we read of the toll taken on the family, seeing her children having to grow up quickly, learning to communicate through sign language, stretching the loving relationship with doctor husband Rob, but it is never self-pitying, or self-indulgent.
It is a lesson in friendship, family, faith, love and hope laced with a healthy dose of sometimes dark humour. Inspiring and honest, the book shows the reader the narrow lens that disability is still viewed through, the toll on mental health, the test on relationships. It definitely makes you think about your own life.
Despite the several severe blows she experienced, this book is her testament to the power of belief. Even at the most terrifying and life-threatening moments her God was with her every step of the way. This faith held her and her family together, and gave her the strength to navigate this dark tunnel strewn with seemingly insurmountable obstacles.
And to come out the other side – her recovery has seen her become a professional business and life coach, co-founder of the Mental Wellness Initiative and to enjoy being a “grateful grandmother”.