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Psoriasis group asks Farrar, Straus and Giroux to make corrections to future editions of Rich Cohen’s memoir “Sweet and Low”
(July 27, 2006) Psoriasis Cure Now, a nonprofit patient advocacy group, has asked Farrar, Straus and Giroux, publisher of Rich Cohen’s family memoir “Sweet and Low,” to correct inaccuracies in its depiction of psoriasis in future editions of the book. The memoir tells the story of how Cohen’s grandfather amassed a fortune in Brooklyn by inventing the popular sugar substitute, and how Cohen’s immediate family was ultimately disinherited, costing them tens of millions of dollars. One of Cohen’s aunts is portrayed as a malevolent force in the book, and the errors arise in depictions of her psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, diseases that the book trivializes and portrays incompletely.
“Rich Cohen was aiming for his aunt, but he hit millions of Americans with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis instead,” said Michael Paranzino, president of Psoriasis Cure Now. “The book’s attempt to minimize the seriousness of these diseases does a disservice to psoriasis patients and weakens an otherwise engaging and entertaining read. We hope the mistakes are corrected for the paperback edition.”
The book, despite its footnotes and air of authority, does not portray psoriasis accurately. Most egregiously, the book states: “even in the worst cases, the disease [psoriasis] is simply not disabling. It is suffered instead as a chronic annoyance….” Later in the same paragraph Cohen cites the book Essential Pathology, but does not include this pivotal sentence from Essential Pathology that flatly contradicts Cohen: “The severity of the disorder varies from annoying, scaly lesions over the elbows to a serious, debilitating disorder involving most of the skin and often associated with arthritis.” Psoriasis most certainly can be disabling.
The book also cites a junior high textbook suggesting that psoriasis is an outward expression of subconscious problems, but Cohen ignores the well-known genetic links and immune system underpinnings of psoriasis that even a few minutes of research would have turned up. A full examination of the book’s flawed depiction of psoriasis is available on the Psoriasis Cure Now website, and the book will be discussed in the next Psoriasis Cure Now Podcast to be released August 8.
“Sweet and Low is a fun book that also aims to educate, with lengthy examinations of history, science and culture,” Paranzino added. “This makes the false depiction of psoriasis even more troublesome, as readers will assume that a footnoted book such as this gets it right. The ‘heartbreak of disinheritance’ is no excuse for shoddy research. Psoriasis is a serious and often debilitating disease, one that can run in families. For the author’s sake, we hope he did not inherit any psoriasis susceptibility genes from the very relatives who disinherited him from their fortune.”
Psoriasis is an incurable, non-contagious disease of the immune system that can first strike at any age, causing painful skin lesions, and often, arthritic symptoms. A 1999 study found that psoriasis causes reductions in physical and mental functioning comparable to that seen in diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, depression and other diseases. As many as 7.5 million Americans have psoriasis.
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