‘An irritating enigma’ is a description of chronic fatigue syndrome quoted by the author, but ‘irritating’ is the last adjective that could be applied to his book. Rather, it is engaging, entertaining, thoughtful, and moving, and it goes a long way to demystifying the enigma it explores.
Nick Duerden was, in 2009, a successful self-employed journalist, thriving on frenetic activity and, by his own admission, prone to ‘a little harmless competition’. His hectic lifestyle came to a sudden halt following a bout of severe flu-like illness contracted in the US, launching him into a new existence in which debilitating fatigue overshadowed everything else. His book, which in itself would prove to be part of his therapy, tells the story of his attempts to …