1. Wearing three Huntington's hats: Family member, therapist and researcher 2. Knowing the enemy: Impacts of Huntington's on individuals 3. Knowing yourself and your family 4. Introducing Acceptance and Commitment Therapy 5. “Your dad does that!”: The stories we tell ourselves 6. Inviting the monster in for tea 7. “The price we pay for love”: Grief and Huntington’s 8. To defeat it, we have to name it: Shame, stigma and Huntington’s 9. Finding what matters 10. Bringing values to life: Aiming for “better, not perfect” 11. Committed action: Setting a meaningful goal 12. “All roads lead to Huntington’s”: Difficult decisions 13. Building your forward plan 14. Testing your brakes regularly 15. Reaching out for more support 16. It’s better in the light 17. Appendix A: Exercises and resources 18. Appendix B: Mental health concerns
Biography
Sarah Gunn, DClinPsy, is a clinical psychologist and researcher from a Huntington’s family, specialising in mental healthcare for people affected by Huntington’s. She uses ACT in her work and leads research into the psychological impacts of Huntington’s, taking a compassionate approach to understanding and supporting people and families navigating the challenges of this condition.
'This book offers an extremely unique perspective on the many facets of Huntington’s disease – telling the story from a personal perspective, then offering some really practical insights on coping with the disease, and into psychological research. What stands out to me is the resilience families with Huntington’s disease have: as Sarah points out “people from Huntington’s families are not helpless, and Huntington’s disease doesn’t get to beat us.'
Cath Stanley, Chief Executive, Huntington’s Disease Association – England and Wales
'A very brave and personal book and an important resource. Moving and inspiring, it will be very useful for our community of people affected by or dealing with Huntington’s.'
Patrick Weydt, MD, Chair of the European Huntington’s Disease Network
