“In the footsteps of Multiple Sclerosis. The fullness of life” is the volume by Maria De Giovanni, just released (Graus editions) and which was previewed today, at Palazzo Adorno in Lecce.
Together with the author, the president of the Province of Lecce Stefano Minerva, the provincial councilors Loredana Tundo and Andrea Pulli, the general director ASL Lecce Stefano Rossi, the teacher Antonio Leo, the vice mayor Aradeo Georgia Tramacere, the municipal councilor Guagnano Danilo were present. Verdoscia, past president Fidapa Gallipoli Teresa Chianella.
President Stefano Minerva declared: “If we have chosen to present this book in our headquarters it is because Mary’s story is a heritage for this Province. We try to embody positive values with words, but you, with your courage, your strength, your ease, your solidarity, every day, are a positive example for the younger ones. The network that has been created around you is an example of how, through the ability to manage a system that helps those in need, we can improve the daily lives of others.”
This is the author’s third book, which addressing social and pedagogical issues, presents itself as a hymn to life, to faith, to never giving up. Always committed to disseminating the rights of people with disabilities, De Giovanni shines a spotlight on issues such as faith, solidarity and family, as valid supports in dealing with the path of illness.
She bears witness to the intertwining of hope, faith and resilience, who has dedicated her life to caring for others, transforming her experience with multiple sclerosis into a message of strength and beauty. At the center of the book there is a common thread, which is faith, the driving force of every action and source of strength in the most difficult moments. With particular attention to the value of family, he explores the tortuous path of life, between falls and rises, but always with the support of his loved ones and his beloved dogs, who become silent but tireless companions on this journey.
The general director of ASL Lecce Stefano Rossi commented: “Maria De Giovanni is a testimonial of how life should be faced, of how to transform difficulties into extraordinary results. If physical pain is only part of the battle, there is a part, the spiritual one, that can be approached and treated with narrative medicine. Talking about your illness helps you heal.”
Among the pages there is also a fairy tale for children, which delicately explains the signs and symptoms of multiple sclerosis, making the topic accessible even to the little ones.
-The book aims to be the bearer of a message: life, although marked by pain and difficulties, is a continuous prayer, an act of love that returns and is renewed every day. Maria De Giovanni invites us to reflect on how precious every existence is, underlining that the true victory lies in embracing life with all its beauty, despite its fragility.
“The cover of the book is the valley oak of Tricase, with the road pierced by a ray of sunlight. That is the light of God, the light that helps us daily. This is my third book which talks about my life journey and how writing becomes therapeutic: it is a gift to be able to transform one’s emotions into words and that is what I wanted to do in writing it”, said Maria De Giovanni. “Through an introspective journey we can see what we have inside and transform it into experience and put it at the service of others, finding in ourselves what the meaning of life is. Each of us can be an added value in the journey of each one’s life, each of us is a different color and together we compose a rainbow that becomes a real arch of hope”.
The preface of the volume, edited by Famiglia Cristiana journalist Luca Cereda, offers a look at the challenges and achievements of Maria de Giovanni, while the afterword by the neurologist researcher at the IRCCS Neuromed Multiple Sclerosis Center Roberta Fantozzi enriches the book with a scientific reflection on sclerosis multiple, acting as a bridge between the author’s experience and the medical approach to the disease.
The first stage of the presentation of the volume will be Copertino tomorrow, January 22, at 6.30 pm, at the church of the Poor Clares, in via Margherita di Savoia, on the initiative of the cultural association Azione Parallela, sponsored by the Province of Lecce.
Others will follow in various municipalities of Salento: 25 January in Matino, 28 January in Martignano, 30 January in Lecce, 2 February in Gallipoli, 3 February in Cutrofiano, 6 February in Soleto, 7 in Sternatia, 9 February Villa Baldassarri, 12 in Aradeo and many other events scheduled until May.
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