Svec, Carol

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Svec, Carol

PERSONAL: Married; husband's name, Bill. Education: Purdue University, received degree; University of Toronto, M.S.; Rutgers University, completed Ph.D. coursework.

ADDRESSES: Home—Raleigh, NC. Agent—Dystel & Goderich Literary Management, One Union Square W., Ste. 904, New York, NY 10003. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Former owner, with husband, of a book store; once worked as a research manager for a health book company.

MEMBER: Authors Guild, Authors League of America, National Association of Science Writers, American Medical Writers Association, Association of Health-Care Journalists.

WRITINGS:

After Any Diagnosis: How to Take Action against Illness Using the Best and Most Current Medical Information Available, Three Rivers Press (New York, NY), 2001.

(With Diana L. Dell) The PMDD Phenomenon: Breakthrough Treatments for Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) and Extreme Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS), Contemporary Books (Chicago, IL), 2003.

(With William Joel Meggs) The Inflammation Cure: How to Combat the Hidden Factor behind Heart Disease, Arthritis, Asthma, Diabetes, Alzheimer's Disease, Osteoporosis, and Other Diseases of Aging, Contemporary Books (Chicago, IL), 2004.

(With Marie Savard) Apples and Pears: The Body Shape Solution for Weight Loss and Wellness, Atria Books (New York, NY), 2005.

WORK IN PROGRESS: Wildfire Virus: The Pandemic Threat of Avian Influenza, for Rutgers University Press.

SIDELIGHTS: Health and science writer Carol Svec became enamored of books at an early age, although she focused her postsecondary education in the areas of medicine and health psychology. Close to completing a Ph.D. in health psychology, she was sidelined by a car accident and forced to put her academic plans on hold. After a recovery comforted by reading, Svec and her husband operated a book store for four years. Svec then turned to health writing, working as a researcher for a health book company. Research led the way to article writing, and within several years Svec was writing full time.

Svec's first book, After Any Diagnosis: How to Take Action against Illness Using the Best and Most Current Medical Information Available, gives recently diagnosed patients the tools with which to research treatments and track their own health care. In the introduction to the book, Svec writes, "Getting diagnosed with an illness is like hearing the starting pistol at the beginning of a race. Whether it's a sprint or a marathon, a grueling endurance run or a jog through the park, the race is yours alone…. This book was written to help you run a better race, no matter what your diagnosis is, how old you are, or how long you've been ill."

Marge Kars, writing in Library Journal, called After Any Diagnosis "an excellent resource for anyone who has been diagnosed with a chronic or acute life-threatening illness and wants to stay well informed." A Publishers Weekly reviewer similarly wrote, "This is an excellent reference for anyone with a serious illness who is willing to do some homework to get better care." A reviewer for the Tufts University Health and Nutrition Letter commended the book as "a great new medical reference," describing the section titled "Information Sources" as "almost the equivalent of having a medical librarian right at home with you."

Svec has also coauthored three other books on various health topics. The PMDD Phenomenon: Breakthrough Treatments for Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) and Extreme Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS), written with Dr. Diana L. Dell, provides women with home-based and alternative therapies to help treat the symptoms of PMDD and PMS, as well as information on the latest medical therapies. The Inflammation Cure: How to Combat the Hidden Factor behind Heart Disease, Arthritis, Asthma, Diabetes, Alzheimer's Disease, Osteoporosis, and Other Diseases of Aging was written with Dr. William Joel Meggs and presents a holistic approach to healing inflammation as a means of treating or preventing specific illnesses. In a review for Library Journal, Eris Weaver described this book as a "readable, scientifically sound, and well-referenced title" that takes a "levelheaded approach, weaving the latest research on various diseases into a broad picture." Apples and Pears: The Body Shape Solution for Weight Loss and Wellness, written with Dr. Marie Savard, explains how an individual's body shape relates to weight distribution and general health, and also provides strategies for weight loss and healthy living tailored to each specific body type.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Svec, Carol, After Any Diagnosis: How to Take Action against Illness Using the Best and Most Current Medical Information Available, Three Rivers Press (New York, NY), 2001.

PERIODICALS

Library Journal, July, 2001, Marge Kars, review of After Any Diagnosis, p. 116; August, 2003, Eris Weaver, review of The Inflammation Cure: How to Combat the Hidden Factor behind Heart Disease, Arthritis, Asthma, Diabetes, Alzheimer's Disease, Osteoporosis, and Other Diseases of Aging, p. 119.

Publishers Weekly, August 6, 2001, review of After Any Diagnosis, p. 84.

Tufts University Health and Nutrition Letter, December, 2001, review of After Any Diagnosis, p. 8.