Share
For more than 20 years, chef Anne Cutter Mikkelsen and her husband, Mike, have overcome the obstacles of living with Parkinson’s disease.
Mikkelsen’s book Take Charge of Parkinson’s Disease, Dynamic Lifestyle Changes to Put YOU in the Driver’s Seat is full of recipes and information on using nutrition and exercise as a way of maintaining optimal health. Her training in French cooking and an irresistible palate of antioxidant ingredients coincides with emerging science on the importance of brain-healthy fruits, vegetables, spices, and herbs.
Mikkelsen studied traditional French cooking with Simone (Simca) Beck. She hosted a cooking show and has owned two restaurants, a catering business, and a B&B. Mike, an award-winning potter and sculptor, has skillfully adapted his art to accommodate the advancing stages of PD.
The engaging book is for everyone affected by PD – those with the disease, families, and caregivers. Mikkelsen, with the help of Caroline Stinson, a writer and publicist, weaves information about the disease with their experiences, leavened by her knowledge and love of food.
Within its pages, Take Charge of Parkinson’s Disease reveals healthy lifestyle recommendations and an extensive recipe section, interspersed with Mikkelsen’s memoir of her journey with her husband as they discover how to live with Parkinson’s disease. As reflected in the preface, Mikkelsen states, “The most empowering message we heard along the way was that, if we dared, we could take control of PD by changing our lifestyle. You will see how we ultimately learned to move Parkinson’s to the back seat so we could see the road ahead.”
