About the Book

Living with cerebral palsy is enormously difficult. But what if you never knew you had it?

This is the incredible story of Ilana Estelle.

Born the second of premature twins, an hour apart, from a young age Ilana knew she was different, but for all the wrong reasons. A child of the 60s, Ilana experienced first-hand the way that disability was, at the time, so often brushed under the carpet, not spoken about. Her constant physical and mental struggles made her feel isolated, alone, frustrated, and misunderstood. It took 46 years for her to find out why.

Part memoir, part motivational guide, Cerebral Palsy: My story is Ilana’s open and honest journey from an angry, confused child, knowing something was wrong, not knowing what was wrong, what her disability was, or that there was a diagnosis – to the ‘real’ her – a courageous woman using her experiences and lessons to create inspiring messages about mental and physical health, resilience and change.

My Thoughts

Cerebral Palsy by Ilana Estelle is an incredible story to read. Ilana was born in the 60s and was the second of premature twins to be born – an hour after her sibling. Ilana was always aware that she was different to her siblings, that she struggled more with learning and with mobility but no one ever gave her a diagnosis. It took until she was 46 years old for her to discover that she had Cerebral Palsy and Scoliosis. This led her to start her blog – The CP Diary where she worked through her feelings and her discoveries about her own medical history. She was also later to be diagnosed with Autism.

This book was such a fascinating read and I’m so glad that I picked it up. I’m drawn to books about people finding their way through a disability as that is also my path in life now. Ilana is very honest about her struggles which I appreciated because it’s not easy but she also offers guidance and advice based on what she has learnt though the last few years.

My disability is something that happened to me as an adult but I can’t imagine what it’s like to have a disability for your whole life and yet never be told about what it is, never to have a discussion about whether anything can be done to help you cope and adapt.

I love Ilana’s attitude to life; she seems similar to me in that you have to try and find the positives and you have to keep going. It was inspiring to read her story of her late diagnosis and to find out all the things she has achieved since then in spite of everything that has happened to her.

Cerebral Palsy is such an interesting, inspiring and thought-provoking book and I would urge everyone to pick up a copy and read it. I definitely recommend it!

About the Author

Ilana was born with a disability she didn’t know she had until the age of 46, when through her medical notes she discovered she had been diagnosed with cerebral palsy at the age of 2. 

That discovery turned out to be a unique and life-changing experience that has forced Ilana to stand back and look at her life experiences differently. On her late diagnosis, Ilana set up her website The CP Diary and uses her experiences to explore her emotional and physical health, with an inspiring message advocating resilience and change. 

Ilana likes to spend her days writing and blogging about anything that contributes to her health and wellbeing. She is an animal advocate and is passionate about environmental issues. When she is not writing to tending to her blog, Ilana enjoys days out exploring the Yorkshire countryside. 

Ilana lives with her husband and their much-loved cat, in Yorkshire. Her grown up son and daughter both live in London.

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