Williamson, Miryam Ehrlich

PERSONAL:

Education: University of Pennsylvania, B.A. Hobbies and other interests: Digital photography, hospice volunteer work.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Warwick, MA. E-mail—miryam@mwilliamson.com.

CAREER:

Freelance writer, 1983—. Has worked as a first-grade teacher, political campaign manager, owner and president of a cable television company, legal researcher, elementary school librarian, advertising manager, and daily newspaper reporter.

MEMBER:

Association of Journalists and Authors, Authors Guild.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Will Solimene Award for Excellence in Medical Communication, American Medical Writers Association, for Fibromyalgia: A Comprehensive Approach: What You Can Do about Chronic Pain and Fatigue.

WRITINGS:

Artificial Intelligence for Microcomputers: The Guide for Business Decision Makers, Brady Communications (New York, NY), 1986.

Fibromyalgia: A Comprehensive Approach: What You Can Do about Chronic Pain and Fatigue, Walker (New York, NY), 1996.

The Fibromyalgia Relief Book: 213 Ideas for Improving Your Quality of Life, Walker (New York, NY), 1998.

Blood Sugar Blues: Overcoming the Hidden Dangers of Insulin Resistance, Walker (New York, NY), 2001.

Type 2: A Book of Support for Type 2 Diabetics, Walker (New York, NY), 2003.

(With Vincent C. Giampapa) Breaking the Aging Code: Maximizing Your DNA Function for Optimal Health and Longevity, Basic Health Publications (North Bergen, NJ), 2004.

(With Robert Mann) Forensic Detective: How I Cracked the World's Toughest Cases, Ballantine Books (New York, NY), 2006.

Also author of books on computer technology; author, with Vivina Ciolli, of a book of poetry. Contributor to periodicals, including Computerworld, Byte, CIO (Chief Information Officer), and PC Week. Contributor to the blog Back Forty. Contributor of short fiction to literary journals.

SIDELIGHTS:

Miryam Ehrlich Williamson attended the University of Pennsylvania and worked in several positions throughout her career—as a first-grade teacher, political campaign manager, owner and president of a cable television company, legal researcher, elementary school librarian, advertising manager, and daily newspaper reporter. In 1983, Williamson became a freelance writer, and she has continued to write ever since. In addition to coauthoring a book of poetry and writing several research reports on computer technology, Williamson has contributed articles to periodicals such as Computerworld, Byte, CIO (Chief Information Officer), and PC Week. Williamson is also the author of health-related books on topics such as diabetes, fibromyalgia, and aging. Fibromyalgia: A Comprehensive Approach: What You Can Do about Chronic Pain and Fatigue was published in 1996 and received the Will Solimene Award for Excellence in Medical Communication from the American Medical Writers Association. Her second volume on fibromyalgia, The Fibromyalgia Relief Book: 213 Ideas for Improving Your Quality of Life, was published in 1998. The book gives fibromyalgia sufferers several everyday tips to mitigate the effects of the disease. Some of the tips include ways to improve food choices, vitamins, posture, and sleeping schedules. There is also a section on how to manage fibromyalgia while traveling. Critics applauded the book. For instance, Library Journal writer Janet M. Coggan stated that The Fibromyalgia Relief Book takes "a straightforward, direct manner that makes the material easy to comprehend."

Williamson's first book on metabolic dysfunction, Blood Sugar Blues: Overcoming the Hidden Dangers of Insulin Resistance, was published in 2001. A Publishers Weekly critic stated that the book is written "in clean, engaging prose," adding that "Williamson ably explains complicated jargon" surrounding the metabolic dysfunction related to Type 2 Diabetes and other diseases. Her second book on the topic, Type 2: A Book of Support for Type 2 Diabetics, was published in 2003. It is similar in form and content to The Fibromyalgia Relief Book, and a Bookwatch writer noted the volume's "practical management tips." Given that Type 2 diabetes is more unpredictable (and therefore more difficult to treat) than Type 1 diabetes, Williamson presents varying individual cases with specific tips for each. A different Bookwatch critic commented that the "stories of struggle" with the disease "serve as inspiration" to fellow sufferers.

Forensic Detective: How I Cracked the World's Toughest Cases, on which Williamson collaborated with the forensic anthropologist Robert Mann, gives an overview of the cases Mann has worked on, including his work assembling the scattered skeletal remains of the victims of infamous serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. Mann and Williamson also write about Mann's work overseas in identifying American soldiers' remains. One case presented in the book is that of a disembodied human leg found in a bay, replete with the tooth marks of a shark. Mann must then determine whether the bites were administered pre- or post-mortem. Color illustrations and a substantial index are included in the volume. "Fans of CSI and true crime will be engrossed," stated Booklist writer Kristine Huntley. Furthermore, a Trashotron.com critic stated that the book "is a lot more of a class act than you might expect from the lurid, in-your-face packaging" on the book's cover. "If you're looking for true stories of forensic detection, here they are," the critic continued. "The episodic structure even lends itself to being picked up and put down, which in this case is quite helpful. Reading this sort of thing straight through, it's going to either give you nightmares—or ideas."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, March 15, 2006, Kristine Huntley, review of Forensic Detective: How I Cracked the World's Toughest Cases, p. 13.

Bookwatch, December 1, 2004, review of Type 2: A Book of Support for Type 2 Diabetics; May 1, 2005, review of Type 2.

Choice, January 1, 1997, review of Fibromyalgia: A Comprehensive Approach: What You Can Do about Chronic Pain and Fatigue, p. 830.

Library Journal, September 15, 1996, Janet M. Coggan, review of Fibromyalgia, p. 86; September 15, 1998, Janet Coggan, review of The Fibromyalgia Relief Book: 213 Ideas for Improving Your Quality of Life, p. 104.

Publishers Weekly, September 10, 2001, review of Blood Sugar Blues: Overcoming the Hidden Dangers of Insulin Resistance, p. 87; January 23, 2006, review of Forensic Detective, p. 202.

ONLINE

Miryam Erlich Williamson Home Page,http://www.mwilliamson.net (June 23, 2008).

Authors Guild Web site, http://members.authorsguild.net/ (June 17, 2008), author profile.

Trashotron.com,http://trashotron.com/ (June 15, 2008), review of Forensic Detective.