Diagnosed with type-2 or non-insulin dependent diabetes in 1996 Gretchen Becker educated herself on every aspect of this chronic condition by reading medical books talking with doctors listening to her own body & using the Internet to communicate daily with other people with diabetes. Now as a patient-expert she guides all those newly diagnosed through everything they need to learn & do in the crucial first year after diagnosis. This indispensable guide simplifies but never patronises & offers a wider approach than any so far adhered to by doctors. It answers all the questions that assail the newly diagnosed: How to cope with daily maintenance? How to make sense of the terminology about measurement of blood-glucose levels? How to build self-knowledge & confidence? How overall best to adjust to life with diabetes.