Chronic Illness Memoir

It’s 2006. After a string of rejections from men who tell her they could never, ever, ever see her “that way,” awkward third-grade teacher Micaela Blei signs up for a mysterious course called “The Divine Feminine,” and feels like she might have found the key to the perfect life. Turns out if you’re an A student, you can get an A in anything–including men. Pretty soon she’s learning to "conjure" her desires with vision boards, flirtations, and even a daring jumbotron viewing party for her, ahem ... "divine center."

On July 22, 2009, a special meeting was held with 24 leading scientists at the National Institutes of Health to discuss early findings that a newly discovered retrovirus was linked to chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), prostate cancer, lymphoma, and eventually neurodevelopmental disorders in children. When Dr. Judy Mikovits finished her presentation the room was silent for a moment, then one of the scientists said, "Oh my God!" The resulting investigation would be like no other in science.

"A best memoir of 2020" —BookPage The darkly funny memoir of Sarah Ramey’s years-long battle with a mysterious illness that doctors thought was all in her head—but wasn’t. A revelation and an inspiration for millions of women whose legitimate health complaints are ignored. In her...

In this thought-provoking memoir, an award-winning journalist explores the chaos, doubt, and search for meaning that come with staying one step ahead of cancer for decades. “An Exercise in Uncertainty has a powerful and restorative story to tell us. Jonathan Gluck’s life of illness and...

In this lyrical, radically expansive self-portrait, celebrated poet, author, and lecturer Sophie Strand explores—with searing insight and honesty—the intersecting spaces of her own chronic illness, the complex ecology of a changing world, and the very nature of the stories we tell ourselves...

‘I was now a patient. And I was going to be a patient for the rest of my life. I couldn’t compute how this had happened. I was a doctor… I didn’t get a diagnosis, I gave them.’ How do you know when you are ill? Are you in pain? Or just aware that something isn’t quite right. But you...

H Is for Hawk meets Joan Didion in the Pyrocene in this arresting combination of memoir, natural history, and literary inquiry that chronicles one woman’s experience of life in Northern California during the worst fire season on record. FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD ...

"Vacker's insightful presentation introduces listeners to this debilitating disease and its effects on marriage and family." - AudioFile Magazine From New York Times bestselling author Eleanor Henderson comes a turbulent love story meets harrowing medical mystery: the true story of the...

NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS’ CHOICE In this vulnerable, insightful memoir, the New York Times columnist tells the story of his five-year struggle with a disease that officially doesn’t exist, exploring the limits of modern medicine, the stories that we unexpectedly fall into, and the secrets...

One day, on her way to a date, Isabella Huffington gets hit by a bike. What begins as a concussion with a diagnosed recovery time of seven-to-ten days becomes more than two years of debilitating pain with no apparent end and a string of unhelpful doctor and specialist visits. In the wreckage, jobs are canceled. Leases are broken. There is no second date. What’s left is Isabella, her body, and her pain. Because the source of her pain cannot be located within the body, she is told over and over that her pain is psychosomatic. And Isabella believes it, over and over.

In this powerful follow-up to her bestselling memoir In Shock, a doctor asks: What does it truly mean to heal? This program features author notes and a dedication read by the author. In the aftermath of her own critical illness, physician and writer Dr. Rana Awdish finds herself oddly estranged...

Transformative, enlightening and inspiring - a compelling and candid story of life with constant pain. Irish broadcaster and producer Andrea Hayes is well known to the Irish public for her positive, friendly and down-to-earth persona on television and radio. Hidden behind her smile, though, is Andrea's battle with constant chronic pain. After over 20 years of unanswered questions, misdiagnosis, failed procedures and despair, she was diagnosed with a rare neurological disorder, Chiari Malformation 1.

A poetic, darkly funny memoir of one woman’s trip across the national parks straight into life-threatening illness and the joy that still holds us, no matter how much life hurts. “Unapologetically raw, defiantly humorous, this book is the bravest of journeys. . . . A memoir that makes no...

For the first twenty-seven years of his life, Ben McKelvey didn't spend too much time thinking about his brain, nor much about trauma. He was fit, carefree and happy working as a magazine journalist, writing listicles and doing celebrity junket interviews. Then one day, while boxing, he suffered...

Reject the stigmas of trauma and chronic illness by fostering queer forms of intimacy—and embracing the many ways humans can care for one another. The writer behind the popular @softcore_trauma Instagram offers a deeply personal memoir for folks seeking healing and better care. The forms of...

For most of my life, I believed that strength meant moving forward without slowing-earning degrees, building a career, tending to animals the way my parents did before me, and providing for my family as my father once did. I was a devoted veterinarian, husband, son, brother, father-a man whose...