Happy Birthday, Book Baby!

‘I live with lupus,’ the lady said, ‘and when I saw in your author bio that you live with lupus too, I told myself I simply had to meet you!’

‘I’m so thrilled to meet a fellow lupie!’ I laughed. Lupus is a rare condition and I often feel a bit alone and lost in the dark with it, so I was genuinely thrilled to meet someone who had been through similar experiences.

That sweet customer bought a copy of my book, Surviving Chronic Illness, which has just turned one year old. It’s hard to believe it’s already been a year since it was published. The last year has been a blur!

But even more amazing than my book baby’s milestone is the way it has touched people over that period. I have met many readers like the lady above who live either with lupus or another chronic condition, and they seem so happy to discover that someone has shining a light on this tricky and hard-to-navigate topic—especially as chronic illness can be highly isolating and lonelifying.

Chronic illness can be highly isolating and lonelifying.

What’s also amazing is how many people know someone with a chronic condition. Heaps of people have bought a copy of my book for a friend or loved one who is struggling to come to terms with a chronic condition, or who is wrestling with their faith or mental health because of it.

The other kind of customer who tends to buy my book is church pastors or leaders. Most churches—all churches, if I may be so bold—have members living with chronic conditions in their congregation. But few churches know how to respond to the thorny issue of sickness that doesn’t improve and doesn’t respond to prayer. I hope my book can be a resource for such churches.

If you are unfortunate enough to be living with a chronic condition, or if you know someone in your world with chronic illness, I hope you know that you are not alone. Even though at times we can feel super lonely, like we are the only ones going through this dark place and no one else understands, please remember you don’t have to face this alone. There are others who get it—who get you.

I’m looking forward to celebrating more birthdays for my book baby. Even more than that, I’m looking forward to meeting more readers with lived experience of chronic illness and hopefully bringing a little light to their darkness.

Do you live with chronic illness, and if so, do you find yourself feeling lonely because of it? How do you break through that sense of isolation? Do you have friends or family who get you? Share your story. Let’s have a countercultural conversation.