Cost: $20
Surviving Chronic Illness is the third book in the Survival series. With trademark humour and brutal honesty, I share the ups and downs of life with chronic illness through the lens of my lived experience of lupus. I ask the hard questions of faith—‘How do we follow a God who chooses not to heal us?’—and explore the challenges of living with profound and maddening mystery.
It can be tough to articulate the experience of chronic illness. I wrote a whole book trying to find the right language for it! Since illness can leave us grasping for words, I used a lot of metaphors in this book. Starting each chapter is a short section of metaphor and imagery describing one facet of life with illness. A picture is worth a thousand words, and I hope my pictures help you express what you have been through.
Illness can also be exhausting. (If you have lived with illness for more than five minutes, you know all about exhaustion.) Even reading a book about it can be draining! So at the end of each chapter is a ‘self-care spot’, so called for its invitation to pause, to breathe, to eat chocolate and digest the content of the preceding chapter. Again, it’s a metaphor for the self-care we need in dealing with chronic illness.
This book has a chapter for carers, especially the unpaid kind, so if you are caring for a family member or friend or other loved one, you might find this resonates with you.
And for those leading a church, this book is chock-full of suggestions for how to make the church more inclusive of those living with chronic illness.
If you are looking for a book which at once mocks illness and offers hope—if you are tired of trite responses to your physical, mental and spiritual struggles—if unsolicited advice has you reaching for a sick bag—then Surviving Chronic Illness is for you.
Release date: 14th November 2024! To order your copy of Surviving Chronic Illness, click here.
Endorsements:
In Surviving Chronic Illness: Grace in the Flames, Steph Penny guides us through the choppy seas of chronic illness with the acuity of a seasoned sailor and the tenderness of a friend. Penny tells the story of her diagnosis with lupus and the constantly changing catalogue of symptoms, baring not only her body but her soul to the reader, offering us both her honest despair and genuine hope, painful doubt and joy-filled faith, plumbing the depths of her own experience in order to offer solidarity, companionship, and resources to her readers. This is one of the most generous books I’ve ever read. – Jessica Kantrowitz, author of The Long Night, 365 Days of Peace, and Open Things
A great read for a unique, raw and honest perspective on living with a chronic debilitating illness. Steph adds some quirky humor and practical tips for those living with constant pain. – Anders Halvorsen, OAM recipient, 5 decades of lived experience with paraplegia (and seeing God’s blessing in the midst of it all)
Surviving Chronic Illness: Grace in the Flames is a straight-talking, perspective shifting, posture of grace that is coated with the residue of Steph’s tenacity, endurance, and staying power. With her boldness, authentic faith, and vulnerability, Steph reflects God’s light and allows His love to shine through even in the darkest of places, as each page bears the mark of some hard-won wisdom that gives the reader a future and a hope. If you, or someone you know is struggling to find a sliver of beauty in the remnants of the ashes that chronic illness brings, this insightful book is the guide that will hold your hand and walk beside you through each and every challenge. – Wendy Parker, Theologian, author, and host of The Spacious Room podcast
Dealing with chronic illness is A LOT and it’s such a personal journey. This book presents that journey with an unexpected, but welcome, combination of humour, fact and faith. For anyone facing a difficult diagnosis or indeed on a challenging journey of self-discovery this book could be a welcome companion to let you know it can be OK despite the ups and downs. – Charlie Bishop, Director of MRKH Connect
As I read this book, I felt like I’d engaged in a chat with a close friend who understood my heart, my pain, my worries and my earnest prayers. This book says all the things I’ve at some point thought privately and not had the courage to say out loud. It feels personal and conversational in nature, filled with heartfelt words, honest thoughts, real feelings, and an array of day-to-day challenges that I have personally experienced in living with chronic illness. Steph explores a wide range of relatable topics including pain, trauma, grief and medical care, inclusive of the realities in negotiating personal relationships and social expectations through the lens of her personal experiences, accompanied by her faith journey with a loving God. This hope-filled and uplifting book captures the essence of my personal struggles in dealing with chronic illness in a way that no other book I’ve read has. – Tamika Spaulding, founder of His Herd Ministries, hospital chaplain and fellow chronic illness survivor
Steph takes readers on a no-holds-barred journey into the dark depths of chronic illness and up again into a life of determined joy. Her story is gritty, humorous, and above all, genuine. Throughout it her love for God shines brightly, even as she wrestles with her faith. The hope she offers is never trite, never easy, but it is worth it. – Emily J. Maurits, author of Two Sisters and a Brain Tumour, founder of Called to Watch—a resource ministry for friends and family of those living with chronic illness www.calledtowatch.com
Surviving Chronic Illness is a book that will deeply resonate with anyone with long-term illness or their carers and friends. Relentlessly honest, it shatters apart the many ravaging lies told to those who suffer: that we must not have enough faith, that we should be more useful, that we are not ‘claiming’ our healing. There is great relief to be found in such authenticity and vulnerability. Rarely have I come across a book that digs so comprehensively and practically into every area that can affect the sick person, from loneliness to depression to how it is possible to keep worshipping God when life hurts. I found myself relaxing as Steph’s poetic words of truth and assurance swept over me and took me to new places of hope where there often seems none. Written with gentle, friendly humour and an empathetic understanding of both the human condition and the indignancies of chronic illness, this is a book to savour, to comfort, to reference to those who need to hear words of hope mixed with raw reality, and to come back to time and time again and be reminded of the God who sits with us within our pain and works in and through us there. I warmly recommend it to everyone. – Liz Carter, author of Valuable
Steph Penny’s latest book ‘Surviving Chronic Illness’ grabbed me from the word go. The author possesses a unique writing style – one that captivates her readers immediately and makes them want to keep reading. Her humorous style of writing transforms what could at times be heavy reading into what’s delightful. Each chapter is prefaced with a metaphor to describe what she is writing about and it adds to the quality of her book. The book is an eye-opener for those who would better seek to understand Lupus and other similar diseases. As one who’s battled chronic illness myself, I found it heartening to read her honest accounts of the struggles and challenges she faced. This is a book that will be useful for anyone suffering from chronic illness as well as those who seek to support them, plus those who desire to educate themselves about such illnesses. Christians can often feel judged when chronically ill, so what the author shares about grappling with the difficulties of faith and illness is especially encouraging. Steph Penny shares much wisdom learnt through her own journey, so it is a great tool for those suffering from chronic illness. Her authentic sharing will help readers feel understood and cared for. The Author has a beautiful command of the language and she crafts each sentence with her unique quirky style, creating a very readable book. Steph Penny’s courage, good humour and faith shines through the pages. It’s a book I highly recommend. – Anusha Atukorala, writer
Steph doesn’t dish out easy answers in this book – because there are none. But she does ask the hard questions with honesty, grace and humour – some gentle, some sharp. If you live with chronic illness, it will help you feel heard and validated. If you don’t, it will open your eyes and your heart in ways that may well be life changing. – Carolyn Bourke, chaplain and writer
Part pep-talk, part resource, part best friend lifting my chin to remember God’s unceasing care, Surviving Chronis Illness is honest and real. Steph Penny navigates the unpredictable life of ongoing illness with authenticity and deep faith, inspiring readers in similar situations – or those who care for them – to lean on Christ with similar grit and grace. – Penny Reeve, award-winning author, speaker and creator of Dig-In Discipleship Bible studies
With regular doses of silliness, satire, pastoral sensitivity and brutal honesty, Steph Penny speaks grace to those of us affected by chronic illness. In one breath, she lampoons her condition to make us laugh, and in the next she somehow normalizes and creates space for the depression, grief, and trauma that often comes with living with chronic illness. Her account of her own lived experience helps give voice to the relentlessness many of us feel, asking God ‘Why haven’t you healed me yet?’, while showing us that meaning can still show up in tension with that mystery. As a health and pastoral professional, I think this is an incredible resource and invaluable guide to a world half our population inhabits. As a fellow ‘survivor’, I feel deeply seen, valued, and loved. – Krystyna Kidson, Resident Psychologist for the Baptist Association of NSW & ACT Churches
I’m so glad Steph wrote this book! I believe her raw authenticity and insights into how her life has been challenged by living with chronic pain and illness will bring practical help to others, and will help them feel understood and validated so that they know that they are not alone. Steph shares with the reader the deep ache of daily walking the narrow road of chronic illness, and making sense of life as a believer in a God of relentless love whilst not seeing all the answers to prayer that she hopes for. I love the honesty, courage and great humour Steph brings to this topic. As someone who’s been through my seasons of suffering and supported others in their struggles, I find this book resonates with me and is a great read. I pray this book will help Christ’s followers better understand, care for, and love one another in suffering, grief, and deep pain. – Jill Bell, Senior Minister C3 church
Some books change you deep inside. This one had a profound, healing impact on me. As someone living with complex chronic illness, Steph’s welcome and understanding leapt off the pages, reminding me I am seen. She shares her own story in an inspiring, captivating way without downplaying, minimising or over-spiritualising her experience. She took me on a journey I had been afraid to take alone. Through the pages, I faced my fears, my grief and my illnesses head-on as I connected with her raw honesty. I found company and grace. I felt the arms of Jesus lifting me and reassuring me I’m safe even in my questions, in the not-knowing. I found myself laughing out loud at Steph’s fun humour and personality and weeping with both relief and joy as I connected with her words and God’s heart. I would love everyone to read this book, not just those with a chronic illness. It will open your eyes and offer beautiful, life-giving grace and hope. It is a gift from God. – Jenny Glazebrook, author, speaker and chaplain
Hats off to Steph Penny for courageously persevering through her own pain and ill-health to produce this insightful and invaluable gem, Surviving Chronic Illness. With searing honesty, Steph tells it like it is for those suffering chronic illness and, in the process, gives them a voice we all need to hear. Yet she also reaches out to them with grace, understanding and compassion, sharing tested life strategies and encouraging them to see they are more than their illness. The quirky humour Steph employs throughout the book, combined with her clear, relaxed, inclusive writing style, serves to make a difficult topic much more reader-friendly, and her sincere determination to hold onto her faith in God, while still having so many unanswered questions, is both inspiring and challenging to us all. – Jo-Anne Berthelsen, author and speaker www.jo-anneberthelsen.com