The Story behind the Book: Living Well with Chronic Illness (Charnas)


 

Today's back story is about the book, Living Well with Chronic Illness by Joanna Charnas


From the author:

In the mid to late 1990s, I was particularly sick with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, an illness I’d

lived with since I was nineteen. During these years, I had several run-ins with large

bureaucracies, including the Massachusetts Department of Motor Vehicles and Harvard

Community Health Plan, the largest HMO in the state. After I’d successfully obtained the

services I needed, I’d tell my father about these confrontations, carefully leaving the distress

they’d caused me out of the narrative. My father repeatedly responded, “You ought to write

about that.” I was a Social Worker for a large AIDS service organization at the time, and my

reply was always, “My experiences aren’t unique. My clients often encounter these same

problems.” We had some version of this conversation for a couple of years.

At the same time, I had an otherworldly feeling I should be writing something. I’d been praised

for my writing since I was twelve, but I had no desire to be an author. I was struggling to remain

employed due to my poor health, and I had difficulty completing my independent activities of

daily living, like doing laundry. Adding a major project to the mix was not an option. But the

thought that I ought to be writing persisted. I’d had several psychic experiences that portended

future events, so I’d learned to respect them.

Eventually, my father’s constant suggestion and my insistent instinct converged, and I began

taking notes for the book that became Living Well with Chronic Illness. Both my father and that

voice in my head were spot on. Living Well with Chronic Illness was number one in its small

category on Amazon.com, and it was an American Book Fest Best Book Awards Finalist in

2017. I’m so grateful I finally listened to my instincts and my smart father.

jc, October 2022

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AMERICAN BOOKFEST BEST BOOKS AWARD FINALIST
HOT NEW RELEASE ON AMAZON

Book available at 25% discount with code FF25 at msipress.com/shop.

Read excerpts and other blog posts about Joanna and her books HERE.


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