The Top Five Best Books on Chronic Illness
When it comes to books on being a chronic illness patient, it can sometimes feel like wasting your precious limited energy on finding books that are actually useful and encouraging. I have personally read so many that promised me I would be healed if I only did all these things and bought all these products. You won’t find any books like that here. I have sifted through mountains of books on chronic illness and compiled the best here! What you will find is books that help you live to the fullest despite your chronic illness.
- How to Be Sick: A Buddhist-Inspired Guide for the Chronically Ill and Their Caregivers by Toni Bernhard
- The stages of grief are ever present in the life of someone with a chronic health diagnosis. Written by an author with ME/CFS and POTS, this book focuses on the Buddhist concept of radical acceptance and draws from many of the Buddhist teachings. It is not only for the spiritually minded, any chronically ill patient can benefit from moving into a state of acceptance when it comes to the limitations of living with chronic illness.
- You Don’t Look Sick!: Living Well With Chronic Invisible Illness by Joy H. Selak & Steven S. Overman, MD
- Those with mystery illnesses and hard to diagnose conditions will relate to Joy, the author’s, journey and her fight through the health system, insurance company, disability claim, and navigating unsolicited health advice. In this book, you will be inspired by Joy keeping an open mind and her unwillingness to give up. Written in the style of a memoir, the chapters alternate between her experiences and her doctor’s commentary.
- The Dysautonomia Project by Kelly Freeman, David S. Goldstein MD, and Charles Thompson MD
- This is for those with Dysautonomia who want to educate themselves and deep-dive into taking control of their health. A great place to start for the newly diagnosed, doctors who are unfamiliar with the condition, or patients who want to play a more active role in their care. It has a complete guide for both patients and doctors, lists of pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments, tips for managing symptoms, misconceptions, stats, and facts about the autonomic nervous system.
- The Long Covid Survival Guide: How to Take Care of Yourself and What Comes Next by Fiona Lowenstein
- New research shows that 30% of people who develop Long COVID (LC) meet the criteria for POTS. The World Health Organization says 10–20% of people infected with COVID-19 are likely to develop long COVID. The Long Covid Survival Guide was compiled by one of the first people who was knowingly infected with COVID-19 in March of 2020 and her experience with LC. The stories of the people she interviews will make you feel less alone, and their advice from personal experience is worth adding this book to your chronic illness library.
- Divergent Mind: Thriving in a World That Wasn’t Designed for You by Jenna Nerenberg
- A bonus recommendation since this book is written for neurodivergent women and that’s such a huge overlap with the chronic illness community. Women make up nearly 80% of the chronic illness community, especially in conditions like autoimmune disease, dysautonomia, and fibromyalgia. Half of all neurodivergent adults meet the criteria for hypermobility, and dysautonomia occurs in up to 78% of people with hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. So learning about neurodiversity in women will benefit your interactions with the chronic illness community whether or not you’ve been diagnosed yourself!
Sources:
https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/clinical/how-is-pots-related-to-long-covid
https://www.who.int/europe/news-room/fact-sheets/item/post-covid-19-condition)
Sarah Rupp, Vice President