atokuyama's review

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emotional informative reflective fast-paced

5.0


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rockyroadbutch's review

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emotional hopeful informative inspiring medium-paced

4.75


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bookishpip's review

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challenging emotional informative inspiring sad slow-paced

4.0

I was really excited to read this book - I’d never heard of any memoirs that detail life with IBD, a condition that I have and have struggled with deeply in the past few months. Being mid-flare up and being off work for a few months with IBD, I couldn’t think of a more perfect time to read this.

I expected that the book would resonate, but I didn’t anticipate how much. There were so many nuances and intimacies of my own life that paralleled in ways that I didn’t expect - for example, basing my identity around her career, being profoundly impacted by the loss of her father, and the daily mental hurdles that accompany the physical ones. As a result, this book has had a profound impact on me. 

The reason I’ve given this 4* rather than 5, is because I feel that, at the start especially, the book oscillated dramatically between being a memoir, a self-help guide, and an essay critiquing the American healthcare system, which made it harder to follow. Also, large sections of this book are very specific to experiences within the US. This in itself isn’t a bad thing - the author does a great job of reminding the reader that her experiences are rooted within just that, HER experiences as a white, thin, cisgender woman living in America. But it did mean that, as someone not living in the US, large sections devoted to teaching the reader about how to apply for insurance didn’t apply. (But I’ve never been more thankful to have the NHS!)

Overall, I’d love for everyone to read this. This book was validating in so many ways to me as a chronically unwell person, and I think healthy folks could learn a lot about our experiences in these pages.

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laurenkimoto's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful sad slow-paced

4.0

Why isn’t heart wrenching an option for the mood of the book??

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internationalreads's review

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective fast-paced

5.0


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wickedgrumpy's review

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emotional hopeful informative reflective slow-paced

3.0

I find myself torn about this book.

I think the thing that frustrates me is that the intended audience switches between the chronically ill, those who are close to chronically ill people, and anyone who is curious about what it's like to live with chronical illness.  To me, that is too broad of a scope.  Since I fit into the first category, I find myself irked when the tone shifts to address the others.

That is to say, it's partly a memoir, partly a self help book, and partly reference material.  I do think that there are some parts that are beneficial and good, but there are others that are so bizarre that I struggled to finish it.  Also, reading it might be a triggering experience.

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gracegeeks's review

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emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

5.0


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imstephtacular's review

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dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.0


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kennyrae89's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful informative medium-paced

4.0

Great book to read for people dealing with chronic illness. 

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readalongwithnat's review against another edition

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informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

I received a free ARC from Henry Holt Books in exchange for my honest review.

This was one of my most anticipated books of the year and it did not disappoint. My chronic illness differs from Tessa's, but I still found this book to be incredibly relatable. I also liked how it was part memoir and part educational. I want everyone in my life to read this so they can better understand living with a chronic illness.

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