A review by cass_cgallegos
The Invisible Kingdom: Reimagining Chronic Illness by Meghan O'Rourke

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

As a chronically ill person, I’m aware that others experience the loneliness, confusion, fear, and grief that I do. But knowing that I’m not the only one feeling these things doesn’t help me feel them less and it doesn’t make them easier to feel. However, this book lifted the burden just a little bit. Chronic illness is, as Meghan puts it, shit. Some days are better than others, but none of my days will ever be what I imagined for my life when I was a child. The honesty and chaos and refusal to make her pain palatable was so refreshing. Chronically ill people are so often expected to bear their illness with grace, and for what? So we can suffer in silence? Absolutely not. Meghan gave voice to everything that surrounds chronic illness and didn’t try to make it something it isn’t. It doesn’t have to mean anything and there doesn’t have to be a purpose. I think I’ve been needing to hear that for a very long time.