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Sunday, March 29, 2020

Weekly Inspiration: Finding a New Normal: Living Your Best Life with Chronic Illness

My new book, Finding a New Normal: Living Your Best Life with Chronic Illness, is now out in paperback (and is also still available as an e-book on all platforms), so I wanted to tell you more about it.

From the back cover:
"Whether you are in the early days of living with chronic illness or have been at it for years (or decades), there are always challenges in living a life framed by limitations and restrictions, where isolation is a common issue. This guide provides inspiration, advice on emotional coping, and guidance on living your best life with chronic illness from someone who’s been there. Though it seems impossible at first, your life will eventually settle into a new normal, and while that life may be different than the one you had planned, it can still be a vibrant, fulfilling life based on strong relationships, a healthy emotional state, and finding joy in every day. The emphasis in this book is on LIVING your life, not just enduring it."


And here is the full list of chapters:

Introduction                                                                           

Emotional Coping

Riding the Chronic Illness Rollercoaster                       
One Day at a Time                                                       
Balancing Hope and Acceptance   
What Are You Looking Forward To?            
Roll with the Punches                             
You’re Right Where You Need to Be      
Coming of Age with Chronic Illness        
How Has Chronic Illness Changed You?   
Spring Cleaning for Your Spirit          

Daily Life

Finding Joy in Every Day                    
A Plan B Day                        
The Restorative Power of Nature    
What Makes You Forget?      
Reading Expands Your World  
The Importance of Play         
Celebrate Everything, Big and Small! 
Summertime … and the Livin’ Is Easy (Or Is It?)
Travel Tips for the Chronically Ill 

Relationships

Who Do You Tell and What Do You Say? 
Staying Connected with Friends While Ill
The Hidden World of Invisible Suffering
Has Chronic Illness Turned Me into an Introvert?
The Challenges of Being a Sick Parent
When Your Child Is Chronically Ill
Living in a World Apart
Managing Family Relationships
Birds of a Feather

Improving Your Life

Where Is Your Journey Taking You?
Setting Goals When You Are Chronically Ill
The Wide World of Online Learning
Strategies and Tools for Changing Habits


Most of these chapters had their start as articles I wrote for the ProHealth website, and in many cases, I reprinted them here on the blog. However, each chapter was newly updated and improved for the book, and the whole thing was edited (by myself and by a professional editor, which was a learning experience!) so that the chapters are up-to-date, all work together, and there are no redundancies. I have pulled all of these separate pieces together into a cohesive whole, designed to help you live your best life, even with the restrictions of chronic illness. Although many of these chapters do appear here on my blog (as earlier versions), it would take a lot of work to track them all down, with 13 years' of posts here!

Ironically, since I had hoped to get the print book out a month ago, all the delays I experienced have resulted in my book being published right in the midst of this global crisis. Suddenly, everyone is dealing with solitude, isolation, and feeling disconnected (as you might have heard from friends and family on social media!) and is searching for ways to make their lives more meaningful while being so severely restricted. So, many of the topics covered in this book are suddenly and surprisingly applicable to everyone. Let's hope this new-found empathy for what we live with every day will continue after the danger of the pandemic has passed!

If you enjoy my Weekly Inspiration posts, then this book is definitely for you, packed with inspiration and practical ideas.

I hope that you and your family are managing the crisis well, though self-isolation isn't necessarily a big change for many of us (but having family members home 24/7 is). 

NOTE: If you do end up reading this book, in print or as an e-book, and get some benefit from it, please leave me a rating and/or review on whatever platform(s) you use, including Amazon, Goodreads, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, Kobo, or others. It will greatly help to get the word out so that others living with chronic illness can also find my book. Thanks!

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