Through the Shadowlands

A Science Writer's Odyssey into an Illness Science Doesn't Understand

By: Julie Rehmeyer

Narrated by: Julie Rehmeyer

Julie Rehmeyer felt like she was going to the desert to die.

Julie fully expected to be breathing at the end of the trip - but driving into Death Valley felt like giving up, surrendering. She'd spent years battling a mysterious illness so extreme that she often couldn't turn over in her bed. The top specialists in the world were powerless to help, and research on her disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, was at a near standstill.

Having exhausted the plausible ideas, Julie turned to an implausible one. Going against both her instincts and her training as a science journalist and mathematician, she followed the advice of strangers she'd met on the Internet. Their theory - that mold in her home and possessions was making her sick - struck her as wacky pseudoscience. But they had recovered from chronic fatigue syndrome as severe as hers.

To test the theory that toxic mold was making her sick, Julie drove into the desert alone, leaving behind everything she owned. She wasn't even certain she was well enough to take care of herself once she was there. She felt stripped not only of the life she'd known, but any future she could imagine.

With only her scientific savvy, investigative journalism skills, and dog, Frances, to rely on, Julie carved out her own path to wellness - and uncovered how shocking scientific neglect and misconduct had forced her and millions of others to go it alone. In stunning prose, she describes how her illness transformed her understanding of science, medicine, and spirituality. Through the Shadowlands brings scientific authority to a misunderstood disease and spins an incredible and compelling story of tenacity, resourcefulness, acceptance, and love.

©2017 Julie Rehmeyer (P)2017 Julie Rehmeyer

Great writing & voice - applies to so many of us without easily definable illness

Thank you, Julie, for your wisdom, passion and honest voice. As a post concussion syndrome person who doctors can’t seem to help at all, it was inspirational to hear your journey.
So well written.

Fast Listen, Well-Balanced for Target Audience

Author drones on in some segments but her humorous voiceovers make up for that. Account of romantic life a bit too personal. But appreciate her attempt at an in-depth, unbiased appraisal of her avoidance experience and the patient community, especially the "moldies." There's enough self-critique, skepticism, and emphasis that what helped her was not a total cure (unfortunately), may not work for everyone, and isn't a viable choice for most ME/CFS patients. She also tries her best to put some science behind the mold and sick-building correlation, but finds few experts willing to follow, likely fearing reputational and legal assault from the construction and insurance industries.

Gives me a whole new respect for patients w this

As a physician I have come across many of these cases throughout my career and they are admittingly difficult. this book helps me as a physician to understand what some of these people are going through and I found it immensely helpful thank you for your work Julie! Johnathan Edwards M.D.

I feel seen with MECFS!

As someone with MECFS who went 23 long years with no diagnosis, this story feels so relatable and rich. Our lives don’t just consist of our medical injuries and neglect and the horrors of our disease. We have lives that suffer, friends, loves, careers, talents that lay dormant, dreams unrealized, and so much more.

Julie is a wonderful story teller. So generous with her gift of pulling back the curtain in all the areas of her life threading this terrible disease that runs all the way through. I really related to the dreams unrealized and was inspired by the love story that still amazingly showed up against all odds.

It was so meaningful to hear Julie’s voice. I know what it took for her to narrate her own story. The sacrifices made to save up the energy. Thank you for this beautiful gift. I found her narration to be better than most professional narrators.

Her ability to move from complex science to exploring the spiritual side of our journey with depth, humility, and openness is beautiful.

I particularly loved the Berkeley references as a kid from Berkeley.

Julie is a beloved member of our community and I’m so grateful I had to spoons to finally listen to this wonderful book.

If you have a chronic illness, I believe you’ll see yourself in these pages along with experiencing ahas to help you on your journey. This is a book we can share with loved ones so they can catch a glimpse of our lives behind the curtain into. To understand the fight we’ve been in with little to no support, especially from the medical world.

If you’re looking for specifics on mold illness and MECFS, you’ll find a lot of useful information here.

To be seen and to have someone bear witness to our suffering is an incredibly healing experience. I found that in this book. We are not alone, even if our days can feel like that.

I felt less alone in dealing with my own illness

I am not diagnosed with anything specifically yet, But I definitely have some chronic issues going on. I listened to Julie read her book over the past few weeks (almost exclusively during a fatigue, dizziness, or migraine episode of my own).

Her courage to become her own advocate when there seemed to be no logical answers for what she was going through has encouraged me to become more of an advocate for myself, as I strive to find what might be ailing me, And how I can best live my life in spite of it.