Illness Inspiration

One day, on her way to a date, Isabella Huffington gets hit by a bike. What begins as a concussion with a diagnosed recovery time of seven-to-ten days becomes more than two years of debilitating pain with no apparent end and a string of unhelpful doctor and specialist visits. In the wreckage, jobs are canceled. Leases are broken. There is no second date. What’s left is Isabella, her body, and her pain. Because the source of her pain cannot be located within the body, she is told over and over that her pain is psychosomatic. And Isabella believes it, over and over.

A beloved schoolteacher chronicles the meteoric rise of his most dazzling student in this ambitious, big-hearted work of literary fiction, perfect for fans of Nathan Hill, Susan Choi, and Tess Gunty. Mr. Keating is an extraordinary teacher: brilliant, dedicated, and possibly a few pages ahead in...

NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS’ CHOICE In this vulnerable, insightful memoir, the New York Times columnist tells the story of his five-year struggle with a disease that officially doesn’t exist, exploring the limits of modern medicine, the stories that we unexpectedly fall into, and the secrets...

In the spirit of Oliver Sacks and the inspiration for the NBC drama New Amsterdam, this memoir from a Medical Director of Bellevue Hospital looks poignantly at patients' lives, highlighting the complex mind-body connection. "As intensely involving as any scripted for a television medical drama."...

"A poetic and philosophical and brave and uplifting meditation on how important it is to make peace and meaning of our lives while we still have them.” –Elizabeth Gilbert, bestselling author of Eat Pray Love "Illuminating, unflinching and ultimately inspiring... A book to treasure.”...

Living with chronic pain and chronic illness is not an easy path in life, but we find hope with one another. Peace, Joy and Comfort is a daily meditation book written by Chronic Pain Anonymous members. The hope is that anyone impacted by chronic pain or chronic illness can find solace, inspiration, compassion, and serenity within these words. Even though we may feel lonely in our pain, we find that listening to one another's experience, strength, and hope eases our isolation. These writings help us to connect with others experiencing chronic pain and chronic illness.

In 1995, Jean-Dominique Bauby was the editor-in-chief of French Elle, the father of two young childen, a 44-year-old man known and loved for his wit, his style, and his impassioned approach to life. By the end of the year he was also the victim of a rare kind of stroke to the brainstem. After 20...

What if hope doesn’t look like healing? What if it looks like learning to live inside the storm — not in spite of it, but through it? Redefining Hope is the deeply personal story of one man’s 20-year journey with Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis (SPMS), and the unexpected grace he found along the way. When doctors first diagnosed him, he didn’t know how much would change — or how slowly. What began with quiet symptoms eventually dismantled routines, altered purpose, and forced a total reimagining of identity, marriage, and faith. This is not a clinical book. It’s not a ...

Susan Spencer-Wendel’s Until I Say Good-Bye: My Year of Living with Joy is a moving and inspirational memoir by a woman who makes the most of her final days after discovering she has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). After Spencer-Wendel, a celebrated journalist at the Palm Beach Post...

Research has shown that building resilience in the face of adversity or challenges helps children and young people develop effective coping strategies and improve long-term outcomes across a spectrum of illnesses. You Are So Much More reminds children who have gone through or are going through an illness or injury that they are indeed so much more. Trauma survivor and medical student Serena Tejpar shares a story of inspiration, reflection, and encouragement that can be listened to over and over again.

A lot of professors give talks titled 'The Last Lecture'. Professors are asked to consider their demise and to ruminate on what matters most to them: What wisdom would we impart to the world if we knew it was our last chance? If we had to vanish tomorrow, what would we want as our legacy? When...

Does life ever feel like too much—like you’re constantly getting knocked down by the trials thrown at you? Are you looking for simple ways to use the hurdles in your path to transform your life? Turning Life Into Lemonade is an inspiring tale of tragedy and triumph along the winding, and often rocky, path of life—amidst many challenges and setbacks. It follows the journey of someone who, in ten years’ time, goes through eight surgeries, being diagnosed with four rare chronic health conditions—one of them life-threatening—and the lessons learned along the way to persevere ...

A bestseller in the making, this is the true story of a unique friendship between two people who had nothing—and ultimately everything—in common. Carol Wall, a white woman living in a lily-white neighborhood in Middle America, was at a crossroads in her life. Her children were grown; she...

LESSONS LEARNED FROM A LIFE TURNED UPSIDE DOWN2nd Edition with more stories! After facing sudden loss of mobility after brain surgery to save her life, Marjorie has now regained much of her ability to walk (with support). Writing about her outings and lessons learned along the way are at the core of this story. She captures the kind of moments so many of us fail to notice while never forgetting to savor the miracle of being alive. These short meditations (liturgies) in this topical memoir invite you to take a welcome respite from a world turned upside down. The “easy walks” of the title...

You can’t choose how long you live. But you can choose how fully. At the age of 30, Guinness World Record-holding athlete Iain Ward was told he had terminal brain cancer. He didn’t crumble. He ran—literally turning his diagnosis into a global fundraising mission and personal call to arms...

A powerful memoir of overcoming adversity that will inspire you to find strength from within and shape your own destiny.Bharti Dhir faced many challenges in her childhood that could have broken her.As a baby, she was abandoned at a roadside in the Ugandan heat, and miraculously found by a...

When a lymphoma scare threatened the life of a journalist, she began a quest to find the correct medical diagnosis for the mysterious illness she'd battled for nearly 20 years. She turned to her favorite TV show, House M.D., for inspiration. She used her research skills to look for a "real life" Gregory House to give her some answers. In this brutally honest memoir, Nika Beamon reveals how she found the doctor who saved her and how you might be able to also.

When a single mother with terminal cancer asked a nurse she’d met in the oncology ward to raise her son, neither could have imagined the miracles God had in store. God Gave Me You tells the true story of how these two incredible mothers met, the immediate bond they formed, and the ups and...

Are you looking for inspiration? Living is the inspiring true story of a father of seven facing cancer with grace.

In January 2014 I was informed that I had cancer. However, Quicksand is not a book about death and destruction, but about what it means to be human. I have undertaken a journey from my childhood to the man I am today, writing about the key events in my life, and about the people who have given...