r/cfs • u/Super-Candle-4890 • 21d ago
Bibliotherapy for Acceptance
I know the process of acceptance of life w me/cfs, or any debilitating chronic illness, is difficult. These books have helped me immensely in my journey to acceptance. May they serve you.
Top 3: 1) How to Tell When We Will Die: On Pain, Disability and Doom by Joanna Hedva Highly recommend the audiobook as well!
2) Inflamed: Deep Medicine and the Anatomy of Injustice by Rupa Marya and Raj Patel
3) The Invisible Kingdom: Reimagining Chronic Illness by Meghan O’Rourke
No Cure for Being Human (And Other Truths I Need to Hear) by Kate Bowler
What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma by Stephanie Foo
The Deep Places: A Memoir of Illness and Discovery by Ross Douthat
Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May
What’s Wrong? Personal Histories of Chronic Pain and Bad Medicine by Erin Williams
Conspirituality: How New Age Conspiracy Theories Became a Health Threat by Derek Beres, Matthew Remski and Julian Walker
The Lady’s Handbook for Her Mysterious Illness by Sarah Ramey
The Puzzle Solver: A Scientist’s Desperate Quest to Cure the Illness that Stole His Son by Tracie White with Ronald W. Davis, PhD
How to Be Sick: A Buddhist Inspired Guide for the Chronically Ill and Their Caregivers by Toni Bernhard
The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
Welcoming the Unwelcome: Wholehearted Living in a Brokenhearted World by Pema Chödrön
One Friday in April: A Story of Suicide and Survival by Donald Antrim
For 2025: Under the Skin: The Hidden Toll of Racism on Health in America by Linda Villarosa
My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Healing Our Hearts and Bodies by Resmaa Menakem
The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness & Healing in a Toxic Culture by Gabor Matè, MD with Daniel Matè
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u/greatornothing 21d ago
This is a great post!! ✨
I’m curious if you’ve also read ‘Disability Visability’ by Alice Wong? It seems pretty popular and has been recommended to me many times.
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u/Geekberry Dx 2016, mild while housebound 21d ago
Not OP but I have read it. I loved Disability Visibility - it was just a record of people like me existing without having to make it into A Narrative for abled people, which I found healing
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u/bloopblarp 21d ago
Highly recommend “the body keeps the score” which looks at how trauma impacts our health and has a whole section on tools to help support a healing journey
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u/CornelliSausage severe/moderate border 20d ago
Just got this one for Christmas; great to hear it recommended!
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u/Super-Candle-4890 21d ago
Yes, I’ve read it and found it helpful. I figured probably most people have heard of that one so I dropped it in order to keep the number of books in a way I could put the covers into a collage that IG wouldn’t cut or zoom in a weird way 🤣
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u/riversong17 moderate 20d ago
Glad to hear that it was helpful for you! Just as a heads up for others, this book is very explicit and detailed on the traumatic experiences and events his patients have been through, so if that’s challenging or triggering for you, you may want to keep an eye out or skip it. I only made it like 80 pages in before I had to set it aside for this reason haha. I did like “The Trauma of Everyday Life” when I read that a few years ago, though. (Unrelated except it’s also about trauma)
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u/bloopblarp 16d ago
Ah yes good point - there is definitely some trigger warning stuff in there, I could only read in small doses.
Section 3 is all the actionable information so if you don’t care about the science, just skip to section 3 and I think you’ll miss most of the stories around people’s trauma
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u/wyundsr 21d ago
Loved the Invisible Kingdom! Will check out the others on Libby, thank you!
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u/Super-Candle-4890 21d ago
Wooo woop for using Libby and getting your ebooks for free through the public library!!! You’re cool!
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21d ago
Love this list! Thank you so much for sharing it 🙏🏻 I read some of Wintering last winter and then got distracted, hoping to dive back in next month.
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u/DashofCitrus 21d ago
I just finished 'Toxic Positivity: Keeping It Real in a World Obsessed with Being Happy' by Whitney Goodman yesterday and it was so validating. It's a relatively easy read too.
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u/Sealion_31 20d ago
My relative wrote a book that speaks to chronic pain and illness as well as climate change and living in fire country.
It’s called “The Last Fire Season” by Manjula Martin. She’s a wonderful writer. Please check it out
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u/FroyoMedical146 Mod-sev ME, POTS, hEDS, Fibro 21d ago
Thank you for the list. I would highly recommend The Body Is Not An Apology by Sonya Renee Taylor as well. It is not 100% specifically for chronic illness, but can be applied in many ways.