I read this book two months after being diagnosed with Ankylosing Spondylitis, the same disease as author Juliette Wills. I love Juliette’s writing style- I chuckled at her witty and quirky spirit throughout the book, and I thoroughly appreciated her honesty and transparency in regard to some very difficult moments. I hoped this book would give me some insight on the new journey I was on, and maybe help me figure out how to better explain my AS to other people in my life.
Wills details her fight against both Ankylosing Spondylitis and Ulcerative Colitis, and there were honestly times while I was reading that I started thinking “is this what will happen to me someday?” Being newly diagnosed I was kind of frightened, and more than once wondered if I had made a mistake by choosing to read the story of someone who started out like me but faced such sad and serious realities of these diseases. Fortunately, among the tears and sadness, Wills prevailed, and there were always bright spells to follow the storms.
I laughed and cried while reading this book, but her story was truly inspirational. To see someone face so much s#%t and still prevail made me feel optimistic about my situation as well, and helped me to really want to maintain a positive outlook. I would absolutely recommend this book to others facing invisible illness (or to their family and friends); at times Juliette paints a scary picture, but you can’t help but see her as superwoman for how she handles it all.
