One of the most defining aspects of living with an invisible illness or disability is its accompanying isolation. That your suffering is not seeable—and thus, seemingly less real or impactful—means people in your life often struggle to understand, believe, or empathize with your needs. Even worse, others will often directly accuse you of lying or dramatizing your symptoms, needing to invent some excuse to dismiss your pain so they can avoid grappling with the random, pervasive ways disability impacts us all. And because of the unidentifiable nature of invisible illness, it’s easy to feel alone in a sea of abled bodies, making it challenging to build community with other chronically ill and disabled people.
That’s why it’s so important that the publishing industry has recently started supporting chronically ill and disabled writers in sharing their stories. In the books that follow, writers with a variety of diseases and conditions depict the multiplicity of experiences that come with living with an invisible illness or disability. In doing so, they offer personal insights and unique perspectives that finally give voice to a group of people that has been ignored for too long.
None of them stand as the definitive example of invisible illness—because no one book can—but they can act as a source of guidance, relief, and solidarity for those of us living with illnesses and disabilities that are not readily apparent. And for those who do not yet know illness or disability, allow these books to challenge your misconceptions about the complexities of living with invisible conditions.
What Doesn’t Kill You: A Life with Chronic Illness — Lessons from a Body in Revolt by Tessa Miller
Detailing the cultural stigma and isolation surrounding chronic illness, What Doesn’t Kill You is a moving memoir about Miller’s journey living with Crohn’s disease, an incurable form of inflammatory bowel disease. A journalist, Miller weaves together research and resources with personal narrative to advocate for a greater understanding of chronic illness and disability. If you’re looking for useful guidance, touching solidarity, and beautiful writing, start with this book.
Seven Days in June by Tia Williams
Seven Days in June is a fun, yet complex romance novel that follows two Black writers: Eva Mercy, a successful erotica writer and single mother who lives with chronic migraines, and Shane Hall, a reclusive and acclaimed novelist. The pair unexpectedly reunite at a literary event fifteen years after developing an intense connection as teenagers, and over seven summer days, they embark on a renewed romance while navigating buried trauma and unresolved emotions. Although the romance genre is steadily diversifying, there are still very few chronically ill or disabled heroines. Williams brings awareness to the intersectionality of race and disability and counters the stereotype of disabled women as pitiable and sexless by depicting Eva and her invisible disability in a refreshingly developed and integrated way.
Vagina Problems: Endometriosis, Painful Sex, and Other Taboo Topics by Lara Parker
Illustrating the extensive personal and economic costs of living with an invisible illness, Vagina Problems candidly shares Parker’s years-long journey navigating chronic pain caused by endometriosis, pelvic floor dysfunction, and vaginismus, among other things. Shaped by the profound trauma of being repeatedly misdiagnosed and dismissed by doctors, Parker sheds light not only on the challenges faced by women seeking accurate diagnosis and treatment for endometriosis but also on the deep toll chronic pain can have on one’s relationships, career, and mental health.
The Invisible Kingdom: Reimagining Chronic Illness by Meghan O’Rourke
Mixing memoir with scientific and philosophical inquiry, The Invisible Kingdom investigates the rise of chronic illness and autoimmune diseases with an eye toward their disproportionate impact on women. Set against the backdrop of living for years without answers about the cause of her debilitating symptoms from Lyme disease, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, and eventually, long COVID, her investigation highlights the systemic failures of the medical establishment in recognizing and treating conditions that defy easy diagnosis. By including her narrative, O’Rourke brings a needed humanity and personal solicitude to the challenges imposed by an unseeable illness: “In retrospect,” she writes, “it is painfully clear that the invisibility of my illness was one of the most challenging parts of my suffering, wearing my silence down over time… the near total absence of recognition of how sick I was confounded me: it rendered my suffering meaningless.”
Life on Delay: Making Peace With A Stutter by John Hendrickson
Stemming from a viral essay Hendrickson wrote in 2019 about then-candidate Joe Biden’s stutter, Life on Delay is an essential memoir that delves into the intersection of masculinity and disability by way of Hendrickson’s lifelong stutter. It offers an unfiltered glimpse into the daily struggles of living with a speech disorder as Hendrickson shares his experience of being bullied, substance abuse, depression, and isolation. Simultaneously humorous and emotionally crushing, this book is a testament to the power of self-acceptance.
Sex With a Brain Injury: On Concussion and Recovery by Annie Liontas
In Sex With a Brain Injury, Liontas shares her experience of enduring multiple concussions in her thirties, highlighting the effects invisible disabilities can have on our closest relationships. Intertwining personal narrative with historical and cultural analysis, this memoir explores the intersection of disability, mental health, and queerness.
Weightless: Making Space for My Resilient Body and Soul by Evette Dionne
A compelling, gratifying exploration of the experience of fat Black women, Weightless braids memoir with cultural criticism to poignantly analyze the treatment of bodies, race, and gender in American society. Dionne sheds light on the pervasive biases faced by fat women, especially by the medical industry, through a series of insightful essays that detail her journey from facing fatphobic harassment as a child to receiving a diagnosis of heart failure and pulmonary hypertension at age twenty-nine. Challenging readers to confront how their own biases are shaped by often harmful societal norms, Dionne unflinchingly depicts the reality of how being a fat Black woman shapes the experience of having an invisible disability.
Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories From The Twenty-First Century edited by Alice Wong
Disability Visibility is a groundbreaking anthology that brings together a wide array of disabled writers to challenge societal stereotypes about disability and advocate for disability justice, representation, and inclusion. Although it doesn’t exclusively explore invisible disabilities, it is the perfect companion for chronically ill people in search of a wider community and for able-bodied people looking to understand the plethora of disabled experiences.
The Night Parade: A Speculative Memoir by Jami Nakamura Lin
Structured around Japanese, Taiwanese, and Okinawan folklore, The Night Parade explores Lin’s undiagnosed bipolar disorder and losing her father to cancer within the themes of mental illness, grief, family, and cultural mythology. Lin blends the supernatural with the deeply personal to offer readers a unique perspective on the complexities of invisible illness and its broader place within the human condition.
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