We need more of this!

Sometimes a book is everything you want. I’ve been searching for a book like this, and have never found it in all these years. The requirements were quite simple: a book where chronic illness is presented as normal, nothing more, nothing less. No heroic teenager who bravely fights on and inspires other people, no one dying as a plot point, no one gets healed as a reward for saving the world, no disappearing illness only to suddenly come back as plot point.

And really, while it was a big issue as you have to live with it every single freaking day, this wasn’t a book about chronic illness. It is a book about first love and complications and friendships and insecurities and flawed parents, basically a book about life. MY LIFE. Ok, my illness is different of course (And since naturally you’re curious, I have collected these: ME, POTS, Lyme and other chronic infections, MCAS, probably some autoimmunity, unknown genetic muscle disease). But we have one thing in common: we’re as tired as can be and there’s always pain. We’re really good at faking normal lives and collapse when no one sees us. Doctors don’t help at all because they think you’re faking it. Friends don’t really know what’s going on because you think they grow tired of you if you tell them how shitty you feel all the time.

Guess what: this book will make you see. And it will open your eyes. And the best part? No one dies. If you know someone with a chronic illness, please pick up this book! I promise it’s not preachy and illness isn’t the main theme, it’s about life and love and the writing style is amazing and you will fall in love with Sasha and Isabel, just like your normal contemporary book BUT BETTER.

I know this is kinda a weird review, but it’s the only thing I can write right now. I need like 300 sequels to this book or maybe just 300 books that have this amazing chronic illness rep. And I really want to hug Hannah Moskowitz for getting it all right.