Being (Sick) Enough: Thoughts on Invisible Illness, Childhood Trauma, and Living Well When Surviving is Hard

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Living well with chronic illness-wise and witty essays and advice on navigating pain, sex, trauma, spirituality, and grief from queer neurodivergent mindfulness expert Jessica Graham In an unapologetic guide to living well with chronic illness, writer and meditation coach Jessica Graham offers smart, funny, raw, and mindful insights on untangling-and embracing-the messy realities of being a human alive on this planet today. Graham gives us permission to accept care-and accept that it's ok to want care. She weaves together personal stories and practical wisdom, grounded in her queer, chronically ill, and neurodivergent identities. She offers tools on managing symptoms, setting boundaries, and healing from ableist tropes like "you don't look that sick" and "we're all a little ADHD." She shares vulnerable personal history- the adverse childhood experiences that rewired her body and brain. The workaholism and addictions that kept her pain lying just below the surface. How illness and trauma intersected to obscure knowing that we're each enough, wholly as we are. Graham also explores the parts of chronic illness life that don't get enough airtime- how can you center sex and pleasure when pain gets in the way How can we live well...while living through late-stage capitalist hell How can you come to know your pain as a spiritual teacher without falling prey to self-blame, magical thinking, or toxic positivity Wise and embodied, fearless and necessary, This Sucks is both a wild awakening and a love letter to your whole self- the pains and suffering, joys and brightness, and vital connections that hold each of us as we navigate what it means to be here, like this, right now.

Author Bio

Jessica Graham is a spiritual teacher, actor, and filmmaker. She has been teaching meditation since 2009. She is a contributing editor of the meditation blog Deconstructing Yourself, in which her popular series "Mindful Sex" appears. Graham co-founded Los Angeles' The Eastside Mindfulness Collective, dedicated to exploring secular spirituality through mindful living and learning. Her book, Good Sex was published in 2017. Originally from Philadelphia, Jessica now lives in Los Angeles. Visit Jessica at yourwildawakening.com.