There is so much that I loved about this memoir. It’s fast-paced and takes the form of a series of diary entries that are written in the present tense which gives the narrative an almost fictional feel right from page one. The writing is straightforward and concise yet incredibly descriptive which creates a good contrast with the intensity of the subject matter. Hill’s writing made it incredibly easy to storm through this read despite how difficult it was at times to read about the intimate details of another person’s thoughts and feelings, especially when the majority of those feelings relate to an intense struggle to stay positive whilst living with a chronic illness. The raw emotion that fills every page of this memoir makes it impossible to read without feeling deeply all of the moments of misery and despair as well as feeling all of Hill’s personal triumphs. I also found it impossible to read this book without acknowledging my ignorance when it comes to invisible chronic illnesses and the sort of experiences that people have to endure. Hill also does an amazing job of shedding light on the lives of caregivers and all that they do, something else that is so important yet isn’t something that is talked about enough.

The only critique of this memoir that I could come up with is that sometimes I found that the way the memoir is written made me forget I was actually reading a factual piece of writing and not a fictional story just because of how detailed and action-packed it is. I don’t actually consider this to be a personal criticism—I actually really enjoyed Hill’s writing style and how much it reminded me of fiction—but it might be something to keep in mind if you’re a big nonfiction lover and have quite different and particular preferences when it comes to choosing your reads.

*I received an advance review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.*

 
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