Radical Self-Care When You Are Ill – Book

What's In the Book?

This book is not about illness. It is about restoring your well-being during and throughout illness. It is about thriving and living a good life despite feeling ill.

Four Main Sections

The book, containing 52 wide-ranging self-care skills, is divided into four main sections:

Emotional Self-Care. Skills that help you be more aware of how your illness is impacted by stress, your thought patterns, as well as your past, and that then help you set your intention and shift your thoughts and feelings to promote radical self-care and healing.

Physical Self-Care. Skills that help you deal effectively with the medical community; gather a positive healing team; cope with and shift pain; eat, sleep and move to take extreme care of yourself; rest when you are tired and use mindfulness and nature to help your body relax to foster healing.

Mind-Body-Spirit Self-Care. Skills to help you find ways to be of service; to strengthen your social support system; to solidify your reasons for getting well and to tap into the power of your spiritual beliefs and divine love to enlist the aid of a higher power to access unconditional love and healing.

Mindful Affirmations for Healing. Positive affirmations that reinforce the other skills in the card deck by providing practice shifting mindset, emotions and behavior to help improve self-care and to allow healing. These help you stay laser focused on self-care and healing.

Each one-page skill is accompanied by a one-page description that gives background information about the skill and how to use it.  A downloadable worksheet is provided for you to record your answers as directed by many of the skills.  The worksheet helps you stay organized and focused on self-care. When you have completed the skills, your worksheet will be a valuable reminder of the work you accomplished.

Three free online audio meditations accompany the skills in this book.

From Author’s Personal Journey

This book was born out of the author’s personal healing journey and her life’s work as a psychotherapist, speaker and author. She had been ill with mysterious symptoms that doctors couldn’t figure out, diagnose or effectively treat for more than 15 years. Eventually she was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Leaky Gut and Chemical Sensitivities. She found a variety of traditional and alternative treatments that gradually helped. Incorporating mindfulness and meditation into her daily life and learning about the power of our thoughts and divine connection in creating well-being were central components of her healing.

The skills provided were learned the hard way through the author’s own healing journey. She developed these skills while helping clients with illness (both physical and emotional) in her 25-year psychotherapy private practice, teaching workshops, poring through the research and studying with leading experts on a wide variety of topics related to all aspects of healing. They are evidence-based, clinically tested skills you can use every day to learn and incorporate radical self-care to help you restore your physical, emotional and spiritual well-being when you are experiencing illness.

What readers are saying:

What I love most about this book is its holistic approach. The author combines self-care strategies with affirmations that resonate deeply, encouraging a mindset shift that fosters healing and resilience. The exercises are easy to implement, making self-care feel attainable, even on the hardest days.

The layout is reader-friendly, and the writing style is warm and encouraging, making it a pleasure to read. Whether you’re dealing with a chronic illness or just need a reminder to take care of yourself, this book is a must-have. It’s not just a read; it’s a transformative experience that promotes self-love and healing. Highly recommend for anyone looking to restore their well-being! Amanda W., LPC

“I found many helpful ideas to guide myself into a better place. Dealing with chronic illness is hard, and these skills are a great tool. They can really help shift a bad day into a better one.” Jennifer L.

“These skills always give me a different perspective when I put the suggestions they give me into practice. Makes me feel a lot better.” Lori N.

“This book, Radical Self Care When You Are Ill, is a lovely, gentle and supportive way to help. It teaches important skills that calm emotions; it also teaches new behaviors that can restore well-being.” Shari J.

"Author provides an impressive lineup of skills, advice and action steps for the reader, wisely structured by the self-care steps that would pop up organically. The reader is encountering insights and challenges just as the author presents them, providing organization and ultimate usefulness. It's a relief when the author obviously knows where you are in your experience and healing path (and also where you are headed.) Author gives the reader that reliable hand hold. Well done. The short segments also help by creating a swift pace, concisely written and packed with action steps.

The author has a good instinct for structuring these action steps and wisdom bites. We encounter a nice collection of easy-to-use steps to help the reader take care while in the maelstrom of illness and then step carefully along the path of moving toward improved well-being. Topic appeal is excellent, opening these smart steps up to a wide audience since so many people have illness, injury and pain to heal. It helps readers to feel heard and understood while they're in their process." Writer's Digest 2024 Competition Reviewer

"Radical Self-Care When You Are Ill: 52 Skills and Affirmations to Help You Restore Your Well-Being" is an absolute gem! This book is a compassionate guide that offers practical and accessible tools for anyone navigating the challenges of illness. Each chapter presents a unique skill or affirmation, beautifully crafted to empower readers to prioritize their well-being during tough times.

This book is full of physical, emotional, as well as mind-body-spirit self-care skills. It also contains beautiful affirmations. These strategies are often overlooked and can be the missing piece in supporting chronic conditions. They are easy to put into practice and insightfully written. These simple skills are suggested to be followed at a pace that is very comfortable. I am so grateful for this book and I highly recommend it. Amazon Reader

I highly recommend this publication! The author is incredibly knowledgeable, and her insight is exceptional. I have all her books in my “must keep” book cabinet. Robin R.

I liked that this book included 52 different tools and ideas for healing. My goal is to use this book and use one idea per week, which will be 52 weeks for the year. I am encouraged by the way this book treats the whole person and not just the physical and medical aspects of illness. Also, I have found the suggestions about healing mentally and spiritually very helpful. A great tool for yourself or when caring for a loved one as well. Kindle Reader

As a pastor I find this book an excellent resource in helping folks navigate illness. Pastor W.