Happy October! This is my first year entering the #FallWritingFrenzy competition. I found out about it from a fellow picture book critique partner who kindly shared it with our writing group. For the last couple of months, I found myself in sort of a writing rut (even though I was revising current picture books and thinking of new ideas) and everyday life burnout. To be honest, I wasn’t sure if I had it in me to even be up for this writing contest. But maybe it was the end of mercury retrograde or some much-needed TLC before deciding on a photo (after staring at the several options f ..read more

If you live with arthritis, you can probably attest that it’s quite a journey. I realized rather quickly when I made my own social media accounts and started raising arthritis awareness again- after a seven-year hiatus- how similar people’s stories were to mine. Although, there were a lot of differences as well. It was within that space of not being able to relate to someone or not being knowledgeable about what was being shared- that I either learned something valuable for my own healing or had new information at my fingertips for future use if I needed it. When I started sharing this book ..read more

LAURA Hello there! My name is Laura Miller, and I am a dancer in Orlando, Florida. I dance full-time in the Marilyn Monroe show at Universal Studios and have done various dance and stilt walking jobs at Disney, SeaWorld, Busch Garden, and other shows. As a dancer who comes from a sports background, my body has always done what I needed it to do. However, that has not been the case recently. At the beginning of this year, I started getting some strange symptoms. I was experiencing tingling in my hands, feet, and face, itchy bottoms of my feet (that was an odd one), and the feeling that the ..read more

SURUTHI Hi everyone! My name is Suruthi, I’m 22 and recently graduated with a Master’s in Chemistry! I’ve had JIA since I was 3 but didn’t really understand my condition until I was older. I sort of had to though, so I could explain it to others when they would tell me I’m “too young to have arthritis” or that it was “a grandma condition.” As I kept getting these comments, including some a lot crueler than the ones mentioned, I wondered if I was alone. Starting my Instagram page allowed me to connect with so many other beautiful people with chronic illnesses and feel heard and seen. I hope t ..read more

Today marks my 17th RAnniversary (a phrase used by a fellow rheumatoid arthritis warrior in an essay about her 20-year journey with this unrelenting chronic illness. See link below). Some people may think it’s odd to coin this time of my life as an anniversary, or anything to be celebrated. But I am proud of how far I have come on my journey filled with challenging downs and adversity. The resiliency and perseverance are worth celebrating. Life is worth celebrating. Because when chronic illness is thrown into the recipe, we call life, it forces you to look at your lack of immortality. As ..read more

I am not Oprah, and this isn’t a list of my favorite things. Well, kind of. But I’m just a girl who happens to 1) live with a chronic illness 2) considers herself to be a quite thoughtful exceptional gift-giver. So, I have curated a list of 12 fun, uplifting, and comforting items for yourself, those living with a chronic illness or not. We can all use some good vibes and support as we head into this holiday season and New Year! *The first six products and companies were mentioned in my YouTube video. I am not sponsored by any of these, nor do I get any income via affiliate links. This is a l ..read more

To help amplify the voices of diverse authors, I have curated a list of children’s books from the author community. If you have missed Part 1 of this article series, make sure you check out other children’s books from picture books, middle grade and young adult here. Santa Claus Meets the Tooth Fairy What happens when a child loses a tooth on Christmas Eve? Can a tooth be put under the pillow for the Tooth Fairy even though Santa is expected that same night? This question is answered through the experience of six-year-old Amanda who has this very problem upon losing her first tooth. Amanda’s ..read more

  Karol Ruth Silverstein   Greetings everyone! I’m Karol and I’m an Arthritis Warrior. I was diagnosed with JRA at 13 and was on “aspirin therapy” (sometimes taking as many as 18 aspirins a day!) for years. I was a stubborn, angry teenager and didn’t take very good care of my body. I didn’t meet another young person with arthritis until I was in rehab following my first joint replacement surgery at 21. That’s when I crossed the threshold from having a chronic illness to having a disability, and I’ve identified as disabled ever since. Embracing being disabled was oddly empowerin ..read more

With so many drastic changes taking place in the world as of late, it can be hard not to think of what has transpired as catastrophic. But if we take a moment to look past the challenges and obstacles, we will see that this moment in history has shined a light on various aspects of our everyday existence where more work needs to be done. One of these is the awareness that marginalized voices– those people who are LGBT+, women, people of color, those with disabilities, and many more whose voices have either been silenced or talked over, deserve to be listened to and understood just like ..read more

These arthritis stories by a self-taught acrylic painter, an occupational therapist, a yoga instructor, and more will help you stay positive, inspired, empowered, and motivated to not let this disease define you. Pattie My name is Pattie and I have just turned 40 years old, and I am just now pursuing a career as a painter, which I never thought in a million years I could do. I didn’t even know I could paint up until a few months ago when I picked up a paintbrush and began painting pretty decent portraits. I’ve always had a creative spirit, and after spending many years bedridden with RA ..read more