This memoir is for people dealing with a chronic illness, and particularly endometriosis. I really appreciated this memoir for what it provided, but I did feel like it sometimes came so close to putting Dimyan's experience into a broader context and it would dip into that, before pulling back. And while I appreciated Dimyan being very careful not to ever suggest that what worked for her to get her endo under control would work for others, I did sometimes wish for some more broad commentary. Ultimately though, I appreciated the vulnerability and the realness that Dimyan shared. I would read from her again. She did a great job narrating her own memoir, too.

This book was good! I liked the characters and the setting. The author writes good too!!
I hope to read more by this author in the future! Looking forward to it!

Following the author’s journey through her endometriosis suffering and diagnosis, this memoir is a tribute to the chronic pain that women are made to endure because of the lack of knowledge and conversation on the topic.

I think it’s endo week in my reading journey, and this couldn’t have better timing. While my own menstrual pain and bleeding is severe, I haven’t had the surgery required to diagnose endometriosis. However, I do feel the lack of understanding from western medicine surrounding menstruation in general. “Take the pill, that’ll fix it”, “try taking Aleve next time”, or “everything came back normal” are sentiments I hear frequently as a person with a uterus navigating healthcare.

I appreciated hearing Rebecca’s journey through it, and felt her frustrations as I listened. I feel such kinship for the experiences presented, and rage for those who dismiss and diminish the lived experience of endo warriors like her. Pain is not normal - should never be considered normal - and the fact that studies on menstruation are so few and far between is horrifying.

I haven’t yet pursued naturopathy or much eastern medicine - though I think I’m sick of waiting endlessly for specialists to even accept me as a patient - but I appreciate the acknowledgment of what helped Rebecca find relief. I am a big believer in acupuncture and the relief it has given me from fibromyalgia, so I am ready to look into my own journey.

For those who suffer alongside, or who want to better understand those who do, this is a great resource. Her passion is evident, and Rebecca’s writing is fantastic. So is the narrator!

For any woman who has suffered a life of pain, heartbreak, anxiety, and depression from endometriosis, you must read this book!

This book validated all the feelings I have had for almost 2 decades. The descriptions this author gives of her accounts absolutely resonated with me. I cried so much with this book but also took away so much from it on alternative treatments.

Thank you, Rebecca, for giving us endometriosis warriors a voice! Bravo!

Thank you, NetGalley and Rebecca Dimyan for my advanced listening book. #Chronic #NetGalley

*I received a copy of this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this opportunity*

CHRONIC is the raw and vulnerable memoir of Rebecca Dimyan. Part non-fiction health guide, and part memoir, Dimyan delves deeply into her experiences with substance abuse, sexual assault, body image issues, chronic pain, and her treatment by western medicine institutions. At its core, CHRONIC is about a woman and how her life has been shaped by endometriosis. Starting from her first menstruation, Dimyan describes the heartbreaking reality of the dismissal of women's pain and her journey to find treatment for her crippling pain.

As a women's health nurse, I nearly always pick up memoirs written by either fellow nurses, or women who are writing about their experiences as patient's. CHRONIC falls into the latter, I was heartbroken to read about Dimyan's experiences in doctor's offices and hospitals-- and believe, while no patient should be dismissed as she was, her story is not unusual.

It's clear when reading certain sections (the health guide parts) that Dimyan did her research, and was very clear that treatment (especially with eastern medicine) should be tailored to the individual with help of a professional. I appreciated her thoroughness and the resources she provided readers-- and believe this book could be a good place for readers to begin their research. CHRONIC is approachable, relatable, and informative; exactly what, I believe, Dimyan was aiming for.

CHRONIC would be a great choice for anyone recently diagnosed with, or wondering if the have, endometriosis. However, this book may also be a good choice for anyone struggling with chronic pain and considering eastern medicine as an alternative or complementary treatment.

Chronic: A Memoir by Rebecca Dimyan
Narrated by Devon Sorvari
Publisher: HighBridge Audio
Genre: Biographies & Memoirs, Health, Mind & Body, Nonfiction (Adult)
Published: June 6, 2023

Chronic: A Memoir by Rebecca Dimyan is the book I didn't know I NEEDED to read right now.

Chronic is the author's experience with endometriosis, life, and the medical community in the United States. The author is very candid about her experience and is so relatable. I felt as if she was telling parts of my own health story.

I'm so grateful to have read this book. For years I have struggled with pain that has no known cause and have been told by doctors that "pain is not a symptom" because their tests don't show any reason. This book provided some great alternative medicine resources that I'll be pursuing to help me get my life back!

The narration by Devon Sorvari was absolutely wonderful!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

In this memoir, Rebecca Dimyan offers up an honest, reflective, and raw recounting of her experience managing chronic pain as well as growing up. We're offered a look into her past and Dimyan shows us how she's grown throughout her years of self-discovery. Dimyan describes a very personal experience early on and this openness is what had me impatiently flying through the rest of the story. I also appreciate Dimyan's balance between critiquing Western medicine and acknowledging where it has been helpful for her and could help others. This book is a must-read for anyone suffering from chronic pain and looking for someone who understands the experience of not being heard or believed.

An honest story of the author's experience with endometriosis. This will be relatable for most women who have experienced gaslighting from the medical industry. Women who have a chronic illness will find much of it relatable. It takes too long to receive a diagnosis and to be believed by doctors. The author is raw and open about her story. I fear some will use this as an excuse to dismiss western medicine instead of a story that can be taken and understood.

Thank you NetGalley for the chance to listen to this memoir, Chronic by Rebecca Dimyan.
In Chronic, Dimyan shares her story of living with endometriosis. She bares the painful realities of what it feels like, and how it affects all aspects in a woman's life. While I don't suffer from endometriosis, I do have chronic pain through migraines, and this book serves as a reminder that there are other women who experience life-altering pain, who change their diets and lifestyles in an effort to alleviate that pain, and who find value and purpose above it all.
Dimyan also goes through an expansive list of things that helped alleviate her endo pain, which I think would be helpful for others suffering from endometriosis.
While you may spend so much time hurting, the pain doesn't define you, nor does it become your identity. This book felt like a nod in solidarity to those of us who have overcome Chronic pain.
I'm grateful I had the chance to read it.

The first thing that I want you to know about this book is that it is one woman’s complicated journey with her body and chronic pain. This will not mirror everyone’s experience and it is not meant to. I pray that western medicine will work for you and that you aren’t pushed to the “other” category. I have never been positively impacted by medications like Tylenol and Advil. I have been pushed to use essential oils as the only treatment that works for my body. This doesn’t mean that it will work for everyone but it does mean that it shouldn’t be judged as bad. I understand the frustration as someone the medical system has failed. I hope that you can read this memoir with an open mind and see this as a struggle with health in place of skepticism.
I learned so much about Endo and how it creates debilitating pain. I saw the strength it took to tell her story and to live with a chronic pain like this. I think that this an empowering story that can make many feel seen, heard and valued.

I received an arc via Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and HighBridge audio for this audio ARC!

This book is a memoir of Rebecca Dimyan, a woman not only struggles with pain from endometriosis, but struggles with medical professionals to get diagnosed. Dimyan is a very strong writer, and she gets her points across beautifully. The first half of this book was very intriguing, as she goes through her earlier experiences with endometriosis and her beginning journey in reaching a diagnosis. The second half, however, really turned me off from the book. Dimyan has learned to manage her endometriosis through numerous forms of alternative medicine, including diet, essential oils, and accupuncture. I understand why Diman had to turn to natural medicine - she abuses opiods earlier on in her life and thus these pain killers are not an option, and over the counter pain medications are ineffective. She did not come off as overly "crunchy," but she gave a lot of information that felt a bit on the side of "do your own research." Thus, when one of her last chapters touches on the COVID vaccine's effects on menstration, I felt like I had completely disconnected from this. She repeats that these effects are for only a few months after the vaccine and only affect a small number of women, but the damage is done in my eyes.

I wish this book had gone deeper into her earlier experiences with endometriosis and her struggles with doctors. As a woman, I know I am not believed by doctors as much as I would be if I were a man, and I was deeply angered by Dimyan's constant dismissal. I was a bit shocked that Dimyan could mention how often she was not believed by doctors without once mentioning that Black women are believed even less than white women. Regardless, if Dimyan had focused her book more on this aspect than the 'healing' aspect of her endometriosis, I feel it would have been one that more women could connect with. Instead, because of the politization of health after COVID, I struggled with Dimyan's consistent emphasis on natural forms of healing.

This was an excellent memoir about living with chronic pain due to endometriosis. The author doesn't flinch away from sharing deeply personal stories about substance abuse, her sexual history, body image problems and her very disappointing experiences with western medicine. While some parts of her pain management methods seemed a little out there to me, who am I to deny what worked for her. Good on audio and a must read for anyone living with chronic pain and especially anyone with endometriosis - a difficult to diagnose condition that affects 1 in 10 women! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

Absolutely love this book!
I felt like I related to everything in this. I have no friends with this disease so hearing that all this random stabbing pains and hopeless dismissing health professionals were experienced everywhere. It’s so dishearting when it happens that you think it’s just you. Know that it’s not the case gives some comfort.
Thank you for writing this book! Thank you for the opportunity to review.
Ps the narrator was great also!

Thank you @netgalley for my free ALC for my honest opinion.

I appreciate Rebecca’s honesty with her struggle with endometriosis, I cannot imagine having endo day in and day out.

With that said, the first quarter of the book was all about her sexual escapades which always made the endometriosis worse…so that was a little frustrating to me as a reader, who only wanted Rebecca to prioritize her health, not her sex life.

Also, the information on the Eastern Medicine was very surface level at best. I was ready to have a deep dive on how holistic medicine really came through for her.

This is a memoir so this is her personal lived experience…so I think women who suffer from endometriosis will find her memoir helpful. #dejasreads Out June 6!