
In Being (Sick) Enough: Thoughts on Invisible Illness, Childhood Trauma, and Living Well When Surviving Is Hard, Jessica Graham (Good Sex) treats readers to a collection of 28 raw and revealing essays covering topics such as childhood trauma, being "DTF," and spoons. Some essays are short and breezy reads, others come in the form of poems, and many are deeply emotional and introspective depictions of what trauma and healing can look like in the moment and for decades afterward.
Using their experience with somatic trauma resolution, mindfulness, and meditation, Graham recounts their journey without pulling any punches in describing the challenges they faced. Though their essays are gritty in places, Graham always treats themselves with compassion and encourages readers to hold the same compassion for themselves. Readers may find that many essays invite the kind of personal reflection that, like some types of physical exercise, only feels good once it's been accomplished.
Exploring the notion of human suffering, Graham reflects on the necessity of pain in human existence from the perspective that "Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional." In "It's Like This Right Now," they teach readers that it's okay for things that cannot be changed to be how they are. In fact, throughout the collection, they assure readers in a confident and warm voice that it is okay. They are okay.
Perceptive and restorative, Being (Sick) Enough will be especially appreciated by readers searching for self-acceptance in the face of chronic illness, neurodivergence, trauma, or any other experience that makes them who they are. --Alyssa Parssinen, freelance reviewer and former bookseller