I read the the hard copy (paperback) version of It’s All in Your Head by Sabina Nordqvist over the last week and a half. I would have gotten it done sooner, but I was also reading/listening to two other books at the same time. (It’s also Rare Disease Day, so posting this review!)
The main characters, as well as the side characters are interesting. They are around 30 years old or almost, and they are brought together by chronic pain, Skylar started and admins a chronic pain group online. She was diagnosed as a young woman with IIH (Idiopathic Intercranial Hypertension) and also has Dysautonomia (as I do.) She has pretty much given up on dating since her last relationship and the ableist guy did not want to have to deal with her issues. Her closest friends also have chronic pain due to various conditions (including one who might have hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome.) Pike joins their online group because he has chronic pain from the injuries he experienced through his Olympic Snowboarding career (and taking one trick too far, but didn’t know that until it happened.) He is not going to fully recover as much as his family and friends think his should, and will always be disabled. Meanwhile, Skylar is putting up with her fat-shaming, gaslighting doctor and is not getting the help she needs, and her family doesn’t believe her. This book really is about more than the “fake romance” trope, but exploring all kinds of relationships: with one’s self, romance (both straight and lgbtqia+), friends, and family. (There is a little bit of spiciness, and if that is not your thing, skip those few pages, and read the rest! Yes, people with disabilities can have sex!)
I would even recommend that medical professionals would consider reading this book for the perspectives presented here. From pages 276-7:
“Something buzzes against my inner thigh. Skylar’s phone.
‘Not another article,’ I say.
Yesterday we were included in a think piece on inspirational love stories. I know Skylar hates it, which kills me. I assured her it would die down by now.
‘No.’ There’s a worried slant to her eyebrows. ‘Emy’s trying so hard to get an hEDDS diagnosis, but doctors keep blowing her off.’
The fuck is wrong with all these doctors?”
I am not a fan of the F-word for some reasons, but when it come to things like this, I am in total agreement.
Leisl Jaberg 