What a relief to have a chronic illness book that focuses on getting to know yourself despite your illness! This is a real breath of fresh air.

When managing a debilitating, chronic illness it’s so easy to have your identity as a patient subsume everything else; especially when managing appointments, meds, therapies and pain dominates day to day life.

With thoughtful, useful exercises this book aims to help you figure out who you are away from all that, and find ways to integrate joy and connection back into your life so you can feel more like yourself again.

I love how beautiful it is. I also love how realistic it is. It doesn’t assume you’ll suddenly be able to return to pre-illness life or have changes in functional capacity, but it still encourages you to live the best life you can.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

As someone working in mental health field, I'm always on a lookout for good workbooks to recommend to my clients. When it comes to "Pave Your Way with Chronic Illness" I have a lot of mixed feelings.

First of all, this workbook seems to be aimed as everyone living with a chronic illness but its layout and colouring pages make it feel quite juvenile. If it would be communicated as publication for younger audiences, I wouldn't have any problem with these pages being there. But people with chronic illness who, for example, are parents or have other caring duties may want to have this part acknowledged and taken into account in some exercises. Same goes for students who might have different needs etc.

Second of all, I got some mixed messages there. On one hand, the exercises seem to be future-oriented but the afterword seems to reinforce the idea of "chronically ill" as an identity - and the research results on the matter state that it's actually more damaging and counterproductive for an individual's wellbeing. I would appreciate at least showing two sides of this issue, not just encouraging people to name their social media accounts "ChronicallyIllArtist" or whatever.

What did I appreciate about this book? That it acknowledges that chronic illness lays on a spectrum and some individuals may have needs that go beyond what it has to offer. I also liked that the exercises were divided to low, medium or full battery categories that readers might find helpful.

Still, there's a lot of room for improvement.

I read this author’s book on living with chronic illness and really enjoyed it so when I saw she’d written a new one I had to have it! I love how reflective this book is. The journal prompts and questions are great! It was a little hard in a digital format and would be easier in a paper format, but still very doable digitally.

This would be an incredibly helpful book, if I had a physical copy I could fill out... Reading it online doesn't really help me much, but like I said it definitely could! If I can get my hands on a physical copy, I'll definitely buy it!

To any chronically ill person that struggles to explore how being disabled affects them, I would highly recommend this book! It has questions based on the amount of energy you have to answer them, so even if you don't have lots of energy some days, you could still answer some of the "low batterij" questions... A very helpful system if you ask me!

This book is so helpful! I've really enjoyed looking through all the mindfulness pages and using the battery questions to better understand my mental health.
Ill be buying this book so I can have a physical copy too.

Pave Your Way With Chronic Illness by Pippa Stacey is a beautifully designed self-discovery journal that strikes the perfect balance between practical and playful. With “better battery” questions, creative prompts, and gentle reflection, it’s built with chronic illness in mind—acknowledging fluctuating energy levels while still encouraging hope, agency, and a sense of self.

I particularly loved the colouring pages and the author’s note—it really sets the tone for a journal that feels warm, personal, and genuinely inclusive. Pippa’s emphasis on a “not-one-size-fits-all” approach is a breath of fresh air. There’s no pressure to do things a certain way—just encouragement to make time for breaks, be creative, and reconnect with yourself at your own pace.

Whether you're newly diagnosed or years into your chronic illness journey, this journal feels like a kind, understanding companion helping you map your own path—one page (and one spoon) at a time.

Pave Your Way With Chronic Illness is a gentle, empowering journal that truly understands the ups and downs of living with a long-term condition. I loved how the prompts are thoughtfully organized by energy level—low, medium, and "better" battery—which made it easy to use on any kind of day. It helped me reconnect with what brings me joy and reflect on my needs without pressure. A warm, supportive resource that feels like a soft place to land.

This was a wonderful book to read as someone who struggpes with multiple chronic illnesses it's often a comfort to find a book that engages you to rediscover yourself with your illness and not just let it take over and be your sole personality or identity as often can be considered to be by some people you encounter.

The book encourages you to notice and remember qualities about yourself, hobbies you enjoy alongside how your illnesses do effect you undoubtedly in some way day to day. I particularly thought long and hard about the sections of how you feel being asked invasive questions as well all do over the course of our lives with illness and if it's not particularly a visible disability to some people you can face harsh judgement and feel very down over this, I know I have and reflecting back on it now I just hope it helped them educate themselves.

There was a particularly handy meal plan chart as even simple things like needing our meds and making food ready to have can slip from memory until you realise it's hours later than you should have taken meds or eaten some food if in a bad flare one day, I know this has happened to me and some friends before as our brains wander on how we feel more than what we need right then.

It was a nice touch to include pages of colouring and puzzles when a pain flare hits or fatigue and you feel trapped in bed it's nice if you're able enough to be able to pre occupy your mind away from how you feel and it makes for some great spoonie-friendly escapism.

This is a really insightful book and actually the journaling questions were great prompts to help me find contentment and be grateful for what I can do and what I have. I would definitely recommend this.

This book is like a warm hug for anyone with a chronic condition. It isn’t about medical stuff, it’s all about you. Reading through will help you focus on what brings you joy, how to make your space work better for you, and how to feel more confident in your everyday life. The prompts are super thoughtful and come in different “battery” levels, so you can always find something that fits your energy. It’s creative, inclusive, and full of gentle encouragement. A great way to reconnect with what really matters.

Enjoyed this follow-up and supplement to Pippa's first book, How to Do Life with a Chronic Illness. Pave Your Way with Chronic Illness provides a way to record your own take on life and on rediscovering yourself in the wake of a scary diagnosis. Relatable, practical, reassuring and wise.