Living Chronic reveals the emotional, physical, and deeply human journey of navigating chronic illness and finding purpose on the other side. After a medication reaction triggered a cascade of life-altering conditions, Brandy Schantz began searching for answers in a medical system unequipped to see the whole person. What emerged was a hard-won blueprint for survival, community, and self-advocacy.

Through intimate storytelling, conversations from the Living Chronic podcast, and lessons learned in the trenches of uncertainty, Living Chronic explores how people rebuild when their bodies break, how identity shifts when life narrows to a before and after, and how connection becomes a lifeline. It highlights the ingenuity of patients forced to become their own experts and the quiet resilience found in everyday acts of persistence.

With candor, humor, and unflinching honesty, Living Chronic gives a voice to millions living with invisible and misunderstood conditions while exposing the systemic gaps that leave them fighting alone.

In a world where chronic illness is often minimized or dismissed, Living Chronic offers something rare: the sense of being seen. Anyone seeking hope, guidance, or solidarity will find themselves turning the pages and discovering they were never alone in the first place.

Brandy Schantz is a consultant, disability advocate, and host of the Living Chronic podcast, where she shares raw, unfiltered conversations with people navigating life-changing diagnoses. After surviving a catastrophic reaction to medication that triggered drug-induced lupus, neurological complications, and years of medical uncertainty, her work has contributed to national conversations on disability inclusion and healthcare reform.A former US Army Intelligence officer and longtime public servant, Brandy now serves on the Virginia State Rehabilitation Council, advocating for better systems, access, and outcomes for disabled individuals. She is the founder of Living Chronic Media Group and Schantz Business Group. Brandy holds an MBA and lives with her husband, Steve, and three Pomeranians, who frequently appear in her stories.