Chocolate & Vicodin: My Quest for Relief from the Headache that Wouldn't Go Away

by Jennette Fulda

The humorous and touching memoir of a woman who’s been seeking relief from a headache for more than two years.Jennette Fulda was riding high on the success of her first book, A Weight-Loss Memoir, until one fateful day in February 2008, when she developed a headache—and it never went away. So she dealt with it the best way she knows by writing about it. And eating lots of chocolate. In Chocolate and Vicodin, Jennette explores her change of identity from “the girl who lost hundreds of pounds” to “the girl who lives with constant pain,” and all she’s had to endure to try and make the pain stop—from a bevy of expensive, time-consuming tests, which have taught her interesting facts (for example, that an MRI does indeed cost more than a European vacation—and doesn’t last nearly as long), to tons of medications prescribed by her doctors to hilarious, sometimes insane advice she’s received from her blog readers. While nothing’s been able to grant her relief, she has gained a new perspective. Instead of dwelling on the “invisible tiara of nails” she may very well wear for the rest of her life, she’s instead learned how to live with the pain, sharing with readers not only how she’s managed to get by, but to laugh—and thrive—in spite of it.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Health, Humor, Biography, Medical, Biography Memoir

306 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 10, 2011

About the author

Jennette Fulda is a writer, chronic headache sufferer, (former?) weight-loss inspiration, and one-term governor of the fourth grade. She lives in Indianapolis, Indiana.

She has been seen on NBC's Today Show and in The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Glamour, Women's Health, Runner's World, Shape Magazine, and other media outlets.

Reviews

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the problems with having a chronic condition is that people always want to offer you advice. They always know just what will help, the one simple thing that will cure you. And of course, they know just what you are doing wrong--how you caused this! And the more obscure your condition, the more advice you'll get.

I picked this book up because (a) it was remaindered and cheap and (b) I work with a lot of people with chronic pain, and like to find more to offer when I can. Insider reports are always good.

Thus, my observation about friendly advice. Fulda had a blog about weight loss (she had lost a couple hundred pounds and written a book about that) and she was posting occasionally about her ongoing headache, and she heads each chapter with an email from a reader with some weirdo advice about her headache. My favorite is the guy who told her she had a saint in her causing her headache. (Why not?)

She spent two years going through all kinds of testing and conventional and non-conventional treatments, including acupuncture, chiropractic, IV medications, counseling, and marijuana, none of which made much difference. She never really got a definitive diagnosis. At the end of that time, along about the time she decided to give up the quest for treatment and live with the pain, quit her boring job and start a web design business at home, the pain began to let up a little. But it never really did go away.

I'm not really sure what the message is for my clients, but one scene stays with me: When she is greeted by the acupuncturist, who asks what she is there for, and she explains she has had a headache for several months. The acupuncturist winces and says honestly, "Oh, so, so sorry." "She had earned her $70 in just that half second," writes Fulda. "I had a witness to my pain, someone who acknowledged that it was real and that it was a true burden."

[Laurie Donovan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read when it first came out. I'm a sufferer of daily migraines, status migranosus,etc... and was hoping this book would help deal with living with this. I was not impressed and, frankly, got tired of her complaining and feeling sorry for herself; it was not uplifting at all and was actually depressing. It was frustrating to me that she would rather eat the things that gave her migraines than stay away from those triggers. The only thing I got out of it, which I have found useful is her motto " I have migraines but they don't have me". (Which is why I gave the book two stars instead of one) I am happy for her that she learned to stop feeling sorry for herself and learned to live with the migraines, but on the whole, I don't think it was a book that was helpful for anyone newly diagnosed with the illness or who is suffering with depression along with it. It does not help you "see the light at the end of the tunnel". Getting on the Internet and talking to people going through the same thing as you is much more helpful.

[Karyl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love reading memoirs by ordinary people. I know that it can be inspiring to read about an Olympian's journey to his gold medal or about the Prime Minister of another country, but I much prefer ordinary and everyday people. Jennette Fulda could be considered famous in the blogging world, but I feel like she still fits the category of "ordinary people."

Unfortunately, Fulda has suffered from a debilitating headache for at least 14 months at the end of this book. It just started one day and never let up. By the end of the book, she's found some relief, or perhaps she's managing it better, but it's still present in her head. I cannot even imagine the difficulty of being in so much pain all the time, to have your brain feel like it's too large for your skull every moment of every day. I've had some pretty painful headaches in my life, but fortunately they've been vanquished by Motrin or a good night's sleep. I wouldn't wish Fulda's situation on my worst enemy, and it makes my heart hurt that she has to deal with this.

Not only that, but she has to deal with the asinine suggestions made by complete strangers. It does bother me that we live in a society now where so many people distrust the medical community. Fulda does say that she believes in modern medicine, but many of her readers want to sell her on alternative options that are obvious quackery. I saw nothing wrong with her attempting acupuncture and chiropracty, but a lot of the other suggestions weren't even in the same ballpark as reality. I don't blame her one whit for snapping one day on her blog. I would have as well.

That said, it does make my heart hurt even more when she realizes that others have it worse than she does. I understand why she says it, that it could always be worse, but I feel as though it diminishes her very real struggle. Sure, others may have cancer or something life-threatening, and thank God she does not, but it doesn't mean that she's not allowed to bemoan the very real pain she feels all the time. Any way you slice it, chronic pain or any other illness sucks. Period.

At any rate, this is a pretty quick read, and while I sympathized so much with Fulda, I wasn't terribly fond of her writing style. It just wasn't a good fit for us. I do hope that seven years later after the publication of this book, she's managed to escape the debilitating pain.

[Crys · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm a nice person (for the most part). Somehow Jennette Fulda made me loathe a total stranger! That's no easy feat. I found her to be insufferable at times in this book. I teetered from wishing her headache would stay forever to wishing she'd developed some kind of narcotic addiction that would end this drawn out story or at least take it in anohter direction. Once I started reading this, I remembered why I was irritated by first book, "Half Assed" too. She's just not likable. I'm all for sarcasm and cynicism. Really, I love it more than most but she's crotchety and snarky to the point that you wish bad things on her. Or at least I did.

I feel like everyone either went to school with or works with a Jennette... and no one wants to have lunch with her. She's that person whose cubical you would take the extra scenic route to not have to walk past.

More than anything, the book just didn't have enough substance. 1/3 of the content is excessive words and metaphors; 1/3 is woe is me and the other 1/3 is a temper tantrum. None of which advance the book or endears you to the author. Honestly, I'm shocked this found a publisher. Vapid, awful and waste of time.

[Liseuse · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book, I really did. And it was OK. I like chocolate a lot, and when I really need it, vicodin does the trick. I have some of my own pain issues.

Jennette Fulda takes us through her journey of a year of hell caused by and awful headache. Boo hoo you think, get over it. Yeah, well her headache was pretty debilitating from her descriptions. I related to a lot of her issues with the medical institution, the reactions of people around her, and just plain feeling miserable a lot. Especially poignant for me was that she also got a lot of people trying to help her with outlandish ideas and diagnosis on her blog, something I also get from others. She also hit upon something that I agree with: no one gets it unless they are also suffering through chronic pain too. It’s true, people can have a lot of sympathy, but they won’t know what to say or do unless they’ve been there themselves. Then the still may try to bombard you with the cure that worked for them. One cure does not fit all folks.

Even though I think that if someone read this book they’d understand my situation better, and I could really relate to her, I just felt the book was boring. Probably because it was too similar to my life: going to doctors’ offices all the time, lying on the couch, trying new medicines, barely hanging on. Been there, lived that, don’t need to read about that. Also, there is an unclear reason why she does get better, which makes even less dramatic of a story line. Plus, I was jealous. I wanna get better.

Does it make me want to write a book about my own chronic pain? Not in a minute. She is supposedly really funny and wrote another great book about losing half of her bodyweight, but I found this book dull. So I wouldn’t want to expose people to more of that. Her book wasn’t really even designed to help anyone, just merely to groan about it and provide an excuse as to why she was depressed and gained some of her weight back. I feel a book about pain should be a bit more focused and less apathetic. With more chocolate, perhaps a bar inside the flap.

[Dierdra McGill · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this book up because of the cover and the awesome, awesome title! I really have to stop picking books bases on covers. I doubt I will but I should.
This book is about the authors struggle with a headache that is there 24/7. I do have to admit I did not even know this could happen and I am so sorry for what Jennette is going through. I learned a bit about headaches from this book and do agree there really should be more funding and research for this problem because I am sure most people don't even know this really is such a huge issues.
The overall book for me was just ok tho. It got a bit tedious and irritating in parts. I understand the sympathy thing and I understand why at times Jennette did not want to post on her blog about her headache anymore because no one could truly help but they cared enough to email her which made her mad at them yet she writes a book about it. A lot of things were also repeated over and over in the book which at times made it boring.
The writing style was not bad and if you are interested at all in chronic headaches or are just a memoir fan this isn't a bad read.

[Meagan Houle · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Chocolate and Vicodin" had the potential to swing into "inspiration porn" territory, but Jennette is a wonderfully realistic voice of reason as she chronicles a life lived in pain. As a fellow chronic pain sufferer, I identified strongly with the silly questions, unsolicited advice, ignorant public judgment, and condescension from medical professionals. I, too, have sat in many offices trying to explain the pain, explore triggers, experiment with various medications, and generally get myself taken seriously. A woman with a persistent headache is thought to be too stressed or too tired or too much inside her own head, as it were, and the fact that psychosomatic triggers for headaches do exist makes it all so much worse. For Jennette, and for me, that pain is as real as the sky above, but it's hard to capture the enormity of a pain so amorphous, so constant and indescribable.
Jennette's stories made me laugh, cry, and think--and that's what I usually ask of a book. The whacky emails at the beginning of each chapter added some much-needed levity to her painful situation, even as they exposed humanity's shambling inability to process other people's pain. I think that every chronic pain sufferer will feel a sense of kinship reading this book, and it may teach their friends and family a thing or three about when to speak, when to listen, and when to help us with the damn dishes.
I am grateful this book was written, and I'll certainly be recommending it wherever I can. It'll save me so many unnecessary conversations!

[Koren · Rating 3 out of 5]

You probably wouldn't think a whole book could be devoted to just one topic, having a headache. And you probably cant imagine a headache that was constant for over a year. I wanted to like this book more, but I wanted something more to happen other than going from doctor to doctor in search of a cure. I thought it was interesting that a lot of doctors didnt search for the cause, but instead threw pills and treatments at it. I was kind of frustrated with the ending, but I wont give it away.

[Hailie King · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t have chronic headaches but as someone with other chronic illnesses, she does a good job expressing the toll silent illness can bring. Only gave two stars bc her tone wasn’t my favorite despite her raw accuracy.

[Caren Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book basically jumped off the shelf when I was looking for Frederick Douglass' biography. First of all, there is a cupcake. And it is covered with pill sprinkles! Then I read the title and saw my life! As a woman with chronic pain I found her story to be familiar in many ways and also completely different in others. Her insights were right on and her perspective was fresh and funny. Sense of humor goes a long way to control the pain in our lives. I don't know how she dealt with this for so long, she is my hero!

[Samantha Warwick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is amazing. Anyone dealing with a chronic daily headache - or chronic illness in general - will find good company (and excellent writing) in this memoir. I think headache specialists and doctors wishing to better understand the patient perspective would benefit from reading this memoir. The writing is clean, crisp, cleverly suspenseful and despite its somewhat grim topic (of chronic pain) Fulda has a healthy sense of humour - a funny way of describing difficult-to-capture moments. Kudos. Highly recommend.

[Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's hard to explain how much I love this book. The author explains and describes her headache in a way that's hilarious, but never whiney. I'd love to buy copies of this book by the case so I could give it to a) my circle of friends and family, and b) everyone, however well-intended, who has said to me since 2006, things like, "Maybe you should try Tylenol." This book was therapy!

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Link+ due 4/3/12

There's only so much one can say about being in constant pain. As this book is primarily a diary with no added contextual information, there's bound to be repetition.

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kind of a boring & repetitive book. Annoying how she writes a blog, but doesn't want anyone's suggestions or input. She also almost never talks about Vicodin.

[Martin Cooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let me start by saying - if you've ever had one of those headache behind the eyes that feels like an angry gremlin is stabbing you from the inside, you'll get this book on a spiritual level.

I picked this up because the title spoke to my soul (chocolate AND painkillers? mood). What I didn't expect was to find my own headache struggles reflected so perfectly in Jennette's writing. This isn't some dry medical memoir - it's like having coffee with your most brutally honest friend who just happens to be going through hell with chronic pain.

What hit home for me:

The way she describes that particular headache behind the eyes pain - finally someone who GETS IT

The dark humor (because if you don't laugh, you'll cry)

The real talk about how isolating chronic pain can be

The Vicodin part of the title had me worried it would be depressing, but it's actually weirdly uplifting? Like watching someone fight their way through the medical system maze and come out the other side.

Would I recommend? Absolutely, especially if:

You've ever cried in a pharmacy line

Your "headache face" is recognizable from across the room

You need proof that someone understands the special hell of persistent head pain

Fair warning: You'll want chocolate while reading. And possibly a heating pad. And maybe a stress ball to squeeze during the frustrating parts.

P.S. The chapter about "headache math" (you'll know it when you read it) might be the most relatable thing ever written about chronic pain.

[Sue Nitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. This woman is able to express all the things I wish I could say about my own experience and she does so with humor. I feel I could have wrote this same story if I had the gift of being a creative writer. I'm not sure why it helps to have someone affirm the things you have gone through but it really does. Perhaps this quote from the book is why it helps:

"The only people who seem to understand how to talk with someone with a chronic illness were other people who were sick. I didn't need advice, I didn't need them to say they were sorry. I just needed a hug. Pain was lonely."

As I read this book there were so many times I just wanted to yell "YES!" That's it exactly, you get it! I did want to be able to give her a hug.

If you struggle with chronic headache of any sort I think you would connect to her story. There's no advice, no magic cure, just her story and how she is dealing with life. It is comforting to know that what we go through and deal with is common to so many of us.

I sincerely thank her for sharing her story.

[Terry · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a long-time headache sufferer, this book resonated with me in so many ways.

The author describes the frustration, the rollercoaster of emotions, the search for cures, the many doctor and clinic visits in a way that mirrors my own experiences. And yet she does it in a way that doesn't simply focus on the pain and the wreck it can make of your life. She also manages somehow to throw in a little bit of humor to soften the blow a bit.

This is not a book to give you a cure but just as important it is a chronicle of someone who has/is living with the daily pain. To me, the most important point is that yes, there are others who suffer from constant headaches and you are not alone.

[Courtney Ganzel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, I didn’t love this book, but I also didn’t hate it. I think Jennette Fulda keeps her writing interesting with her humorous insight that most people notice in themselves from time to time. She keeps it honest, relatable, and personable. I was as eager and hopeful as she was every time she visited the doctors to find some cure to her headaches.

The only disappointment for me was the ending. I feel as though it came abruptly and thrown together.

[Audrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I share the same chronic illness as the author. It was so refreshing to read an honest, totally honest account of what it is to live with this. I appreciated how she wrote about navigating the medical field, the highs and lows and the people around you. She writes it in an easy to read way that makes you feel like you’re talking to a friend. Perfect for anyone living with chronic pain or great perspective for someone that knows someone with chronic pain.

[Kimberlie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 maybe. I can't imagine anyone reading this book unless you also have a headache that wouldn't go away--maybe if you have a different chronic pain disease? But I liked it. She's funny and smart and it was all just so familiar. Except for the Vicodin part. I draw the line at potentially addictive treatments, though sometime that makes me seriously re-think all decisions in my life. :)

[Traci · Rating 4 out of 5]

OMG! This is about me! I have chronic-intractable headaches, and this made me feel real! To know more people are like me is rather liberating! Thank you, Jennette, for sharing your experience and making us chronic headache folks feel almost normal.

[Sara Goldenberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

This talented author is very funny and writes very well. I read her book in just a few hours and really enjoyed it.

She is very clever and I am SO looking forward to reading more from her !!!!

Recommended!

[Elyssa Vazquez Bornas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Laughed out loud a couple times.

[Nichole · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who has suffered with chronic pain for nearly a decade this book gave me so much validation! It was as if I was reading my own life. Fantastic read!

[Sam Geitner · Rating 5 out of 5]

So relatable. I read it at least once a year, sometimes more.

[Crystal]

Chocolate and Vicodin is a must-read for anyone suffering with chronic pain or those that live with someone with chronic pain. Ms. Fulda will not solve your problems for you but she will make you feel much less alone with your pain and make you smile at the same time. I am honestly afraid of support groups because who wants to be around others complaining. Ms. Fulda is able to explain her situation and all that she goes through without sounding like she's complaining. She just shows you the real side of herself and how she is pulling herself through even though she still does not have a diagnosis. I understand the not-knowing. I can somewhat name my problem, though there is still some gray area to mine as well, but to not know at all has to be tough.


The book is written in a real yet a humorous manner. I love when she gets snarky at times (mostly in her mind), that is the same way I feel at times and to be able to get that out would be wonderful. Ms. Fulda proves that you can get through it like she does and there are days when you will be down but sometimes you just have to adjust your reality, change your life to suit it and move on. I think this is the core message. Another things I took away - it is normal to feel alone when suffering from something that others can't see. Like she says - it's easy for someone to see you are in pain when you are curled up in a ball, but when you are going on with everyday life the best way you can, then the pain is harder to see (I paraphrase).


I loved this book, I felt like I was talking with a friend when I was reading it and I saw so much of myself while reading it. I would like to thank Ms. Fulda for this excellent book and for showing me I'm not alone and also for teaching me some ways to express myself around others so they understand what I am feeling. I think she does a great job of showing all the different doctors and procedures she had done just to try and find a diagnosis and giving her real feelings. That is what I really loved.


I think Jennette is an amazing woman, to first lose 200 pounds, run a half-marathon with a headache and to continue to plow through life. She has given me hope that I can continue on as well and maybe one day I will run my half-marathon as I originally planned in 2008. I think her ideas of laughter as medicine is the best suggestion and I will go on trying to find the positive on the tough days and looking to my wonderful husband for laughter on the bad ones.


One quote I loved and could relate to from the book:

I’d read about other people’s experiences at these institutes on the headache forums online. I’d been surprised that people in that much pain had been able to set up and maintain online forums but there they were. I was a lurker on the forums and never posted or interacted with others. I wasn’t sure why I’d never struck up a conversation with my fellow pain sufferers. It was just easier to lurk, read up on the information I needed, and then log off without getting too involved in other people’s misery. When I’d blogged about my weight loss , I didn’t start commenting on other peoples blogs until I’d lost almost one hundred pounds. I wasn’t sure how long I’d have to have my headache before I felt comfortable to raise my hand in front of the class and talk about it.

I often feel the same way - I have lurked on forums for my problems but never post - I just don't feel right for some reason.

"Not having a name for my disease was almost as frightening as the disease itself. How could I fight something I couldn't name?"

"My headache no longer seemed like a big deal. I clearly wasn't the only person in the world in pain. I probably wouldn't even make the list of top ten most suffering people in the building. A dose of perspective might not be a cure, but it made me feel a lot better about my own situation. No matter how b ad your life was, there was always someone whose life was worse."

[Niki · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book kept my heart in my throat through the entire read. I would rapidly read through a chapter, thinking: “Is this the one treatment that will work?” But after riding with the author during the early pages, it became evident that the story continues after the book ends.

I do not usually prefer mystery suspense stories. But I found suspense in this autobiography, and yet I doubt the book is shelved next to Stephen King. The author gently and warmly opens her door for you to step inside and cheer alongside her busy and successful life. Then we get to meet the major character of the book.

HEADACHE invades Jennette’s peaceful sanctuary one day in 2008. My first reaction to HEADACHE was: “Surely this little bugger is merely just a tension headache quickly detonated by popping a couple of Excedrin Migraines.” The author effortlessly maintains a chipper paced description of HEADACHE in the first half of the book: she makes us feel bright, warm, effervescent, and optimistic.

You cheer Jennette on for the mammoth success of her health journey and first book. And you start to wonder, “Why should this book feel so lengthy if the headache will just be zapped away by some pills and expert doctors?”

But the story unfolds to reveal a very real and chronic condition that affects millions of patients every year. The chipper, bubbly tone begins to unravel, and you are sucked into a vacuum of emotions with Jennette. This ride is not a scary one, but so descriptive and palatable that you even put the book down in fear you encounter HEADACHE too.

After finishing the book in a week, I took time to reflect on how I would review. This book touches many ranges of emotions: it made me chuckle with familiar understanding, gasp and shudder at bizarre treatments, and marvel in awe at the vivid storytelling.

I am a sufferer of chronic pain myself, and I could have written this story. I did not meet HEADACHE, but I have BULGING DISC, and I have learned many of the same things mentioned in this revealing memoir: physicians and the medical industry cannot always instantly fix you, sometimes you have to try many different methods, you will endure periods of deep dark of despair and defeat, and you will eventually succumb to the final stage of grief: acceptance.

This book felt like a familiar sweater. I was able to comfortably step inside the enveloping fabric, and draw my arms through the sleeves. It fit me like a glove. The pacing and writing style mimics my own. The writer reveals very private moments; ones I doubt I could share with anyone. But I am grateful and thankful for reading her words.

My final thoughts are, if you are struggling with daily, chronic pain, you will find a compatriot in this book. But you will not find bulleted self-help lists. There are no referrals to doctors or treatments. There simply isn’t a quick fix. The author takes you on a journey, and carefully weaves a suspenseful tale: one that continues for her to this day. I am astounded at the determination and willpower of the author to craft an entire book the whole time HEADACHE was a “small child screaming.” You will vacillate between all five stages of grief, just like I did with my own chronic pain. (For me to be able to write this book review, I had to stand the entire time, because sitting exacerbates my own pain.)

The story is bookended by optimism, but not in the traditional sense of the story has a good ending. The story does end well, with a driving acceptance of HEADACHE’s immobilizing presence. You are invited to find out how the eventual European vacation went from the author’s ongoing blog. The author doesn’t want your relationship to end after the ending of her book. Jennette’s determined persistence of a pioneer trailblazing for HEADACHE continues, and I will continue to cheer her along and follow her unfolding story.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know how to review this book. Essentially, the summary says it all yet doesn't do the book justice. Bottom line is that Jennette got a headache. It hasn't gone away. She's tried everything including things that are probably illegal in most states. She still has her headache but she has learned to live with it.

Why the summary does not say it all: Ironically, I just spent the last hour and a half soothing my 5 year old. He has an earache. Chances are 100% he has a ear infection. All pharmacies are closed so even if the doctor would see him, I still have to treat the pain right now. So he sleeps sitting up but on his left side for tonight with a heating pad on his right ear. He is drugged to the hilt with Ibuprofen and Tylenol.

Meanwhile, my back has hurt for well over three years. I've spent time and money on physical therapy, massage, exercise, gadgets, and pain medication. I've even done "downward dog." I've learned some tricks but it's always on my mind. The difference is that I know the cause. I'm neurotic. Jennette can not claim the same cause, although she just might still be neurotic. Who knows?

The real enjoyment is reading Jennette's writing style. I can not, in good conscience, refer to her as Ms. Fulda. I feel like she's my friend. She makes me laugh. What could have easily been a depressing book flew by and I found myself, oddly, uplifted.

In 2005, she gained fame by blogging about her epic weight loss. Epic makes it sounds like she was morbidly obese but in reality, it was epic because she was morbidly obese. Sorry, Jennette. And those pants do NOT make your butt look fat. Do mine?

So she wrote a book, published it then got a headache. She blogged about it too, although she got really, REALLY tired of it. The irony is that she saw something she could change about herself and undertook that challenge with success. Then she found something she could not change and accepts it with humor. Which really sets her apart from just some morbidly obese (Sorry again) young woman who blogs. She is HILARIOUS. In fact, if I hadn't just insulted her, I think we'd be pretty good friends.


Love her humor. She's a good writer and meets the nitty gritty life with solid research and a sense of humor. I'll take three of her.

[LiteraryMarie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love memoirs. Absolutely love them! So when I saw Chocolate & Vicodin: My Quest for Relief from the Headache that Wouldn't Go Away on the bare shelf of a closing Borders, I immediately grabbed it. It was so meant for me to own. Every time I have a migraine, I have a sinking feeling. What if it won't go away? Well, this book is about a 27-year-old with a chronic headache.


Jen Fulda went to bed on February 17, 2008, with a headache. Three years later, it still hasn't gone away. The pain causing her to suffer every day. She sought help from numerous professionals: acupuncturists, chiropractors, neurologists, psychologists, therapy masseuses, etc. They diagnosed her with things that had nothing to do with the headache (heart murmur, scoliosis, and depression). If you had a chronic headache, you'd be depressed too! They gave her drugs, but nothing eased the pain. Oh, how I remember those years of trial-and-error. Taking experimental drugs, staying away from the trigger chocolate, and hoping something worked. I relived those years while reading her journey. Jen Fulda reluctantly blogged about her chronic headache, only to receive unsolicited advice and remedies from followers. Finally she found that laughter and food provided some type of relief.


Her honest, entertaining, and informative writing is refreshing. (And the cover is cute too!) There are times I empathized and times I laughed out loud. It is a must read for anyone who suffers from chronic pain, especially headaches. It is also recommended for loved ones that don't understand what another is going through when diagnosed with an illness or experience chronic pain. There is a great resources section included, which you can also view here. Chocolate & Vicodin is now in my top books because I can relate the most. Good job relaying what headache sufferers go through on a daily basis, Jen.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another excellent memoir from the immensely talented Jennette Fulda. Unlike her first, the weight loss memoir "Half-Assed," in which she lost over 200 pounds in two years, this book starts immediately at crisis point, and escalates from there. The book is only about 20 pages young when the headache strikes, sharp and fast, and you're immediately drawn in. You've read the back-cover copy, so you know that it's going to hang on, so you're immediately thinking, "oh no, there's the villain!"

Jennette's naturally descriptive writing and flair for metaphor and comparisons give you a precise look at how the pain is working. But the thing I liked best about "Chocolate & Vicodin" (or as I call it in my head, ChocoVico) is the way it explains the sheer panic of suffering from a pain that can't be explained, and therefore has no linear path to treatment. I think most of us spend some portion of our life thinking things like, "What if I get cancer? What if I get rheumatoid arthritis? What if I get an autoimmune disease?" and we can mitigate that fear a smidge by knowing that these diseases have, if not a complete chance of recovery, at least well-trod paths to explore. When you find out that tens of thousands of people suffer from chronic pain every year, pain that their doctors can't explain and can only attempt to treat experimentally, it really wakes you up about the complex mysteries of the human bodies.

Fulda leads us through the process of elimination, all the options meant to take the pain away, in a flowing and humorous way that belies the fact that she was probably in screaming pain while writing this. Loads of good resources in the back, too. Recommended.