What do you think?
Rate this book
Gutsy: Living My Best Life with with Crohn's Disease & Ulcerative Colitis
A personal story of navigating Crohn's Disease that includes insights from experts, demystifying Inflammatory Bowel Disease and offering readers a relatable, honest resource. Heather Fegan was fifteen years old when she was tentatively diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis. It started with a pain in her side. The dull ache turned into sharp, stabbing pains and wrenching cramps that clenched and tightened every time she ate. The diagnosis would change her life, but by the time she was nineteen she learned that she actually had another serious form of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD): Crohn's. There is no cure, no known cause, and little public understanding of the pain, chronic suffering, and isolation IBD patients cope with every day of their lives. Canada has among the world's highest IBD incidence rates — and Nova Scotia's rate is the highest in the world. In Living My Best Life with Crohn's Disease & Ulcerative Colitis , journalist, freelance writer, blogger — and past president of the Halifax chapter of Crohn's and Colitis Canada — Heather Fegan weaves her personal experience of living with Crohn's with expert insights from doctors, nurse practitioners, dietitians, and researchers. Honest and optimistic, with a dozen photos from her personal journey, Gutsy brings a fresh new perspective to demystifying Inflammatory Bowel Disease.
- GenresNonfictionHealthMemoir
248 pages, Paperback
Published October 17, 2023
1 person is currently reading
65 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
July 13, 2024
I have a lot of mixed feelings on this book. I'll start by saying I'm not Canadian, so there were sections of this I skimmed (mainly medicine/hospital pricing). that also means I have less of a grasp on the medical system in Canada, though the book does a good job of laying that out, especially the long wait times.
there was a weird bit of serendipity with this book - I requested it from my library b/c my knowledge on UC and Crohn's is lacking and I like being informed on chronic conditions + I have a cousin who has UC. and then, a few days before the book came in at the library, my brother was actually diagnosed with Crohn's. so I went into this book really wanting to learn a lot about the conditions to better aid the people in my life + my disabled community. the sections that were more practical and focused on the disease + treatments + interviewed medical professionals that were specializing in treatment of UC + Crohn's were very helpful in that regard!
the lower rating mostly comes in due to the memoir sections. by the end of the book I was really dragging myself through those parts. they go into such minutiae of the author's life that they became quite a slog. obviously knowing the different details of her treatments can be helpful, but it often felt like a bullet point list of every event in her life. it didn't help that there was so much focus on how she pushed herself beyond her limits and how she often framed this as a positive because she wasn't letting her chronic condition "win". I think I just have a very different outlook than she does, and that lies in my politics and my belief that I do not owe the world productivity and that my loved ones understand I can miss events and they will still love and care for me despite that. she frames it as not wanting to miss the events and not letting her chronic illness "define" her, but it still made me uncomfortable with how prevalent and persistent an idea it was. to her, she was "beating" the disease and was successful because she was dragging herself to events where she was in a ton of pain and sometimes could barely walk afterwards. it just felt like kind of a toxic mindset to be putting out there, especially to other chronic illness sufferers, rather than the positive one she was framing it as.
there's also a very glaring (to me at least) component throughout that the author doesn't address, which is her privilege in being white/straight/cis + middle class (if not upper middle class). her parents own a winter home in florida, when she was 25 she was able to have a 200 guest wedding and go on an international honeymoon, there are soooooo many mentions of the multiple trips they take every year. they purchase a house and sell it later on to buy another, which they then do major, costly renovations on. there never seems to be a concern on how to pay for her medical treatments + living costs, even once they have children and she is no longer working a job outside of her freelancing. she brings up multiple times how her doctors let her "skip the line" with her treatments or worked around the system, and i'm not so sure that would have happened if she had been a black or aboriginal woman under the same circumstances. but it's not something that's addressed, and it doesn't seem to be something the author is even fully aware of. I know the medical system is different in Canada, so her treatments wouldn't be as expensive as it would be where I live (Texas, USA), but it is quite striking that money never seems to be an issue or something she even mentions (outside of saying they "couldn't really afford" one of their international trips that they took anyways). I think this is something that will obviously vary by reader, but could be quite unrelatable and disheartening to many who are having to survive off low government benefits or don't have a partner or well-off family to rely on to cover their daily expenses.
there was also some basic grammar/spelling issues throughout, and the writing could be a bit bland, especially in the memoir sections. overall i'm glad I read this for the medical information I gleaned from it, but the memoir portions needed work to be more engaging.
there was a weird bit of serendipity with this book - I requested it from my library b/c my knowledge on UC and Crohn's is lacking and I like being informed on chronic conditions + I have a cousin who has UC. and then, a few days before the book came in at the library, my brother was actually diagnosed with Crohn's. so I went into this book really wanting to learn a lot about the conditions to better aid the people in my life + my disabled community. the sections that were more practical and focused on the disease + treatments + interviewed medical professionals that were specializing in treatment of UC + Crohn's were very helpful in that regard!
the lower rating mostly comes in due to the memoir sections. by the end of the book I was really dragging myself through those parts. they go into such minutiae of the author's life that they became quite a slog. obviously knowing the different details of her treatments can be helpful, but it often felt like a bullet point list of every event in her life. it didn't help that there was so much focus on how she pushed herself beyond her limits and how she often framed this as a positive because she wasn't letting her chronic condition "win". I think I just have a very different outlook than she does, and that lies in my politics and my belief that I do not owe the world productivity and that my loved ones understand I can miss events and they will still love and care for me despite that. she frames it as not wanting to miss the events and not letting her chronic illness "define" her, but it still made me uncomfortable with how prevalent and persistent an idea it was. to her, she was "beating" the disease and was successful because she was dragging herself to events where she was in a ton of pain and sometimes could barely walk afterwards. it just felt like kind of a toxic mindset to be putting out there, especially to other chronic illness sufferers, rather than the positive one she was framing it as.
there's also a very glaring (to me at least) component throughout that the author doesn't address, which is her privilege in being white/straight/cis + middle class (if not upper middle class). her parents own a winter home in florida, when she was 25 she was able to have a 200 guest wedding and go on an international honeymoon, there are soooooo many mentions of the multiple trips they take every year. they purchase a house and sell it later on to buy another, which they then do major, costly renovations on. there never seems to be a concern on how to pay for her medical treatments + living costs, even once they have children and she is no longer working a job outside of her freelancing. she brings up multiple times how her doctors let her "skip the line" with her treatments or worked around the system, and i'm not so sure that would have happened if she had been a black or aboriginal woman under the same circumstances. but it's not something that's addressed, and it doesn't seem to be something the author is even fully aware of. I know the medical system is different in Canada, so her treatments wouldn't be as expensive as it would be where I live (Texas, USA), but it is quite striking that money never seems to be an issue or something she even mentions (outside of saying they "couldn't really afford" one of their international trips that they took anyways). I think this is something that will obviously vary by reader, but could be quite unrelatable and disheartening to many who are having to survive off low government benefits or don't have a partner or well-off family to rely on to cover their daily expenses.
there was also some basic grammar/spelling issues throughout, and the writing could be a bit bland, especially in the memoir sections. overall i'm glad I read this for the medical information I gleaned from it, but the memoir portions needed work to be more engaging.
August 24, 2024
⭐️: 4.5
This book was really special to me as someone as I have ulcerative colitis. Heather shares her story of having both ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease in such a beautifully captivating way. She shares the ugly truth of what it’s like to be on intense medications, such as Remicade and prednisone, and how they have so many awful effects. As someone who has navigated the medical system, we are often blindly told to take medication to help with decreasing certain symptoms of our chronic illnesses. Yet many doctors do not talk about how difficult these medications can be, both on the body and on the mind. Prednisone, for example, was a drug with which I struggled with so many negative side effects. Hearing her share her stories and having them be so similar to my own was so validating and made this book feel so personal.
This book is also accessible to people who do not have IBD experiences, as Heather does a great job of defining important terms, medical tests, and medications. I also learned many new facts that I did not know about IBD, such as Nova Scotia, the province in which I live, having one of the highest prevalences of IBD worldwide.
As I read this book, I highlighted and annotated sections in which I related to heathers experiences, learned new information, or whatever I found interesting. I’ve since passed on this book to a friend, and I am so excited to answer their questions and hear their thoughts about reading a book that is so close to my heart. This was definitely a very emotional read, but I am so happy that I came across this book. Congratulations, Heather, on your first publication! And thank you for sharing your story.
-em🌱
This book was really special to me as someone as I have ulcerative colitis. Heather shares her story of having both ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease in such a beautifully captivating way. She shares the ugly truth of what it’s like to be on intense medications, such as Remicade and prednisone, and how they have so many awful effects. As someone who has navigated the medical system, we are often blindly told to take medication to help with decreasing certain symptoms of our chronic illnesses. Yet many doctors do not talk about how difficult these medications can be, both on the body and on the mind. Prednisone, for example, was a drug with which I struggled with so many negative side effects. Hearing her share her stories and having them be so similar to my own was so validating and made this book feel so personal.
This book is also accessible to people who do not have IBD experiences, as Heather does a great job of defining important terms, medical tests, and medications. I also learned many new facts that I did not know about IBD, such as Nova Scotia, the province in which I live, having one of the highest prevalences of IBD worldwide.
As I read this book, I highlighted and annotated sections in which I related to heathers experiences, learned new information, or whatever I found interesting. I’ve since passed on this book to a friend, and I am so excited to answer their questions and hear their thoughts about reading a book that is so close to my heart. This was definitely a very emotional read, but I am so happy that I came across this book. Congratulations, Heather, on your first publication! And thank you for sharing your story.
-em🌱
December 28, 2023
Such an honest, raw, perspective on how it is to live with a chronic illness. Everyone should read Heather’s story. I admire her strength and determination. As someone who lives with ulcerative colitis, I want to say thank you to Heather for sharing her truth and writing this story. It certainly made me feel less alone.
June 3, 2025
This book was amazing!!! There was so much information regarding Crohn’s, ulcerative colitis and irritable bowel syndrome. I loved the way it went over the authors experience with a mix of research. She explains the health sector in Canada very well and shows you what it looks like. This is a wonderful book!
October 13, 2025
I want to first express my gratitude to the author for sharing her story. This book has had a great impact on me, and I'm sure will continue to impact others - both those living with IBD, and those who seek to learn more about IBD. The author was extremely vulnerable at times and shared her struggle to want to keep on going and pushing the limits of her body even when experiencing a flare (although I think this mindset can be limiting and toxic, and not something I personally relate to).
The book went back and forth between providing information on the disease and sharing how the author herself was living with IBD throughout the years. As a fellow Canadian chronie living on the other side of the country, I appreciated this approach because up until now, I had only come across books that were either entirely focussed on the disease from a clinical sense or entirely focussed on the experience of living with the disease.
After being diagnosed with chron’s, I have often felt isolated and confused as I learn to manage my disease. There is so much to balance with IBD and so much to learn, as each person may experience the disease uniquely, and therefore require unique treatments. With IBD, as the author pointed out, there is an additional element of social stigma. When someone from work or in my community asks me how I'm doing, it often doesn't feel 'appropriate' to launch into how my bowel movements have been looking or how the urgency and frequency have been bothering me.
The parts that felt out of touch was that the author herself came across as a very privileged white woman with a supportive family and community around her. For example, the author seemed to be constantly going on vacations locally and abroad, buying and renovating houses, not seeming to have an issue paying for a big wedding in her 20's, having family come visit her in the hospital and telling her to slow down, etc.
Therefore, what I would like to see more of from a book like this is an intersectional approach which would make the information more relatable to Canadians where things like finances, racism, classism, culture, immigration status, all make IBD that much harder to live with. This could have been done by including stories from more diverse people (there was a chapter on how her family members had experienced IBD, and a chapter on a friend of hers, but these people all seemed to have similar level of privilege as the author).
That being said, I think it is so important to have books on this topic from a variety of perspectives and therefore would recommend this to others who would like to learn more about IBD and how one may navigate life with this disease over many years. I again want to commend the author for sharing her experiences with IBD, and I look forward to reading memoirs on IBD from intersectional or more marginalized identities in the future.
The book went back and forth between providing information on the disease and sharing how the author herself was living with IBD throughout the years. As a fellow Canadian chronie living on the other side of the country, I appreciated this approach because up until now, I had only come across books that were either entirely focussed on the disease from a clinical sense or entirely focussed on the experience of living with the disease.
After being diagnosed with chron’s, I have often felt isolated and confused as I learn to manage my disease. There is so much to balance with IBD and so much to learn, as each person may experience the disease uniquely, and therefore require unique treatments. With IBD, as the author pointed out, there is an additional element of social stigma. When someone from work or in my community asks me how I'm doing, it often doesn't feel 'appropriate' to launch into how my bowel movements have been looking or how the urgency and frequency have been bothering me.
The parts that felt out of touch was that the author herself came across as a very privileged white woman with a supportive family and community around her. For example, the author seemed to be constantly going on vacations locally and abroad, buying and renovating houses, not seeming to have an issue paying for a big wedding in her 20's, having family come visit her in the hospital and telling her to slow down, etc.
Therefore, what I would like to see more of from a book like this is an intersectional approach which would make the information more relatable to Canadians where things like finances, racism, classism, culture, immigration status, all make IBD that much harder to live with. This could have been done by including stories from more diverse people (there was a chapter on how her family members had experienced IBD, and a chapter on a friend of hers, but these people all seemed to have similar level of privilege as the author).
That being said, I think it is so important to have books on this topic from a variety of perspectives and therefore would recommend this to others who would like to learn more about IBD and how one may navigate life with this disease over many years. I again want to commend the author for sharing her experiences with IBD, and I look forward to reading memoirs on IBD from intersectional or more marginalized identities in the future.
August 4, 2024
5 stars, and this deserves every star.
This book might not be for everyone. Like someone else mentioned, this is part memoir, part resource manual. It is a different approach to a book but, I liked it. I liked the comparison between the medical side and the practical side.
To start, I am Canadian, from the same place as this writer, and live with a chronic, auto-immune condition. It is part of the reason why I wanted to read this book. I don’t have the same condition (far from it) but, I can relate to the chronic element presented here. That did not influence my review but I did want to mention it.
I really liked how open and honest Heather was here. I liked that when she had a hard time, she said it. She did not sugar coat her experiences or condition. She tells you that it sucks, it hurts, it is scary and frustrating. She is never poor me though, which I liked. She didn’t ask for this condition (none of us do) but she was fighting through it. I found that inspiring as someone with a chronic condition that also gets upset and frustrated when things are not working (often).
I also liked how present Heather tried to be in her life despite her condition. Does it get in the way? Yes but she pushes through. Still tries to be there for her family and her children. She showed them that she is still trying despite this and that is important.
I also liked the medical side here. It included a lot of information about the condition, and the different strategies Canada is working on to help with it. I feel like I learned a lot more than I work from a traditional textbook.
This book might not be for everyone. Like someone else mentioned, this is part memoir, part resource manual. It is a different approach to a book but, I liked it. I liked the comparison between the medical side and the practical side.
To start, I am Canadian, from the same place as this writer, and live with a chronic, auto-immune condition. It is part of the reason why I wanted to read this book. I don’t have the same condition (far from it) but, I can relate to the chronic element presented here. That did not influence my review but I did want to mention it.
I really liked how open and honest Heather was here. I liked that when she had a hard time, she said it. She did not sugar coat her experiences or condition. She tells you that it sucks, it hurts, it is scary and frustrating. She is never poor me though, which I liked. She didn’t ask for this condition (none of us do) but she was fighting through it. I found that inspiring as someone with a chronic condition that also gets upset and frustrated when things are not working (often).
I also liked how present Heather tried to be in her life despite her condition. Does it get in the way? Yes but she pushes through. Still tries to be there for her family and her children. She showed them that she is still trying despite this and that is important.
I also liked the medical side here. It included a lot of information about the condition, and the different strategies Canada is working on to help with it. I feel like I learned a lot more than I work from a traditional textbook.
May 13, 2024
Gutsy is an informative and inspiring read and I would recommend it to anyone. Whether you or a friend or family member have IBD or another chronic illness, we are all touched with the affects of chronic illness directly or indirectly and can benefit from and relate to Heather’s story. In Gutsy Heather not only shares her own personal story but a wealth of knowledge and resources about IBD diagnosis, management and treatment, navigating the health care system and drug coverage and the psychological impact of chronic illness among other topics.
I thank Heather for sharing her story and know so many will benefit from this book, especially those recently diagnosed with IBD.
I thank Heather for sharing her story and know so many will benefit from this book, especially those recently diagnosed with IBD.
October 29, 2023
Opened this intending to just scan the first page and read it later, but it hooked me instantly. It’s a fascinating and inspiring look at living with chronic illness, and I kept reading to see what happened next.
I couldn’t believe everything Heather has endured over 25 years + counting of living with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.
Her grit and determination to live a happy, normal life (even when she feels terrible) is admirable, and this book will inspire a lot of others dealing with chronic illness.
I couldn’t believe everything Heather has endured over 25 years + counting of living with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.
Her grit and determination to live a happy, normal life (even when she feels terrible) is admirable, and this book will inspire a lot of others dealing with chronic illness.
October 31, 2023
An honest but positive perspective on living life to the fullest through the trials and turbulations of Crohn's disease & and ulcerative colitis.
While educational and filled with information, it is made easily digestible with the personal experiences from Heather's gutsy journey through life with IBD.
If you are someone or know someone who suffers from IBD, or any chronic disease for that matter, I highly recommend checking this out!
While educational and filled with information, it is made easily digestible with the personal experiences from Heather's gutsy journey through life with IBD.
If you are someone or know someone who suffers from IBD, or any chronic disease for that matter, I highly recommend checking this out!
March 20, 2024
Great read, simply wished there was more discussion on the mental health side of dealing with IBD
August 22, 2024
thank you em for sharing this book with me 💕
February 28, 2025
4.5 out of 5 stars
Thank you to my friend Em for lending me this book and sharing their own experiences along with Heather’s own 🩷
Thank you to my friend Em for lending me this book and sharing their own experiences along with Heather’s own 🩷
January 10, 2026
a must read for everyone living with IBD. Reading this book was a true healing experience.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews