Unwinding Pain: Affordable and Accessible Ways to Feel Better Now

by Bonnie Lester

Unwind Your Pain and Reclaim Your Life with Neuroplasticity and Self-Care. When you suffer from debilitating chronic pain, living a vibrant, pain-free life may seem impossible. Unwinding Pain: Affordable and Accessible Ways to Feel Better Now is your guide to shake free of the isolation and hopelessness of chronic pain!

As a survivor of complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) caused by a drunk driver, Bonnie Lester intimately understands the challenge of living with persistent pain. From countless doctor’s visits to the missed moments with loved ones to shelling out thousands for expensive pain treatments, Bonnie lived the battle for decades. With a combination of neuroplasticity techniques, lifestyle medicine, and her innovative AIM (Affirmation, Image, Management) program, Bonnie astonished doctors by getting off the opioids, retrained her brain to significantly reduce pain, and reclaimed her life. Now she is helping others do the same.


In this life-changing guide built with chronic pain sufferers in mind, Bonnie reveals her holistic healing approaches and guides readers through a wealth of simple, budget-friendly, and science-backed methods easy to incorporate into daily life. Using the pillars of lifestyle medicine with fascinating case studies of real-world success, this is the tool kit you need to actively improve your life.
Inside, you’ll find:
Techniques to rewire your brain to lower pain levels.

..The game-changing AIM program for rebuilding identity and purpose.
..Nourishing lifestyle habits for whole body healing.

..Empowering mindset shifts to overcome the emotional toll of pain.

..Real-life success stories of transformation.

The ABOUT ME system will walk you through developing your own “unwinding pain” program, tailored for your specific situation. Whether you’re seeking remedies for fibromyalgia, back pain, or other physical ailments, Unwinding Pain is your essential companion on the path to whole-body healing. Packed with humor, creativity, and out-of-the-box at-home techniques, this is the ticket for pain warriors to be advocates for their healing journeys and create the vibrant, pain-free lives they deserve.

374 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 5, 2024

About the author

Bonnie Lester is a renowned chaplain, pain coach, and interfaith minister whose triumph over complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) has made her a beacon of hope for chronic pain sufferers worldwide. Drawing from her rich background in health sciences, counseling, and cultural education, Bonnie empowers individuals to take charge of their well-being through accessible self-care strategies grounded in neuroplasticity and lifestyle medicine.

With an unwavering commitment to helping others reclaim their lives, Bonnie shares the powerful techniques that enabled her to break free from a 30-year battle with one of the most painful neurological syndromes known to humankind. Her expertise is bolstered by advanced training in biopsychosocial chronic pain rehabilitation, cognitive behavioral therapy, the science of well-being, critical incident debriefing, and plant-based nutrition.

Bonnie’s transformative journey has been shaped by her diverse roles as a public health educator, social worker, and police chaplain. She holds a master’s degree in psychology and counseling from American International College and a bachelor’s in health science from San Francisco State University. As an ordained interfaith minister from the Chaplaincy Institute in Berkeley, California, Bonnie brings a holistic perspective to healing.

When not inspiring others through her work, Bonnie enjoys tending to her colorful perennial garden, which boasts a charming unicorn statue, in her Dublin, California, home that she shares with her tech-savvy husband, Len. As a talented jewelry artist and devoted mother to six special needs parrots, Bonnie infuses creativity and compassion into every aspect of her life.

To embark on your own journey of transformation, connect with Bonnie at www.BonnieLester.com or explore her YouTube channel, Overcoming CRPS—Bonnie Lester.

Reviews

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘Unwinding Pain’ is not the book about nerve pain you expect it to be — it’s much better. It details the very real experience of the author who, after getting hit by a drunk driver, gets diagnosed with CPRS — a severe chronic pain illness that left her with extreme nerve pain that was barely treatable even with mass amounts of medication and failed experimental surgeries.

In very easily digestible anecdotes, Lester chronicles her journey to recovery, starting from a (very humorous) a-ha moment to delving deeper into understanding/researching neuroplasticity. From there she develops techniques that help her wean herself from years of pain medication (including opioids). Bit by diligent bit, she unwinds her pain and shares the different methods she employed to successfully return to a life of normalcy and activity after multiple years of suffering. I received this as an ARC from knowing the author, and though I had seen her come out the other side of debilitating pain, I learned so much about how meticulous she was about constructing her way out of it. She also shares stories from the community of people she has met along the way from sharing her journey online.

Also, though she has helped many fellow sufferers of chronic pain, the author doesn’t necessarily purport any of her methods as a panacea. She readily acknowledges the complex nature of chronic pain sufferers, and that each person’s case is very different.

So while ‘Unwinding Pain’ contains case studies, health research, self-help methodology, lifestyle approaches, and mental techniques, perhaps its most important message to chronic pain sufferers everywhere is one of tangible hope and a gleam of light at the end of a long and winding tunnel.

I would recommend this book to anyone who suffers from chronic pain of any level that disrupts one’s life, or anyone interested in the power of neuroplasticity.

[Literary Redhead · Rating 5 out of 5]

A helpful resource written by a chronic pain sufferer who shows that with neuroplasticity and a holistic approach, chronic pain can be managed well. Through her AIM (Affirmation, Image, Management) program, the author was able to get off opioids and retrain her brain to greatly reduce pain and live a much healthier life. Highly recommended!

[Kira K · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I loved the dedication as a chronic pain patient myself and appreciated that she states that even though opioids didn’t help her research shoes they can be helpful to some chronic pain patients as too many demonise opioids due to prejudice or because of their own biassed experiences and I know how essential they can be in getting some pain patients out of bed at all. I liked the provision of so many pain descriptors as sometimes the correct term can be difficult to find and found the case studies on specific conditions good, even though she didn’t cover my condition specifically it covered some conditions similar and ones I know people with. I liked the ‘I remember’ at the end of each chapter to reinforce important messages such as “doctors can’t feel your pain”. Finally, I appreciated the additional resources at the end as they’re very helpful.

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of the most lovely and compassionate books on chronic pain that I've ever read. I greatly valued the author's personal experience, insights and very practical steps that can be taken to at least reduce one's daily pain levels. I felt like she introduced just enough information regarding the science of neuroplasticity without being overwhelming. I've started incorporating some of her mental 'reframing' techniques for helping with fear and anxiety regarding pain, as well as some of her other modalities for coping. Her approach was very organized and methodical, and I found the appendices at the end of each chapter (versus the end of the entire book) with information about other publications or websites for further learning to be extremely helpful. All in all, this is a really wonderful book!