From Blog to Book

Anytime I spoke about my life someone always said I should write a book, so I did. Hi, I’m Jenni, and I wrote, Well That’s Not Very Ladylike, a memoir that reflects on 28 years of living with Crohn’s Disease and the life struggles that came after my Crohn’s diagnosis. For over a decade I wrote a blog about what it was like attempting to have what’s considered a normal life, even though I was sick and faced numerous challenges and limitations. My blog was written with witty humor as I discussed job loss, being dismissed and ignored by medical professionals, my many attempts at trying the latest miracle cures, and some of the battles I nearly lost with my mental health. Not only are there excerpts from my blog in the memoir, there is also commentary about what else was going on behind the scenes that wasn’t included in the original posts.

Over the years I was determined to keep my blog a positive and humorous source of support and information for fellow Crohnies, but everything came to a screeching halt when my childhood trauma repeated itself 30 years later. It wasn’t until I was able to acknowledge all the trauma I had gone through that I finally began to sort out all of the painful and complicated feelings I was trying my best to ignore and pretend didn’t hurt me. However, just when I was feeling like I had finally gotten a handle on everything, I was faced with another health crisis, then another, and then another. Somehow I managed to keep my sense of humor through it all and in 2021, I decided it was time to write the book everyone in my life had always encouraged me to do.   

As if writing an entire book about my life wasn’t enough, here are some more interesting things about me: I’m a midwesterner who was born, raised, and still lives in Ohio. When I’m not traipsing back and forth between doctor’s appointments and hospital stays, I enjoy simple things like taking care of my plants and flower garden, working on jigsaw puzzles, and trying my hand at DIY projects. I like to hang out with my friends, eat snacks, and binge-watch shows and movies I’ve already seen a million times. Despite writing about the nitty-gritty details of my life for the world to read, I’m not a very social person and prefer staying home in the company of my sweet little rescue dog and snarky therapy cat.  

 Writing is something I’ve always found incredibly therapeutic. I enjoyed writing short stories when I was a kid and used to dream about being a real, published author one day. That dream became a reality in 2020 when I collaborated with the creator of The Chargimals and we co wrote the book, Donny and the Three Strange Normberts among many other short stories about the Chargimals characters. Whether it was reflective posts about real life for my blog or the imaginary adventures of the Chargimals, writing has played an intricate role in my healing process, and it’s something I hope to continue doing as long as possible.  

Well, That’s Not Very Ladylike is a raw, honest account of only a handful of the hard things I have gone through that most people would never so openly discuss. I’ve always had a knack for saying the things you generally keep in your head though, and I intend to keep doing just that, no matter what. Eventually, I would like to elaborate on my experience with domestic violence and how the fallout from what I went through was the very thing that saved my life, but that’s a whole other book! Until then my hope is that this memoir resonates with those fighting through life due to past or present trauma, physical or mental illness, or anything else life has thrown at them so they know that they are not alone and that shoving down or ignoring the big, bad feelings isn’t the way to fix anything. It took me entirely too long to stop running from my past and figure out how to make myself a priority. Hopefully, this book can save someone else that same struggle. We all have a story to tell, and I hope you enjoy reading mine.