Queer and trans people have always had to find new paths for our survival
And in doing so, we have widened the options for everyone to live authentic lives as their whole selves.
Queer illder ancestor Kiyoshi Kuromiya of ACT UP Philadelphia starts to hurl himself
onto brick wall outside the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office
in 2000 at his final civil disobedience action
after a life of justice struggles,
at a protest for global HIV treatment access.
Our strategies for dealing with chronic illnesses, like our communities themselves, are diverse, creative and take nothing for granted.
The Cranky Queer Guide to Chronic Illness: Strategies for Health and Wellness in Sick Times is queering the self-help genre, bridging journalism, memoir, information, how-to lists & creative/ spiritual approaches to becoming “illders”: wise elders of any age who turn the demands of chronic conditions into opportunities for self-knowledge, connection & justice. It takes on the challenges (and surprising opportunities) of living with illness, with humor, empathy, real-world guidance and queer joy.
We share struggles across our conditions.
And together, we can find and share answers.
We can overturn the misguided norms and omissions of consumer health information. Market forces can be exposed, instead of accommodated — it’s our survival at stake.
Get involved:
Understanding our shared struggles across conditions — whether the convoluted circles of hell of medical systems or insurance companies, or the paradox of needing quality sleep to repair from the harms of conditions that deny us quality sleep — gives us a foundation of growth and wellness to overcome our isolated suffering.