Let’s talk about living in survival mode.

I’ve been sick since I was twelve years old. In the early 2000s, growing up in a small town, the doctors had no idea what was wrong with me. Instead of referring me to specialists, they told me for years that it was just anxiety that it was all in my head. By fifteen, I finally saw a gastroenterologist. It turned out I was sick. I had the worst acid reflux the doctor had seen in his twenty-year career. My gallbladder had also failed. Around the same time, I noticed my toes and fingers would go numb and I developed severe mouth ulcers. No one realized it was all connected. By the time I was 24, I gave birth to my only child. The day after delivery, my body went into a type of post-traumatic shock triggered by hormones. I started to swell. My joints hurt so badly I could hardly move. It took another year and months of bloodwork before I was finally diagnosed with Behçet’s Disease. It flared every month for years, triggered by my hormone cycle. It also caused gastroparesis, which wouldn’t be properly diagnosed for nine more years. I’m now 37, and “struggle” has become part of my daily vocabulary.

But throughout this journey, I’ve always had one escape: reading.It started with Nicholas Sparks as a teenager, Then Twilight, Then I discovered Kelly Elliott an incredible spicy romance and suspense author who deserves way more recognition. In February 2024, I decided to start reading full-time because diving into other worlds makes my hard reality easier. I’ve even come across some amazing books that include illness representation stories where people like me finally see themselves.

My world is hard, but books make it easier. That is why I created Beyond the Spice Level.