2012: The Year In Review

I’ve been traveling, so I’m getting a late start on commemorating what I endured in 2012.

An asterisk denotes posts that are my favorites; if you don’t want to go through every single one, you can get the highlights from those.

2012 was a year for many things:

The year of the best and the worst:

Sometimes Love Is Just Love* (Best)

Will The Real Nurse Ratched Please Stand Up?* (Worst)

The year of Humira:

Bring Out The Big Guns: Humira, Here I Come

Humor Me, Humira!

Getting Over The Humira Help (With Lots Of Help)

Small Earthquakes In Humira Land

Humira Pen Is Out; Humira Pre-Filled Syringe Is In

Traveling With Humira (I'm Back!!!)

The year of disillusionment:

The Methotrexate Shortage And Me

What Do You Do When You Are Running Out Of Options?

Can You Say Chronic Illness Burnout?

Sometimes The Truth Is Scarier Than Fiction: A First-Hand Account Of A Medical Mistake*

Lupus And RA Deficit, And Finding A Treatment That Works

Things That Medication Can't Cure

X Marks The Spot: Pain And The Reality Of A Little White Pill

There Is No "I" In Team

The year of advocacy and activism:

Patients Rights Are Human Rights

The Accidental Health Activist/Advocate*

Shit Tactless Idiots Say To Sick People*

These Chronic Bitches Be Crazy (And The Healthy Ones Too)*

The year of hanging tough:

Losing Ground, But Gaining Strength

Every Now And Then I Fall Apart

Who Stole My Spoons?

Does This Chronic Illness Stuff Ever Stop Feeling New?

You Win Some, You Lose Some, In The Chronic Illness Game

It's Nothing Personal, But Then Again, It Is

The year of information:

The Trials And Tribulations Of Electronic Medical Records And E-Prescribing*

The year of injuries:

When Good Knees Go Bad

Adding Insult To Injury: What It Means To Be Visible*

The year of grieving losses:

Does Grief Have An Owner

Illness Doesn't Rhyme With Romance

The year of the labs:

Gone, But Not Forgotten

From Bad To Worse: My Worst Blood Draw Experience Ever, Ever*

The year of the flare:

Lupus? I Don't Need No Stinkin' Lupus (But I Do Need A Small Favor)

The True Meaning Of A Flare*

The year of reviews:

The Patient's Checklist

Stopain Review

Sara Gorman's Pillbags

Arthritis Foundation's Ease Of Use Products

Interview With Author Matt Cavallo

Looking forward to sharing 2013 with all of you!

***

And if you’re interested, here’s what I read this year:

1.       “Pictures of You” by Caroline Leavitt (F)

2.      “You Know When the Men Are Gone” by Siobhan Fallon (F)

3.      “Dwarfism” by Betty Adelson (NF)**

4.      “The Magic Room” by Jeffrey Zaslow (NF)

5.      “Against Tall Odds” by Matt Roloff (NF)**

6.      “Dwarfism” by Short Stature Foundation & Information Center, Inc. (NF)**

7.      “Life is Short” by Mark Trombino (NF)**

8.     “Little People” by Dan Kennedy (NF)**

9.      “Private: #1 Suspect” by James Patterson (F)

10.  “Dwarf’s Don’t Live in Doll Houses” (NF)**

11.   “Private Games” by James Patterson (F)

12.  “MWF Seeking BFF” by Rachel Bertsche (NF)

13.  “The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven” by Kevin and Alex Malarkey (NF)

14.  “Nothing Short of Joy” by Julie Genovese (NF)**

15.   “The Pioneer Woman” by Ree Drummond (NF)

16.  “Me and the Ugly C” by Becky Dennington (NF)*

17.   “Downtown Green” by Judy Christie (F)

18.  “White Coat, Black Hat” by Carl Elliott (NF)**

19.  “True Strength” by Kevin Sorbo (NF)*

20. “Heft” by Liz Moore (F)

21.  “Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins

22. “Guilty Wives” by James Patterson (F)

23. “Skinnydipping” by Bethenny Frankel (F)

24. “Dream New Dreams” by Jai Pausch (NF)*

25.  “Limb From Limb” by George Hunter and Melissa Preddy (NF)

26. “11^th Hour” by James Patterson (F)

27.  “A Slaying In The Suburbs” by Steve Miller and Andrea Billups (NF)

28. “Bloom” by Kelle Hampton (NF)*

29. “Fifty Shades of Grey” by E.L. James (F)

30. “Fifty Shades Darker” by E.L. James (F)

31.  “Fifty Shades Freed” by E.L. James (F)

32. “What Remains” by Carole Radziwill (NF)*

33. “I, Michael Bennett” by James Patterson (F)

34. “Shoe Addicts Anonymous” by Beth Harbison (F)

35.  “Secrets of a Shoe Addict” by Beth Harbison (F)

36. “Hope in a Jar” by Beth Harbison (F)

37.  “Thin, Rich, Pretty” by Beth Harbison (F)

38. “Always Something There To Remind Me” by Beth Harbison (F)

39. “Mortality” by Christopher Hitchens (NF)*

40. “Still Alice” by Lisa Genova (F)*

41.  “Left Neglected” by Lisa Genova (F)*

42. “Gone Girl” by Gillian Flynn (F)

43. “Having Epilepsy” by Joseph Schneider and Peter Conrad (NF)* **

44. “The End of Your Life book Club” by Will Schwalbe (NF)*

45.  “Passage Through Crisis” by Fred Davis (NF)* **

46. “Happier At Home” by Gretchen Rubin (NF)

47.  “Grow Your Handmade Business” by Kari Chapin (NF)

48. “The God of Driving” by Amy Fine Collins (NF)

49. “The Dog Story” by Matt Cavallo (NF)*

50. “When In Doubt, Add Butter” by Beth Harbison (F)

51.   “In Sickness As In Health” by Barbara Kivowitz and Roanne Weisman (NF)*

52.  “Handmade to Sell” by Kelly Rand (NF)

53.  “Brain on Fire” by (NF)*

(F) – Fiction

(NF) – Non-fiction

* Books specifically of interest to chronically ill readers

** Academic books/books for my research/dissertation