Gutsy (Living My Best Life with with Crohn's Disease & Ulcerative Colitis)

A personal story of navigating Crohn's Disease that includes insights from experts, demystifying Inflammatory Bowel Disease and offering readers a relatable, honest resource.

Heather Fegan was fifteen years old when she was tentatively diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis. It started with a pain in her side. The dull ache turned into sharp, stabbing pains and wrenching cramps that clenched and tightened every time she ate. The diagnosis would change her life, but by the time she was nineteen she learned that she actually had another serious form of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD): Crohn's.

There is no cure, no known cause, and little public understanding of the pain, chronic suffering, and isolation IBD patients cope with every day of their lives. Canada has among the world's highest IBD incidence rates – and Nova Scotia's rate is the highest in the world.

In Gutsy: Living My Best Life with Crohn's Disease & Ulcerative Colitis, journalist, freelance writer, blogger — and past president of the Halifax chapter of Crohn's and Colitis Canada — Heather Fegan weaves her personal experience of living with Crohn's with expert insights from doctors, nurse practitioners, dietitians, and researchers. Honest and optimistic, with a dozen photos from her personal journey, Gutsy brings a fresh new perspective to demystifying Inflammatory Bowel Disease.