Love and Other Incurable Ailments

Serenity Tomczyk isn’t dying—she just has anxiety, a WebMD habit, and a cat named Margaret Thatcher. After breaking off her engagement and losing both parents, she retreats into a predictable life of retail shifts, group therapy, and the safety of solitude.

Then a box of passionate letters appears in a dumpster behind her aunt’s home décor shop, and Serenity becomes captivated by the mysterious man who wrote them. Soon, she’s chasing a fantasy 900 miles from Michigan to Ocracoke Island, North Carolina, in search of the stranger she knows only as “Birdy.”

Thrown from her carefully padded comfort zone, Serenity discovers unexpected friendships, uncomfortable truths, and the possibility of love. But when her imagined happy ending begins to unravel, she must decide if holding on—or letting go—is the bravest thing she can do.

With wit, heart, and irrepressible warmth, Love and Other Incurable Ailments is a story about connection, courage, and becoming yourself—just when you thought it was too late.