My story didn’t begin with an IBD diagnosis. For around 15 years, I lived with chronic abdominal pain without really knowing why. Doctors suggested various possibilities over the years, including irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Eventually, after my symptoms became considerably more serious, I was diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease. That long period of not really knowing what was wrong is also part of this story.
After developing symptoms that eventually led me deeper into the world of gastroenterologists, colonoscopies, medications, diets and more conversations about bowel movements than I ever imagined having, I discovered something else: there is an enormous amount to learn when you’re diagnosed with IBD.
I’ve also had the unusual experience of being diagnosed with Crohn’s disease by one gastroenterologist and ulcerative colitis by another. If the doctors can find it confusing, the rest of us probably deserve a little help.
Oh Shit follows my journey through diagnosis and living with IBD while exploring many of the things people with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis encounter along the way — medications, diet, mental health, relationships, doctors, hospitals, colonoscopies, stomas, toilets and the endless search for things that might make life a little easier.
But this isn’t a medical textbook. And it certainly isn’t another book promising that if you eat the right vegetable, buy the right supplement or discover the secret blend of eleven herbs and spices, your IBD will magically disappear. There are no miracle cures here. No bullshit promises.
Instead, I’ve tried to write the book I would have liked to read when I first became sick: something informative and practical, but also honest, personal and funny. Because sometimes chronic illness is serious. Sometimes it’s frightening. And sometimes you accidentally confuse the word “colitis” with “clitoris.”
Then there were the dietary experiments, where I started to suspect the blender was getting more enjoyment out of my food than I was. At that point, you may as well laugh.
More Than IBD
Although Oh Shit is told through my experience with inflammatory bowel disease, much of the book is about something broader: living with chronic illness. The loss of control. The anxiety. The effect on family. The endless appointments. The well-meaning advice. The mental battles. Learning what matters and what doesn’t. And eventually discovering that being sick doesn’t mean life has stopped.
Some of those experiences will also be familiar to people living with IBS or other chronic conditions. The diseases may be different, but the disruption they can cause to everyday life can cross a lot of the same territory. So whether you have Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, IBS, another chronic illness, love someone who does, or simply want to understand what living with one can actually be like, I hope there’s something in these pages for you.
What I Hope You Take From It
I don’t have all the answers. I’m not a doctor, and this book isn’t intended to replace one. I’m simply someone who got sick, asked a ridiculous number of questions, tried to understand what was happening to me, made some mistakes, learned a few things and decided to write it all down.
If Oh Shit can help you understand your illness a little better, give you an idea worth discussing with your doctor, make you feel less alone, or simply make you laugh on a particularly shitty day, then it has done what I wanted it to do.
Real stories. Hard lessons. Better days. You’re not alone — and the party goes on.
Coming 1 December 2026.