Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert is what some readers would refer to as a rom-com. Some readers may use other terms such as “chick lit” or “women’s fiction,” but I’m not a fan of those terms. You should know that this particular rom-com has quite a high level of “spice,” meaning explicit “steamy” scenes.

But here’s the main thing you should know about Ms. Hibbert’s novel:  Chloe Brown, the main character, is a Black woman who lives with fibromyalgia, a chronic illness causing chronic pain. Plus, the book features an interracial relationship. I love this sentence taken from the author’s website:  “She writes spicy, diverse romance because she believes that people of marginalised identities need honest and positive representation.”

This week, I share with you just a few of the passages that really stood out to me: 

“Most people had trouble accepting the fact that Chloe was ill. Fibromyalgia and chronic pain were invisible afflictions, so they were easy to dismiss. Eve was healthy, so she would never feel Chloe’s bone-deep exhaustion, her agonizing headaches or the shooting pains in her joints, the fevers and confusion, the countless side effects that came from countless medications. But Eve didn’t need to feel all of that to have empathy. She didn’t need to see Chloe’s tears or pain to believe her sister struggled sometimes. Neither, for that matter, did Dani. They understood.”

“It had been a frustrating few days. She’d fallen into an infuriating cycle when she’d climbed that tree. Physical overload led to pain and a complete dearth of spoons, also known as mind-numbing exhaustion; which led to extra meds and insomnia; which led to sleeping pills and too much brain fog; which led to, in a word, misery.”

“…my body was different. The weight on my chest, and the cold — they faded, as I got better. But my bones still felt fragile. It never went away. Over the months, I noticed more and more problems. I was exhausted all the time. I got these awful headaches for no reason. And there was the pain — always, so much pain. I’d go for a walk and feel like I’d worked every muscle to the point of tearing. If I spent too long on my laptop, my hands would hurt so badly I cried. I started feeling afraid of my own body, like it was a torture chamber I’d been trapped inside.”

Please note: I am including a link to buy the book that I’m highlighting this week. If you use my link, I do make a small commission on your purchase at no additional cost to you. I am working with Bookshop.org which also sends a portion of the profit to support local, independent bookstores.