Laurie Edwards is a 32-year-old writer trying to balance multiple chronic illnesses (PCD, bronchiectasis, celiac disease, etc.) with the rest of her life. Her first book, Life Disrupted: Getting Real About Chronic Illness in Your Twenties and Thirties (Walker), was named one of 2008’s Best Consumer Health Books by Library Journal, and Publisher’s Weekly called her “wise, generous, and a terrific storyteller.”

Her second book, In The Kingdom of the Sick: A Social History of Chronic Illness in America, (Walker) is now on sale. Booklist recently gave it a starred review, calling it “An indispensable book for anyone with or concerned about chronic
disease, and everyone interested in the health professions,” and Kirkus Reviews called it “well researched” and “A timely call to attention to a global health problem.”

Laurie has been published in the New York Times, Boston Globe, Boston Globe Magazine, Glamour, and many other outlets. She is also a contributor to Cognoscenti, the Ideas and Opinions page of WBUR, Boston’s NPR station. Her blog, A Chronic Dose, was named one of Health Central’s Top Sites for Pain in 2007, and was featured in Wired. She’s an advocate for young adults with chronic illness, and is a frequent speaker at conferences, virtual conferences, webinars, and other venues. In 2009, she was invited to participate in a round-table discussion about health care with President Bill Clinton at the Clinton Foundation. She’s particularly interested in patient engagement, social media and patient advocacy, and chronic illness and public health

Laurie has a BA from Georgetown University and an MFA from Emerson College, where she won the departmental award for Nonfiction writing. She teaches writing for the health sciences at Northeastern University, and lives with her husband, daughter, and rescue dog outside of Boston, MA.