The Pillow Writers are an international ME/CFS writing group. They are a very friendly online group that meets to share thoughts and feelings on any topic, including, but not limited to, experience of chronic illness. They encourage a wide range of writing and have several different types of meeting each with a different emphasis. Meetings take place on Sundays, Mondays, Thursdays and Wednesdays. Click here for more details.

Steven and Jaime sit down with Pillow Writers, Bobbi Ausubel, Ann Greenberger, and Laila Solaris to discuss the group's first anthology, Near-Life Experiences. This episode also includes readings by the guests, information on how to get involved with the group, their process as writers, and so much more.

Pillow Writers Anthology 1: Near-Life Experiences is available now at Amazon in e-book, print, and audiobook formats. All proceeds from the sale of this book go to #MEAction.

Free Giveaway!
One lucky winner will receive a free paperback copy of the book (limited to US, UK, Germany, France, Japan, Canada, and Italy), and another winner will receive a free copy of the audiobook (limited to US & UK).

To enter:

• Listen to the episode
• Email podcast@meaction.net by December 15th with "Pillow Writers Giveaway" as the subject heading.
• Please indicate whether you'd prefer the audiobook, paperback, or either version.
• Please include your name, and if your preference is for the paperback, please list your home address as well so we can have it delivered to the winner.

Cynthia Adinig is a marketing specialist turned Long COVID advocate. She is the co-founder of BIPOC Equity Agency which is a diversity, equity, and inclusion agency with a focus on healthcare, policy, and research. She is a board member of SolveME, and a steering member of the Long COVID Alliance. She has testified on Capitol Hill on Long COVID and racism, and has been featured in TIME, The Washington Post, USA Today, and NBC News among others. Cynthia discusses her journey with Long COVID, her life in advocacy, and the work she's doing with BIPOC Equity Agency.

David Tuller obtained his Doctorate in public health from UC Berkeley. He is a senior fellow in public health and journalism at UC Berkeley's Center for Global Public Health.

He was a reporter and editor for ten years at The San Francisco Chronicle, and served as health editor at Salon. He has also written articles about public health and medical issues for The New York Times and the policy journal Health Affairs.

Since 2015, he has been investigating scientific, methodological, and ethical problems with research on myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome. His ongoing series on this issue, Trial By Error, can be found on Virology Blog, the science site hosted by Vincent Racaniello, a microbiology professor at Columbia University.

This episode concludes season one of Chronically Complex. We'll be off in the month of February while we make some improvements to the show. If you have any suggestions you'd like us to consider, send us an email at podcast@meaction.net. We look forward to continuing the conversation in March!