Good Morning Reader,

As I went to write this newsletter, I was devastated to see a draft for the start of 2025 Uncorked Reading never sent. My chronic, autoimmune health conditions have gotten the best of me - which I'll end with - but I wanted to get everyone cruising with Spring 2025 Uncorked Reading.

I'm kicking off the new bingo card with "Floral Cover," reading Phantasma by Kaylie Smith and also Tom Lake by Ann Patchett.

Grab Your Spring Uncorked Bingo Cards Here

Our next Uncorked Bingo card is for April to June 2025; download cards from this email, head over to our Uncorked Readers Facebook group's pinned/featured posts, or use this shared Canva template (1000px x 1500px; it is free).

Find the complete Uncorked Reading Challenge here. This year, we are also using StoryGraph, which is a little imperfect for the style of our challenge, but still helpful for themed reading recs.

Spring Reading Challenge Themes

April through June topics include:

• Smaller Country
• Floral Cover
• Where The Landscape Is Its Own Character - Read about something where people have harsh winters - books like Burial Rites come to mind - or travel to the English countryside.
• Book Recommended By A Friend
• Under 200 Pages - This is a great time to read a classic or find shorter translated literature.
• Teacher(s)
• Childhood Favorite
• Turning The Page/New Beginnings - Find a book about starting over/fresh, moving on, changing your life or career, switching paths, second chances, moving abroad, ending a relationship, or even a self-help/improvement book.

Why I've Been Absent

Last year, I had to switch my ulcerative colitis (UC) medication, which had stopped working. It went out with a bang. I started a new one. It stopped or never worked; my GI office is unfortunately too inexperienced to know. They don't have any IBD specialists on staff, which is what I need.

Hurricane Helene devastated our Asheville area, and we are all still recovering. Then, came a new Graves' Disease and Thyroid Eye Disease (TED) diagnosis along with UC-induced arthritis. At one point, I couldn't even stand to brush my teeth. Hyperthyroidism is no joke, and one day, I will need surgery to remove my thyroid. I also cannot take the one existing TED medication because it conflicts with my ulcerative colitis... so, I'm struggling with very blurry, buggy, and dry eyes.

It's been a year of ER visits, utter exhaustion, and never-ending doctors' appointments (think 5-7 in two weeks, multiple times), many of which have been unhelpful or even harmful. It's really hard - and a bit devastating - when your full-time job becomes managing your health.

I’m currently being pounded with high dose Prednisone from all angles - no taper planned since I have no working UC meds. I’m waiting to start Tremfya (watch those TV commercials). It was FDA approved last fall for UC and just last week for Crohn’s. I’m laid out hard on my butt in pain and just sick.

I have an appointment mid-summer with a renowned New England Crohn’s & Colitis medical program close to where I’m originally from to get my life back. I cannot continue on like this; I’m not getting the specialized care I desperately need and deserve here in Asheville or the Upstate (South Carolina). Our offices are too slammed, and we don't have many specialists. It’s just scopes and random nurses filling in for doctors I never see. Gaslighting. Gatekeeping. Misdiagnosing. This is the consequence.

I’m also on my 4th GI, second practice, second state since moving to Asheville. Duke won’t take me for UC (they do for my thyroid eyes; it's heartbreaking), and Charlotte, NC is booking too far out with limited specialists, which sounds just as dangerous as my current situation. I didn't have this issue in Orlando or Hartford.

Healthcare - and good healthcare - is unfortunately a privilege in the U.S. and not a right, and I’m so lucky I will have the opportunity to try to get better care. It’s not ideal, but I hope it is life changing. Our healthcare system is broken, no matter where you live.

With all that said, I'm still here and will be OK; one day. And when I am, I'll be right back at it. Regardless, the reading challenge is always here, and thank you to our group members for keeping it alive.

Happy Spring 2025 Uncorked Reading!