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But You Don't Look Sick
  • Published: 9 February 2027
  • ISBN: 9781761359323
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • Format: Trade Paperback
  • Pages: 288
  • RRP: $36.99
Categories:

But You Don't Look Sick

Real stories and practical strategies for living with chronic illness

Formats & editions
Tr. Paperback
9 Feb 2027
EBook
9 Feb 2027
Audiobook
9 Feb 2027
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An honest and deeply human exploration of chronic illness and what happens when life doesn't go according to plan.

When journalist Brooke Campbell Bayes was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, her world unravelled quickly, messily and, to almost everyone around her, invisibly.

Searching for something to help her understand this new reality, Brooke found plenty of medical information, but very little about how to actually live with chronic illness: the grief, guilt and isolation. So, she wrote the book she wished she'd had.

In But You Don't Look Sick, Brooke combines her own experience with personal conversations with well-known Australians, including Michael Klim, Jamila Rizvi and Osher Günsberg. She pulls back the curtain on lives that may look shiny from the outside, revealing the hidden battles being fought. Alongside practical tips from Dr Lisa Grech and Dr Kate McBride, they share what chronic illness has taken, what it has taught them, and the hard-won wisdom that has helped them navigate their way through.

For those living with chronic illness or disability – and the people who love them – this book offers a lifeline of honesty, comfort and connection.
  • Published: 9 February 2027
  • ISBN: 9781761359323
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • Format: Trade Paperback
  • Pages: 288
  • RRP: $36.99
Categories:

About the author

Brooke Campbell Bayes

Brooke Campbell Bayes is an Australian television producer, writer and journalist who has spent more than 20 years working across some of the country’s biggest television programs and media organisations. A natural storyteller, her career has been built around finding and sharing the stories that connect us, particularly the messy, complicated and often unseen parts of life. After being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and experiencing a dramatic shift in her health, career and identity, Brooke turned her attention to writing about life with chronic illness and disability. Her work combines lived experience with the stories and insights of others, exploring the realities we don’t always see from the outside with honesty, warmth and humour. Brooke lives in Sydney with her husband and two daughters, where she is working on her next book and continuing her lifelong quest to learn how to rest.
portrait photo of Brooke Campbell Bayes

Praise for But You Don't Look Sick

I’ve seen the effects of chronic illness first hand when my mother was diagnosed with Cerebral Vasculitis in 1996. I didn’t properly appreciate many of her challenges until I read this book. A must-read, not just for those faced with chronic illness, but for those trying to support a loved one through it.

Andy Lee