The Girl's Guide to Guts

NBC News correspondent Chloe Melas and New York Times bestselling author Judy Batalion help you tackle the emotional and practical realities of bowel disease with candor, humor, and the kind of lived experience most medical experts can’t offer.

Bloating. Pain. Cramps. Gas. Food fear . . . Your doctor gives you medical advice. Your nutritionist suggests dietary changes. But who actually knows what you’re going through? Over 100 million women are living with IBS, IBD, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, and other chronic gut issues, yet most are ashamed to share their stories.

In The Girl’s Guide to Guts, Chloe Melas and Judy Batalion, who together have more than fifty years of experience living with ulcerative colitis, are here loud and proud, writing with remarkable openness about everything from bleeding and bloating to sex and fertility, what to do after a diagnosis, the anxiety of living with a chronic illness, what to bring in your carry-on (and we’re not talking heels!), and the countless lattes purchased in exchange for use of a bathroom. They also interview experts in their field to give you the inside scoop on what your doctor is actually thinking.

Here, you’ll read about figuring out how to survive a first date when your stomach is gurgling, navigating colonoscopies and chronic pain while raising kids and working high-pressure jobs, and learning how to advocate for yourself with your doctors.

The Girl’s Guide to Guts takes the conversations many readers are already having and puts them center stage. Welcome to the bowel movement movement!