Endometriosis from Harm to Hope - by Casey Berna (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Endometriosis is so much more than "a bad period" or a reproductive disease.

Endometriosis ravages us, decimating our organs, fertility, and quality of life. It can affect multiple systems in our bodies, including our digestive system, urinary system, endocrine system, nervous system, and immune system.

Endometriosis from Harm to Hope explains what endometriosis is, how to manage it, and while there is no cure, what your current treatment options are. Written by a mental health provider who dealt with her own endometriosis for decades, this guide does not gloss over the difficult mental toll of a chronic disease like endometriosis. Instead, it weaves in stories of patients who've been where you are and gives you the tools you need to advocate for yourself in the doctor's office, look after your mental health, and educate yourself, no matter where you are in your endometriosis journey.

Endometriosis has taken many things, but despite all it has robbed us of, we still have value. We still have strengths. We are worthy of love, dignity, and joy because we exist, despite our limited capacities. We may not have complete control over our bodies, but through support, self-love, and self-care we can make sure it doesn't ravage every bit of us.

Review Quotes

Endometriosis from Harm to Hope: A Chronic Illness Guide is exceptionally well done in my view. Casey speaks the truth of those with endometriosis, validating their experience and arming them with information with which to make better choices, let alone filling an emotional damage gap pretty much most have felt. I have read a lot of work over the last 39 years and this takes the cake!!--Nancy Petersen, RN, Co-founder of the first LAPEX program for the complete excision of endometriosis with David Redwine MD, Founder Nancy's Nook Endometriosis Education, Facebook

Endometriosis from Harm to Hope: A Chronic Illness Guide, is honest, vulnerable, and realistic. This book will serve as more than just a guide - it is a lifeline. Berna's expertise as both a mental health professional and leading disease advocate shines through in every chapter, making the book an essential read for anyone with endometriosis or supporting someone who lives with it, as well as fellow practitioners who may treat those with the disease. In a field saturated with mere clinical analysis or overly simplistic self-help rhetoric, Berna's work is refreshingly and deeply compassionate and genuinely useful. This is the book the endometriosis community has needed for far too long.--Heather Guidone, BCPA, Surgical Program Director at the Center for Endometriosis Care

About the Author

Casey Berna has a Master's of Social Work from Fordham University and is a licensed clinical social worker. She currently maintains her own private practice where she specializes in supporting patients dealing with stress, anxiety, grief, and medical trauma in the endometriosis, infertility, pregnancy loss and chronic illness communities.
As a long-standing patient advocate, Casey has collaborated with Project Endo, The Endometriosis Research Center, The Endometriosis Summit, The Endometriosis Coalition, The Sister-Girl Foundation, and the Latina Endometriosis League of America to improve access to care while calling attention to the mental health impact of endometriosis and infertility. She has also had the pleasure of working with other nonprofits in the community, such as Gynoqueer, Extrapelvic Not Rare, and received EndoBlack, Inc.'s, Outstanding Ally award at their inaugural gala. Her documentary, "Endotruths: Impact of Endometriosis and Infertility on Mental Health," was featured in the Unmentionables Film Festival in Harlem, New York.