Episode 33: Author Anitriss Smith, ”Undefeated: My Fight with Crohn’s Disease”

In today’s episode, author Anitriss Smith shares her 18-year journey with Crohn’s Disease and how her desire to help others with IBD know that they are not alone, drove her to tell her story in her new book Undefeated: My fight with Crohn’s Disease.

Diagnosed in 2000 after experiencing her first flare during a family road trip to Canada, it took Anitriss 16 years of struggling with Crohn’s before she finally found the right care and treatment at the University of Michigan Hospital. Her previous doctors–despite many tests, medications, and pain killers–never succeeded in helping her achieve remission. In 2016, she was finally started on Remicade and was able to start taking back control of her health and life.

She talks about the important role her husband and children continue to play in providing support and laughter throughout her Crohn’s journey. Her children are always eager to help during flares by cooking food (and snuggling) and she’s learned over the years to help her body heal by getting rest, finding peace and a quiet escape through reading scripture, and adjusting her diet.

It was just last year, after spending so much time battling a disease she felt she couldn’t win, that she realized, “I’m still standing,” and with the encouragement of her husband, she began writing. After battling Crohn’s for so long, she couldn’t sit around anymore and not share what she had learned and experienced. The process of writing was not only therapeutic, but was her way of being able to help others going through the same thing. Battling IBD is not just a physical fight, but a mental and emotional one as well.

“I am a woman of faith and family,” she says in her book. “I’ve had many trials and challenges with this disease and its effects. Now, I am taking charge of my health and future. My goal is to encourage others to unite and in turn challenge others to do the same. Together we are UNDEFEATED!”

Anitriss’ book is available on Amazon or through direct sales. If you’d like a signed copy, you can direct message her on Facebook (she accepts PayPal, Cash App, check or money order) or if you’re in the Flint, Michigan, area, you can bring your copy to her book signing:

Undefeated: My Fight With Crohn’s Disease 
Saturday, August 24, 2019
1:00pm-3:00pm
Totem Books
620 W. Court St.
Flint, MI 49503

https://www.amazon.com/Undefeated-My-fight-Crohns-Disease/dp/1075984300/
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorAnitrissSmith/
https://www.facebook.com/anitriss.smith