Some of you may have received my email newsletter on Friday, or seen my recent social media posts. But I wanted to give you guys some special info about my newest book Chronically Positive.

Chronically Positive is a collection of my most popular Arthritis Ashley blog posts and essays over the last six or seven years. While it is primarily geared towards those with chronic illness or disability, I think that those who do NOT deal with health problems may learn even more from it! (While those who are chronically ill may *relate* or “get it” more on a personal level, this book made offer healthier folks some insight and understanding so that you are better able to empathize with those who are sick.)

I tried to keep the integrity of the original posts by barely editing them at all. Therefore, common themes and similar stories maybe repeated throughout. Or, the same story may be told in two different ways, as years have gone by and as my views of my illness have been differently shaped and changed due to experience, reflection, perspective, and maturity. Also, it needn’t be read in chronological order for this reason. Each “chapter” is an individual and unique post in it’s own right and can ultimately stand on its own without the rest of the book. It can be read straight through, or one chapter/post at a time.

Unlike Sick Idiot, which was humorous for the most part, Chronically Positive is a more honest, raw, open, and sometimes “hard to swallow” look at life with ongoing and incurable health problems that can at times be frustrating and debilitating. In this book, I talk more about my insecurities, my uncertainties and fears, and the true physical struggle that I deal with on a neardaily basis. But, true to the title, my overarching view always remains positive and hopeful. The vibe is honest but optimistic!

The cover for this one, as it was with Sick Idiot, was a joint effort. I came up with the concept, and attempted to paint some similar watercolor paintings myself that didn’t fare so well. My hubby Mike stepped in and he is the one who cultivated this beautiful cover from the art perspective. Then, my super-talented brother-in-law Matthew took a photograph of the watercolor piece on canvas, and designed the cover around it. (I think it’s fantastic.)

Family, you will appreciate the special dedications at the beginning and the end of the book. While I thanked and acknowledged all of you in my previous two books, there is a special person who this book is written in honor of, and I think we can all guess who it is.

It saddens me greatly that Bups is not here to see my latest accomplishment, because I know he would be so proud and telling everyone about it on my behalf. But I know that on some level he does know about it, and that he always had faith that I would continue my writing career and my professional achievements.

You can order my newest book Chronically Positive today. It will have a wider launch on Tuesday, March 8th, 2016, to the general public. The price is $12.99, and it is available right now on Amazon and the CreateSpace e-store. However, in coming weeks it will have wider distribution to Kindle, Barnes & Noble, and various online bookstores. If any of you have trouble ordering online, you can give me cash or a check, and I will get a copy printed for you and sent to your home.

I thank you all for your support and encouragement, now and always. And also, just so you know, your purchases throughout the month of November and December allowed me to have a fairly large book donation for Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, which I’ll be dropping off in the next week or two.

PS: Once you read this book, or after you have read the other two, please leave me a review on Amazon or Goodreads. It really does help a lot. While I of course want you to purchase the books, because, well, it’s part of my livelihood, LOL, I don’t want you to buy them *just* to help my personal income.

I really and truly would like to share my stories and my writing with you all!

UPDATE: My new book “Chronically Positive” hasn’t even hit wide launch yet, and is already in the Top 10 Hot New Releases of its category and in the Top 100 Best-Sellers in its category on Amazon. Thank you! An Amazon bestseller before its official release. Speechless.