Lightening the Shadow
COVID-19 long haulers, you need to read this book!
The Sisterhood of Motherhood
A novella about a different kind of reproductive choice

Cover of The Sisterhood of Motherhood
The Sisterhood of Motherhood: This is a novella about family building, transformative love, and a different reproductive choice. As Bethany, the baby sister of the family, steps up to support her sister-in-law and brother through their infertility and cancer diagnosis, she steps into the role of a gestational surrogate. Determined to push herself beyond her comfort zone, Bethany faces a year of medical and legal challenges. She thinks she's prepared for the emotional, physical, and family changes that come with her decision but is soon surprised by shifting family dynamics and even questions her own motivations for surrogacy. Is she building up her family, or is she building up herself?

Buy the ebook from Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, or another online bookseller. Review it on Goodreads!

​"Darla Nagel tells a moving, character-driven tale of sisterhood and friendship that demonstrates the resilience of the human spirit amid adversity."
 —Pikasho Deka for Readers’ Favorite

​Thanks to Sarah Fraps Editorial Services for the friendly and insightful manuscript evaluation and custom plan and ebook launch for the quick, affordable creation of the cover!
 Lightening the Shadow
Lightening the Shadow: Imagine that just as your adult life is starting, what starts as a cold leads to inability to concentrate, digestive problems, and muscle twitches. You feel like you're fifty years older and unplugged in crushing darkness. How do you rebuild your life and remain useful to others?

Lightening the Shadow: Diagnosing and Learning to Live with an Invisible Chronic Illness is my memoir. By sharing my experiences and lessons learned, I mean to shine a light for my fellow patients and people without diagnoses and to enlighten healthy people, especially doctors, about my particular illness.

Buy the book from Amazon.com, Bookshop.org, or another online bookseller; CMU Bookstore in Mt. Pleasant; Bueche's in Flushing; or AMaizing BookBee in Flushing. Excerpts have been published in Patient Voice, Breath & Shadow, and Forward in Christ. To learn more, please email me and read my blog, where I sometimes share parts of the book that enlighten readers.

"Filled with wisdom, practical advice, and a detailed illustration of what patients experience."
​—Leonard A. Jason, PhD, Professor of Psychology, DePaul University​

This is a top book for people with long COVID. Review it on Goodreads!

Thanks to Michael Brady Designs for the cover design and ebook launch for the quick, affordable creation of the ebook version!

Resources for People Who Have ME/CFS,
​long COVID, or Fibromyalgia

    Get your free tip sheet on living with a chronic illness!
    Get a sneak peek at the core of the memoir Lightening the Shadow. Then I'll email you quarterly with new patient resources or new blog posts. I have neither the desire nor the energy to do anything else with your email address, so I promise it's safe with me. See some of the other resources that have helped me below.
Campbell, Bruce, and Charles Lapp. Treating CFS/FM Self-Study. Online course. Accessed May 16, 2020. http://www.cfidsselfhelp.org/online-courses/treating-cfs-fm-self-study.

Murphree, Rodger H. Treating and Beating Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. 5th ed. Birmingham, AL: Harrison and Hampton Publishing, 2013. (Disclosure: I copyedited this edition.)

MEPedia. http://me-pedia.org/wiki/Welcome_to_MEpedia.

Solve ME/CFS Initiative. https://solvecfs.org/.

Verrillo, Erica F. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Treatment Guide. 2nd ed. Williamsburg, MA: Erica F. Verrillo, 2012.