The Year my Life Went Down the Toilet

Locations
Call Number: Y Fiction / Arlow, Jake , Kids Book / Fiction / General / Arlow, Jake Maia
On Shelf At: Downtown Library, Malletts Creek Branch, Westgate Branch

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown Kids Books 4-week checkout	Y Fiction / Arlow, Jake	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Malletts Kids Books 4-week checkout	Kids Book / Fiction / General / Arlow, Jake Maia	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Westgate Kids Books 4-week checkout	Kids Book / Fiction / General / Arlow, Jake Maia	4-week checkout	On Shelf

Twelve-year-old Al, short for Alison, navigates an overprotective mother, growing apart from her best friend, and her first girl crush, all while her recent Crohn's diagnosis puts a knot in her stomach.

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COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Incredible read for kids (or adults) with chronic illnesses submitted by redwood on July 18, 2023, 12:58pm Early on, 12-year-old Al gets diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Bathroom-related problems at that age—as I well know—are deeply embarrassing. A bit of a loner at school, she’s also keeping her sexuality a secret, exploring it only through TikTok. Her best friend Leo is in the school musical, so she gets less time with him, and there’s something going on with her (very worried) mom as well. The colon-emotion relationship is on full display here—stress aggravates Al’s IBD.

The medical care in this book seemed almost unreasonably good to me. Al’s gastroenterologist is patient, completely respects her autonomy, and cares about her mental health. The GI also suggests a support group for other middle schoolers with IBD. Al’s nervous at first, but quickly finds a tight group of friends who really get what she’s going through. With their help, she begins untangling the intense shame she feels about many parts of her life.

I frequently found myself jealous of Al. This book is set near New York City, but I grew up having to drive over an hour for medical care that never satisfied me. I first met someone my age with IBD in college. This book doesn’t shy away from the ugly things, but also lays out an aspirational vision for chronic illness support. Kids can only advocate for themselves if they know what they deserve, and this book tells them. If you have chronically ill young people in your life, consider buying them a copy. I laughed and cried so much, and I sincerely think my life would be different now if this book had existed when I was a teenager.