Cultivate a Life You Love. Despite It All
A chronic illness lifestyle blog for women who are done living by default and ready to build something exceptional.
Maybe you just got a diagnosis that changed everything. Maybe you’ve been living with chronic illness long enough to realize this is your life now — and you’re finally ready to stop just managing it and start actually living.
You don’t have to choose between your illness and a life that feels meaningful, beautiful, and full. This is a space for women who are done living by default — where we talk honestly about the hard parts and intentionally about building something better.
Despite it all.
New here? Begin with our Start Here page to explore how to navigate this site, discover what we offer, and take the first steps toward a life of purpose, joy, and resilience.
This is for you if:
You’re living with chronic illness and trying to figure out what a good life even looks like now. Maybe you’re grieving the person you were before your diagnosis. Maybe you’ve spent years focused on surviving and you’re finally ready to think about something more.
You might have MS, fibromyalgia, Lyme disease, or any number of conditions that have quietly reshaped your entire world. Your illness is real. Your limitations are real. And so is your desire for a life that feels like yours.
If someone close to you is walking this road and you’re trying to understand — you’re welcome here too.
Explore Our Key Areas
Think of this as a map of paths leading toward a more exceptional life — built specifically for the terrain of chronic illness. Wander at your own pace or dive into whatever speaks to you today.
CULTIVATING
THE SOUL
Even on the hard days — especially on the hard days — life holds moments of light, wonder, and connection. This section is about finding and nurturing those moments when your body isn’t cooperating and joy feels far away.
CULTIVATING HEALTH
Health looks different when you have a chronic illness. This section isn’t about achieving perfect wellness — it’s about discovering what actually works for your body, celebrating small wins, and making intentional choices within your real limitations.
CULTIVATING THE MIND
CULTIVATING AN EXCEPTIONAL LIFESTYLE
Chronic Strong: Thriving With Chronic illness
We’ve created a dedicated section of our site to provide support, information, and resources for individuals living with specific chronic illnesses. This space includes research-based information, helpful tips from those living with the disease, and personal stories that foster connection, understanding, and encouragement.
What We’ve Been Writing About Lately
The Ripple of Miscarriage: How Loss Touches the Whole Family
The heartbreak of miscarriage is often thought of as deeply personal, but its impact reaches far beyond the mother. The grief ripples through the family, affecting partners, children, and close loved ones in profound and unexpected ways. In my own experience, one of...
Chronic Illness Symptom Comparison: Fibromyalgia, CFS, MS & Lyme Disease (With Infographic)
Living with a chronic illness can feel confusing and overwhelming. Fatigue, widespread pain, brain fog, sleep disturbances, and other symptoms often overlap across conditions like fibromyalgia (FM), chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS/ME), multiple sclerosis (MS), and Lyme...
What It’s Like to Live with Autoimmune Diseases
Autoimmune disease changes everything about life—even the way you see yourself. Each day becomes a careful balancing act between what you want to do and what your body will allow. I’ve spent years learning to navigate the unpredictability of Lyme disease, multiple...
Understanding the Link Between Endometriosis and Miscarriage Risk – My Personal Journey
Endometriosis quietly weaves its way into the lives of those it touches, often leaving behind confusion, pain, and unanswered questions. For many—myself included—the path to parenthood is already full of hope and challenge. Endometriosis can add layers of complexity...
Immune-Boosting Teas for Fall
Tea and Immune Health: A Gentle Guide to Fall Wellness There’s a quiet kind of magic that arrives with fall. The world softens under a quilt of amber and gold, the air gets crisp enough to nudge your cheeks, and the scent of damp earth, fallen leaves, and woodsmoke...
When Life Rewrites Your Dreams: How to Keep Going After Chronic Illness, Trauma, and Loss
I have always been a dreamer, a fierce believer in the power of dreams to shape our lives. I have never doubted that we each carry the ability to manifest our most cherished desires. And yet, life has a way of derailing even the most steadfast dreams. The path we...
How to Be Happy on Purpose: Simple Ways to Find Joy Every Day
Have you ever whispered to yourself, “I’ll be happy when…”? I know I have. Far too many times, in fact. For years, I lived with a quiet ache, believing happiness lived somewhere just out of reach—hidden behind the next achievement, the next season, or the next shiny...
Eating for Chronic Illness: A Step-by-Step Guide
Let me be honest from the start: I feel a little hypocritical writing this right now. Our household has been under the Covid cloud. One night the only thing we could manage was a milkshake - and that was if we didn't prepare it. Some days, that’s just life. Some days,...
Rest Before You Break: Healing and Self-Care for Life with Chronic Illness
Living Like an Overgrown Garden There’s something sacred about the way early morning light touches a neglected garden. Even the wild parts—the overgrown corners, the tangled vines, the blooms that never opened—are softened in that light. It doesn’t judge. It simply...
Tiki Taco Washington, D.C.: A Taste of Hawaii in Dupont Circle
I discovered Tiki Taco while on a recent vacation to Washington, D.C. It was conveniently close to our hotel, which made it an easy choice after a long day of exploring the US capital. If you love tacos that are a little different from the usual, Tiki Taco in Dupont...
Practical Art Exercises for Managing Emotions and Reducing Stress
Life can feel overwhelming at times, with emotions appearing when we least expect them. Stress, frustration, sadness, or even fleeting moments of joy can leave us feeling off balance. Finding a safe and effective way to process these feelings is essential—and one of...
What is Pancreatitis? Causes, Risks, and Treatment
Pancreatitis occurs when the pancreas becomes inflamed. It can appear suddenly as an acute condition or develop over time as a chronic issue. While some causes are well-known, others are less obvious. I know firsthand how disruptive pancreatitis can be, having...
What Is Art Therapy? How Creative Expression Can Support Emotional Healing, Reduce Stress, and Improve Well-Being
What is art therapy? It's a tender invitation to explore your inner world—not with words, but with colors, shapes, and textures. According to the American Art Therapy Association, art therapy is a powerful approach that helps individuals, families, and communities...
What Not to Say to Someone Struggling: 9 Phrases That Hurt and How to Help Instead
We all want to show up for others with tenderness, especially when they’re navigating life’s storms. We want to soothe, to offer a word, a hand, or a quiet presence. And yet, sometimes—even with the best intentions—our words land like pebbles dropped into still water,...
14 Diseases that Mimic Multiple Sclerosis
There are more diseases that mimic multiple sclerosis than most people realize — and if you have ever sat across from a doctor and walked away with a diagnosis that didn't quite fit, or watched a previous diagnosis quietly disappear as a new one took its place, you...
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
The Cultivator Club
Living with chronic illness can feel isolating and overwhelming—but you don’t have to face it alone. The Cultivator Club, coming soon, is a supportive space where guidance, resources, and community come together to help you navigate daily challenges and cultivate an exceptional life. Here, you’ll find practical tools, research-based strategies, personal stories, and encouragement to not just survive—but truly thrive—wherever you are in your journey.
Sign up for our mailing list to be the first to know when we launch—and secure an exclusive discount for the first 100 members!
The Chronic Illness Blogger & Content Creator Directory
The Chronic Illness Blogger & Content Creator Directory is a growing hub of voices from the chronic illness community. Here you’ll find research-based insights, personal stories, and resources from bloggers, writers, and advocates—offering inspiration, solidarity, and authentic perspectives from people who truly understand life with chronic conditions.
Discover Some of My Favorite Resources
In this section, I share resources I’ve found helpful and inspiring—tools, articles, and ideas that support living well with chronic illness and beyond. Think of it as a curated collection of practical strategies and personal favorites, gathered to make your journey a little easier and a little brighter.
I’m Leisa, and I know what it feels like when your life changes overnight and nobody hands you a roadmap for what comes next.
I also know what it feels like when chronic illness isn’t a crisis moment but simply your life. I’ve lived with fibromyalgia and chronic Lyme disease for over 40 years. Long before the car accident, the cancer diagnosis, the MS — I was already learning how to build a meaningful life inside a body that didn’t cooperate.
A few years ago, my daughter and I were hit by a distracted driver going over 90 miles per hour. While we were still healing, my husband was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Three days later, I received my own diagnosis: multiple sclerosis. Our daughter was hospitalized. Our children were already navigating their own chronic illnesses.
In the span of a few weeks, the life I knew was once again unrecognizable.
As a family we live with nearly 30 different health conditions: MS, fibromyalgia, Lyme disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, dysautonomia, and more. We’ve also walked through financial ruin, personal trauma, loss, and the grief of multiple miscarriages.
I’m not sharing this to impress you with my hardship. I’m sharing it because I want you to know I’m not writing from the outside looking in. I’ve been in the dark place. I know what it’s like to wonder if a good life is still possible.
It is. I’m living proof.
This site exists because I refused to let illness be the end of my story. And I don’t think it has to be the end of yours either.
Despite it all, let’s build something beautiful.
Frequently Asked Questions
What kinds of chronic illnesses are covered here?
We cover a wide range of conditions including Multiple Sclerosis, Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Lyme Disease, Dysautonomia, Epstein-Barr, and more. Each section offers research-based information, practical tips, and personal stories.
Are the resources medical advice?
No. While we share evidence-based information and lived experiences, our content is for educational and supportive purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider.
I don’t see my condition listed—will you add it?
We’re continuously expanding our resources. If you don’t see your condition, you may still find value in articles on resilience, lifestyle practices, and mindset. You’re always welcome here.
Do you share personal stories from people living with chronic illness?
Yes. Stories from my life and the lives of others living with chronic illness are part of what we share here—because connection often begins with shared experience.
I don’t have a chronic illness. Will this webste still help me?
Absolutely. While some resources focus on specific health conditions, many of the strategies, reflections, and lifestyle tips apply to anyone seeking resilience, purpose, and joy.
