Women, Work and Autoimmune Disease: Keep Working Girlfriend! by Rosalind Joffe and Joan Friedlander

In Women, Work and Autoimmune Disease, Joffe and Friedlander examine the challenges of living and working with autoimmune disorders. The book provides a useful resource for anyone with chronic health problems. They address a number of the physical, emotional, and financial consequences of living with a chronic illness and the effects that such a condition can have on career development.

Joffe and Friedlander share personal stories of women facing the uncertainties of chronic illness but who are committed to remaining in the workforce. A particularly valuable aspect of the book is the authors’ examination of the complex and delicate issue of disclosing disability; they consider the pros and cons of disclosure and provide advice as to when it is useful or necessary to disclose illness, who to disclose to, and how to disclose. When regular employment is not a viable option, the authors provide a model to determine if self-employment is a good alternative.

Overall, the authors present a realistic account of the effects of chronic and intermittent illness while emphasizing the importance of maintaining hope and building resiliency, or a “Warrior Spirit,” through good self-care and creation of a health care and personal team.

This book is available at SET.