New book offers hope to people living with RA.

LENE ALEXANDER
Photo by Sofia Kinachtchouk

Lene Andersen has spent several years distilling her almost encyclopedic knowledge into Your Life with Rheumatoid Arthritis, a wise and witty guide on how to manage your RA and make the best of your life. Lene — pronounced Lena — is an award-winning writer living in Toronto.

In 2004 a very serious RA flare changed her life. After months of this flare taking away much of her health and ability, Lene started taking one of the new biologic medications. She believes it gave her a second chance at life. When faced with the question of how to honour this second chance, she decided to pursue her lifelong dream of being a writer. As she gained strength, she began to write professionally, winning several awards for nonfiction, as well as for her blog The Seated View. Lene has also been the Community Leader of HealthCentral.com’s RA site since 2008, where she continues to use a combination of her personal and professional experience to inform her readers about the many aspects of RA and how to live well with this chronic illness.

Born and raised in Denmark, Lene has had rheumatoid arthritis since she was four years old. This gives her over four decades of experience with the disease and everything that comes with it. She spent much of her childhood in and out of hospitals. By the time Lene was in her mid-teens, RA had damaged her joints so much that she needs to use a power wheelchair.

She and her family emigrated to Canada in the early 80s. Lene attended the University of Toronto, graduating with a B.Sc. in Psychology and later a Masters Degree in Social Work. She has worked in the healthcare, human rights and equal opportunity fields, specializing in health and disability issues.

Your Life with Rheumatoid Arthritis: Tools for Managing Treatment, Side Effects and Pain by Lene Andersen is the ultimate guide to living well with this chronic, sometimes debilitating autoimmune disease. An accessible yet encyclopedic collection of information, Your Life with Rheumatoid Arthritis is essential to creating a good life, while meeting the challenges of living with rheumatoid arthritis.

This is an informative, honest and often very funny book. It offers hope, comfort and help to empower both the newly diagnosed and those who have had rheumatoid arthritis for years. Your Life with Rheumatoid Arthritis covers medication and treatment options, questions about opioids and addiction, down-to-earth tips to manage medication side effects, and techniques to control pain.

Author Lene Andersen is an award-winning writer, health and disability advocate and photographer. She has had rheumatoid arthritis for over 40 years and has used a power wheelchair since her teens. Lene has a Masters Degree in Social Work and is the Community Leader of HealthCentral.com’s rheumatoid arthritis site. The combination of personal and professional experience lends a unique quality to her writing about living with rheumatoid arthritis, chronic illness and disability. Lene emphasizes empowerment and positivity, focusing on capability and finding joy.

Your Life with Rheumatoid Arthritis: Tools for Managing Treatment, Side Effects and Pain e-book edition is available through Amazon, Kobo Books and iBooks. The paperback edition is available online at Amazon.