Writing Memoir through Chronic Illness — with Kimberly Warner & Christine Wolf on the ICU Podcast
Memoir as medicine: A conversation on narrative healing and writing toward wholeness.
I had the good fortune to be invited on the ICU Podcast alongside author/director/producer Kimberly Warner and Cynthia Ryan of the Vestibular Disorder Association (VeDa), talking about how memoir — particularly about chronic illness — can help make sense of experience, reclaim identity, and foster connection.
I first discovered
on Substack after reading her serialized memoir, which has since evolved into Unfixed: A Memoir of Family, Mystery, and the Currents That Carry You Home — scheduled for release on October 14, 2025 by Empress Editions.Warner is a master at weaving together deeply personal storytelling with visual-media roots. She began her storytelling journey in film and photography before launching Unfixed Media, which now produces thoughtful narrative podcasts and writing series.
In many ways, our life stories have echoes of similarity. We both have ties to Appleton, Wisconsin; we’ve both experienced DNA discoveries in midlife; and we’ve both dealt with debilitating chronic health issues: Mal de Débarquement Syndrome (MdDS) for Kimberly; Trigeminal Neuralgia (Tic Douloureux) and Long COVID for me.
As I’ve come to learn, Kimberly’s generosity of spirit is unwavering; She constantly supports and offers hope to those in need. I loved our recent podcast conversation, in which we covered everything from health challenges to discovering our writing paths.
Whether you’re dealing with chronic health issues or imposter syndrome as a writer, I hope you’ll take a listen to our interview. Our hope is that you feel more empowered and less alone.
Sincerely,
Christine
Episode Highlights
0:00 – 10:00
Introductions and framing the conversation. We each share how chronic illness intersects with narrative and identity.
Kimberly offers insight into storytelling informed by visual media, and how it influences memoir structure.
10:00 – 20:00
Deep dive into defining memoir through illness: restoration, chaos, quest, and wisdom narratives. We all agreed that chronic illness resists tidy "restoration" arcs.
Kimberly shares how memoir helped her reclaim a sense of agency and amplify experiences that are otherwise unseen—even invisible.
20:00 – 35:00
Discussion of medical gaslighting, validation, and the power of being heard. We highlight the emotional stakes of having symptoms dismissed or minimized.
Kimberly reflects on her transition from visual storytelling to narrative healing through words and audio.
35:00 – 50:00
We explore how memoir-writing can act as ritual: crafting meaning when conventional medicine doesn’t have answers.
We touch briefly on the power of expressive writing for emotional healing, something I regularly teach at Northwestern University.
Kimberly describes how she wrote her initial draft just for herself to record the feelings and the experiences she’s been through — mostly as a way to preserve them — then she put the draft away for years. Only after gaining distance from the story did she later feel comfortable sharing it in serialized form on Substack…which eventually led to a book deal with Empress Editions.
Kimberly describes the shift from "repairing a car" to "cultivating a garden"—seeing the body as ecosystem, rather than machine.
50:00 – 1:06:43
Final thoughts on the wisdom narrative—not as a moral imperative, but as an honest reckoning with uncertainty. Kimberly shares writing prompts from her work at Unfixed Media.
I answer the questions: “How do I get started writing a memoir?” and “What if I’m not a writer but want to write a memoir?” and “How do I begin writing my life story?”
We close with encouragement to tell our messy, complex stories.
Final Thoughts
This was one of the most resonant conversations I’ve ever had on a podcast. Kimberly’s hybrid-training in visual media and narrative gives Unfixed Media its fascinating and distinctive edge, and it was an honor to learn more about her journey.
If you’re writing memoir—especially illness memoir—I hope you’ll take a listen. And be sure to preorder Unfixed now.
YOUR TURN
Writers: What are the stories you keep under the surface? If you’re comfortable sharing, reply with a moment that felt both personal and generative.
Readers: What forms of validation matter to you most—being seen, heard, believed?
Unfixed: A Memoir of Family, Mystery, and the Currents That Carry You Home
Unfixed is a sweeping narrative of a woman’s inner journey into wholeness, despite physical and psychological derailments along her path. Through visceral, immediate prose, imaginary correspondence, and poetry, Kimberly revisits the unnerving circumstances of childhood in the 80’s and 90’s when the New Age movement redefined marriage, health, and sexuality. Finding her own salvation in the self-improvement dogma, she replaces grief, confusion, and uncertainty with magical-thinking and perfectionism long into adulthood until her body breaks and family secrets emerge. When her paternity, health, and very self become tethered to a nervous system unmoored, Kimberly is forced to lean into a steadiness of spirit where the incomprehensible becomes imaginable, and the possibility that frightens her most becomes a doorway into peace.
Presenting life experiences in single layers and then deep, looping complexities, Kimberly weaves her own fluid becoming into a larger ancestral story of past and future, calling in extraordinary lives both intimate and distant. As she reckons with a myriad of unknowns, she learns more than she ever expected to know, ultimately discovering a surprising kind of healing that embraces a wild and untamable life.
Check out Kimberly’s interview with memoir master Dani Shapiro on The Family Secrets Podcast:
Interested in working with Christine on your own memoir? Not sure where to start? Get in touch to schedule a FREE 20-minute consultation.
Memoir writing amid chronic illness reveals unique neural rewiring in storytelling regions, fostering resilience. Visual-media influence shapes memoir form, while expressive writing can modulate pain perception and improve emotional regulation.
What a generous, thoughtful share Christine! It was a joy to connect with you on this topic. You bring a wealth of experience, compassion and good-ol’ Midwestern warmth to this art of memoir-writing and anyone who decides to embark on the journey with you is lucky. 💛💛💛