Endometriosis and Fibroids in a Kids Book?
Yes, Look On The Bright Side features information and imagery about Endometriosis.
It’s Endometriosis Awareness Month!
Hi, my name is Lily Williams. I’m a children’s book author and illustrator who lives with a disability and endometriosis. Endometriosis is never cured, but I got a sizable portion of my life back with LAPEX excision surgery in 2018.
I made a comic about my experience for The Lily (The Washington Post) in March 2019 for Endometriosis Awareness Month. This comic has helped thousands of people get help for their endometriosis by joining Nancy’s Nook Endometriosis Education (a Facebook group and website).
I have mixed feelings about this comic. It’s a whole thing… that involves The Lily asking me to edit out part of my fact-based information, to strangers using my experience through my comic to shill everything from hormonal therapy for infertility to period cramp cures… Because of this, I ask if you want to share it, you share the whole comic in its entirety or share a link to it. You can find it on my website here or on The Washington Post.
Endometriosis is my experience
There would be no way for me to explain what a period is like without explaining endometriosis. My experience with periods is an experience with endometriosis. However, I didn’t know I had endometriosis for far too long. It took me 14 years to get my diagnosis of endo and… I was already making period activism work for years at that point. I got into that work because of my debilitating experience with endometriosis.
Go With The Flow
In January 2020, a middle-grade graphic novel called Go With The Flow hit bookshelves everywhere. My friend Karen Schneemann and I co-wrote this graphic novel and I illustrated it. Since that day, it’s been translated into many languages, was nominated for an Eisner Award, and was a finalist for the LA Times Book Prize. This book is about friendship… period. It’s also about four best friends in high school starting a menstrual revolution at their school.
I didn’t know I had endo though when we were working on Flow. Thankfully I had surgery on deadline and we adjusted some of the text and art in the book so our character who has pain could experience relief eventually.
Look On The Bright Side
Brit, our character with endometriosis gets surgery between books and when we come back for the sequel to Go With The Flow… she’s recovering well! Look On The Bright Side is the sequel to Go With The Flow and is yet again co-written by myself and Karen Schneemann, illustrated by me, and colored by Kaley Bales. This book just came out in October 2023. The book overall has a smaller focus on periods and stronger spotlight on friendship. Periods are still the backbone of the story, but friendship is the focus. Just as it should be with life… because ideally there would be more equity and equality with menstruation and how accessible taking care of ourselves are.
But, think of the children!
I am! As an educator of children and author of books for kids, this book is told in a kid-appropriate way.
If I’d been exposed to the concept of endometriosis at age 12, when I got my first period, I would have had a very different life. Instead of taking 14 years to get a diagnosis, it might have taken me one or two. Instead of being dismissed, I could have gone into the doctor with a request to get answers. However, that didn’t happen. Instead I had to suffer pain and health trauma at the hands of diagnosticians whose willingness to tell me factually inaccurate lies hurt me.
Knowledge is power.
Knowledge, especially when it comes to our health, can mean answers that lead to a more pain-free life.
Knowledge in this case means a little bit of a clearer path to menstrual equity.
So yeah… our children’s books includes information about endometriosis, adenomyosis, PCOS, excision surgery, and even… pelvic physical therapy. And it is my hope amongst hopes that because of that, I have spared a few people from 14 years of medical gaslighting.