Review of mind-body book, Back in Charge by Elizabeth Reilly

On our blog this month, our founder, Penny, shares her review of Elizabeth Reilly's new book which charts her recovery from severe chronic pain using a mind-body approach.

One of Living Proof’s key aims is to support the availability of low-cost resources, particularly those developed in the UK, to ensure that the life-changing neuroscience-based approach to resolving chronic conditions is available to all. We are therefore delighted to welcome the publication of a new book by Elizabeth Reilly, Back in Charge, which chronicles the author’s 14-year journey with debilitating chronic pain, and the solution she finally discovered.

Elizabeth's pain story

Written with honesty and humour, Elizabeth shares her experience of living with often excruciating pain which moved around her body, including her back, legs, shoulders and feet. Having failed to find any solution through standard NHS routes, she then spent years – and a lot of her savings - trying every type of therapy out there to gain some relief, none of which offered any real long-term improvement. This will no doubt resonate with many of you – so many people have gone through every possible hoop trying to find an answer.

A paradigm shift

Finally, in 2019, Elizabeth stumbled across the latest pain science relating pain to emotional stressors, initially through reading Dr John Sarno’s book Healing Back Pain.  When this struck a chord, she gradually started working her way through other books by many of the leaders in this field, including Georgie Oldfield, Dr Howard Schubiner, Dr John Stracks, Dr David Hanscom and Alan Gordon. Learning in-depth about this science helped Elizabeth to understand that the source of her pain was in her brain, and that this in turn meant she actually had the power to overcome it, through brain re-training techniques, and through processing her emotional experiences.

Elizabeth's healing journey

Elizabeth’s journey out of chronic pain has been long and slow and she is refreshingly honest with us in sharing that she’s not 100% there yet and still occasionally experiences some setbacks. But she has essentially stuck with it, ultimately transforming her life, and allowing her to get back to the things she enjoys in life, in particular her great love of long walks.

Elizabeth Reilly - author of Back In Charge

How can Liz's book help others?

This story may be of particular interest to those who are already ‘on the recovery journey’, but who are finding progress slow and perhaps feel frustrated when they see others having success much more quickly. 

I also think this book can act as a great introduction to this science for friends and family who just ‘don’t get it’ and/or who are struggling with pain themselves but are maybe a little resistant to considering this approach.  I personally have already ordered two more copies for family members and can see myself buying it for others in the future.

A source of hope

Back In Charge can bring hope to anyone living with chronic pain – illustrating that, even after years of struggle, there is indeed a way back to vital, healthy living.

The book is available via Amazon (kindle or paperback), or direct from the author herself: contact her by email on lizchelt@gmail.com.