This weekend I was honored to be able to speak at the first ever Girls with Guts retreat in Michigan. I found out about this organization through a good friend Jackie Zimmerman, who was a counselor at Camp Oasis, and who is the president and founder of the organization. At the retreat, it was an opportunity for about 40 women across the country to come together as an IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease) family. Whether you had Crohn's, ulcerative colitis, or an ostomy, there was a common understanding that we all have been through a crazy rollercoaster of a journey, and we can learn from each other. There is something freeing and normalizing about being in a room full of women with a similar illness. I don't think I've ever talked so much about my illness and health for such a concentrated amount of time. I learn a lot and am thrilled to be connected with even more women who have been through similar experiences. There was a phenomenal anthropologist who was at the retrea
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