When Erika Conrad-Wess first developed sudden electric shocks of pain in her face, she assumed the problem would be temporary.
It wasn't.
Instead, the attacks marked the beginning of a decades-long struggle with trigeminal neuropathic pain-one of the most severe and poorly understood chronic pain conditions in medicine.
What followed was not just physical suffering, but a collision with a healthcare system often unequipped to recognize, treat, or even believe patients whose illnesses cannot be easily explained.
In NERVE, Erika chronicles her journey through failed procedures, medical trauma, misdiagnosis, and the psychological toll of living inside a body that no longer feels safe. As surgeries accumulate and hope repeatedly rises and collapses, she is forced to confront impossible questions:
What happens when cure is no longer attainable?
How do you build a meaningful life when pain becomes permanent?
And how do you hold onto your identity when the institutions meant to help you begin to fracture your trust?
Told with candor, dark wit, and hard-earned insight, NERVE is both a deeply personal memoir and a broader examination of chronic illness, patient advocacy, and the uneasy limits of modern medicine. It is a story about resilience-but not the polished, inspirational kind. It is about adaptation, grief, endurance, and learning to move forward even when healing does not arrive in the form you hoped for.
For readers of The Invisible Kingdom, Between Two Kingdoms, and Brain on Fire, NERVE offers an unflinching look at life inside chronic pain-and a reminder that even in the wreckage, meaning can still be made.
"An inspiring testament to fortitude and resilience."- Mark E. Linskey, MD
About the Author :
Erika Conrad-Wess is the author of NERVE: A Memoir of Chronic Pain, Medical Trauma, and Surviving the Healthcare System. After developing trigeminal neuralgia in 2004, she spent more than two decades navigating chronic pain, complex medical treatments, multiple brain surgeries, and the challenges of living with a life-altering neurological condition.A patient advocate and longtime leader of online support communities, Erika has helped thousands of people facing facial pain and difficult medical decisions. Through her writing, she explores resilience, patient empowerment, the realities of chronic illness, and the often-overlooked human side of healthcare.Erika lives in the mountains of Western North Carolina with her husband, John. When she is not writing, she enjoys traveling, crocheting, and spending time with family. NERVE is her first book. Mark E. Linskey, MD, is a board-certified neurosurgeon and Professor of Neurological Surgery at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine. Internationally recognized for his expertise in trigeminal neuralgia, facial pain disorders, skull base surgery, and Gamma Knife radiosurgery, he has dedicated his career to the treatment of complex cranial nerve conditions. Dr. Linskey trained under the late Peter J. Jannetta, MD, the pioneering neurosurgeon who developed microvascular decompression as a treatment for trigeminal neuralgia. He has served in numerous leadership positions within organized neurosurgery, including the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, and the Facial Pain Association. His research and clinical work have helped advance the treatment of patients with facial pain, brain tumors, and other neurological disorders. Repeatedly recognized by Castle Connolly as one of America's Top Doctors in Neurosurgery and Cancer Care, Dr. Linskey is widely regarded as one of the leading authorities on trigeminal neuralgia and related facial pain conditions. **Richard A. "Red" Lawhern, PhD, ** is an engineer, researcher, and internationally recognized patient advocate who has spent more than two decades working to improve care for people living with chronic pain. A retired systems engineer and operations research analyst with more than forty years of experience in military systems engineering and acquisition management, Dr. Lawhern has applied his analytical expertise to the study of pain policy, pain management, and patient outcomes. He is co-founder of the Alliance for the Treatment of Intractable Pain and has authored hundreds of articles, commentaries, and educational resources on chronic pain, facial pain, and opioid policy. Widely respected throughout the pain community for his evidence-based advocacy, Dr. Lawhern has helped amplify the voices of patients whose experiences are often overlooked in public policy discussions. He continues to educate clinicians, policymakers, and the public on the realities of living with severe chronic pain and the importance of compassionate, individualized care.
Review :
"An inspiring testament to fortitude and resilience."
- Mark E. Linskey, MD
Professor of Neurological Surgery, UC Irvine School of Medicine
"This book is about bearing the unbearable and discovering purpose when all seems lost."
- Richard A. "Red" Lawhern, PhD
Advance readers' praise for NERVE:
- "This book is so, so important. I saw me on every single page."
- "I finished it yesterday and immediately asked my husband if he would read it."
- "Took me a whole two days to read it because I obviously could not put it down."
- "Your book is not only an engaging read, but also a valuable resource for both medical professionals and patients-an inspiring guide to living with pain, reclaiming agency, and navigating the difficult yet transformative journey of self-discovery."
- "I want to buy about a dozen copies and give them to people I know in the medical field."
