At the age of twelve, Emma awoke one day in a hospital bed with no knowledge as to why she was there. She soon learned she had received a life-saving heart transplant. From then on, Emma was prescribed a new life structure that never felt like her own. Struggling to find balance between being "normal" and chronically ill, and dealing with issues of body image, guilt, anger and ego, Emma found herself on a long journey to recovery that went beyond her physical health. Navigating family life, school, and being part of the transplant community, she begins to build a new structure for herself as a young adult that revolves more around keeping her heart and body healthy.
Over a decade since her transplant, Emma is still learning to manifest and find healing within herself. Things My Therapist Doesn't Want Me to Say, by Emma Rothman, is an intimate, unfiltered conversation between Emma and readers, who will follow along Emma's journey as she tries to let go of finding a reason for all the chaos in her life. Emma explores feeling at home in her body while identifying as chronically ill, and engages readers by questioning the narrative of 'anything is over-comable if you just try hard enough.'