When Skyeris first feels unwell during a meditation retreat in 2019, she dismisses it as a worse-than-usual bout of flu. As time passes with no alleviation of symptoms and the world grapples with the COVID pandemic, her chilling prognosis becomes clear: Skyeris is suffering from Long Covid. While the author is no stranger to sickness, having endured migraines and respiratory illnesses all her life, her current predicament combines debilitating symptoms with an unknown future. It takes months before the medical community takes note of Long Covid and any real information begins to be available. Unable to sleep, walk even moderate distances, or interact with the outside world in any meaningful way, Skyeris has no idea if she will ever recover. The only thing that keeps her sane is her determination to continue her meditation practices and simply keep moving.

The author uses beautiful, lyrical prose interspersed with metaphors from the animal world to describe her physical symptoms:

However, my brain felt more like real seahorses, animals which are not actually good swimmers. In their native environments, they are awkward and slow, curling their prehensile tails around something stationary, living at the mercy of currents and circumstances. My mind was constantly fluttering, like the tiny fins of a seahorse, seeking to grasp something safe and solid.

These include increased migraines that prevent her from sleeping, brain fog, and extreme fatigue that makes it almost impossible for her to function as she used to. Without her gentle, guiding hand, it would be very difficult to follow along on her journey and confront the stark realities that most chronically ill people face daily.

STILL MOVING makes a powerful case for facing uncomfortable truths when few traces of the COVID era have made it to popular culture. “Self-help,” diagnostic, and other kinds of books about Long Covid are entering a market that is struggling against the world’s collective decision to push the pandemic out of sight and out of mind. Skyeris connects this to a long history of dismissal and deliberate blindness to other forms of disability and chronic illnesses. The author explores every facet of the world’s reaction to the disease and chronic sufferers, taking on toxic positivity as well as general discomfort towards a problem that seems to have no end in sight.

The author also includes extensive resources from her research on Long Covid, creating a comprehensive bank of information for fellow sufferers and the people working to support them. This is an essential read for everyone who has a “Long Hauler” in their circle and is looking for ways to hold space for them.

A poetic memoir, STILL MOVING documents Skyeris’s struggles with Long Covid, tackling the difficult subjects of disability, ideation, and depression with sensitivity and grace. It provides valuable insight on how to support loved ones suffering from all kinds of chronic illnesses.

~Sakina Hassan for IndieReader