Book cover of In Pillness and in Health: A memoir

Book description

What if your husband gave you a kidney and you chugged a beer with your painkillers the next day?

What if your loving marriage became a tortured threesome? Husband, Wife and Pills?

Meet Henriette and Kevin. As newlyweds, they move to LA to conquer Hollywood. When the dream begins to…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked In Pillness and in Health as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

I loved this book because it tells the truth about illness and addiction without sentimentality.

Henriette Ivanans writes about kidney failure, substance abuse, and marriage with an honesty that feels earned, to say the least, not performative. I was deeply moved by the way love is portrayed here—not as something glamorous or easy, but as something that stays.

Her writing is emotionally grounded, and the book never asks for pity. It reminded me that some of the most profound transformations happen quietly inside relationships that endure far more than they should have to.

From Shannon's list on women telling the messy truth.

If you love In Pillness and in Health...

Book cover of These Blue Mountains

These Blue Mountains by Sarah Loudin Thomas,

A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.

German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…

Want books like In Pillness and in Health?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 31 books like In Pillness and in Health.

Browse books like In Pillness and in Health

Book cover of Women Who Run with the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype
Book cover of North of Normal: A Memoir of My Wilderness Childhood, My Unusual Family, and How I Survived Both
Book cover of Love Warrior: A Memoir

Share your top 3 reads of 2025!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,366

readers submitted
so far, will you?

📚 If you like In Pillness and in Health, you might also like...

Book cover of Deadly Revenge

Deadly Revenge by Patricia Bradley,

Deputy Jenna Hart has only been working in her sleepy hometown of Pearl Springs for seven months when city officials begin to be targeted by a killer. Twenty years ago, the construction of a dam caused people to lose their land to eminent domain. That wound has not healed with…

Book cover of The Duty of Memory

The Duty of Memory by Vicki Olsen,

Separating the true stories from the myths, The Duty of Memory provides a deeper understanding of the diverse motivations that drove ordinary people to join an underground network of French Resistants despite terrible odds and horrifying consequences.

This book takes the reader inside the true story of men and women…

5 book lists we think you will like!