Kicking Sick

Your go-to guide for thriving with chronic health conditions

More than half of us in the US are struggling with a chronic medical issue—and too many are young women who should be enjoying their best years.

Amy Kurtz gets it. Starting in her mid-teens, she endured two “perfect storms” of illness that progressed into her twenties. It earned her the label “the sick chick”… and the shame, fear, isolation, and frustration that came with it.

She’s radically improved her health, and today she’s helping women of all ages live well regardless of their health situation .With honesty, humor, and empathy, Kicking Sick shows us how to jettison despair and become a “glow warrior”—someone who tunes in to her body and inner wisdom, takes charge, and builds a support circle of medical experts, friends, and family.

Kicking Sick also brings in Amy’s own A-team of experts crucial to her own turnaround: her personal physician Mark Hyman, gastroenterologist Gerald Mullin, endocrinologist Philip Felig, inspiring Crazy Sexy Cancer author Kris Carr, new thought leader Gabby Bernstein, and renowned yogi Elena Brower, as well as many real-life glow warriors to inspire us.

Self-empowerment, knowledge, and emotional support—the essential and often ignored first steps to wellness
For women ages 16 and up facing chronic fatigue syndrome, unresolved pain, IBS and other GI issues, migraine, fibromyalgia, thyroid disorder, depression, and autoimmune disorders
Foreword by Mark Hyman, MD

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Praise for Kicking Sick

Amy Kurtz skillfully guides those with chronic illness on their journey to healing. Knowing yourself holistically, seeking integrative modalities, and actively championing your own wellness are strong remedies for chronic illness and pain.

Deepak Chopra, MD

Author, Super Genes

“If you need a kind, wise friend to help you navigate a chronic illness, Amy Kurtz has written Kicking Sick for you. There’s a wealth of experience and information here, all aimed at supporting the cultivation of well-being, and shared with a great lightness of spirit.”

Sharon Salzberg

Author of the New York Times bestseller Real Happiness

“Amy Kurtz makes it clear that the ultimate jurisdiction for our health destiny is a place within each of us that strives for improvement. Our task is to connect with, and ultimately embrace this knowledge. And Kicking Sick compassionately guides us to that goal.”

David Perlmutter, MD

Author of the New York Times #1 bestseller Grain Brain: The Surprising Truth About Wheat, Carbs, and Sugar—Your Brain's Silent Killers

“Amy Kurtz shines her brilliant light on the world of chronic illness with humor, honesty, and hope. She creates a practical path filled with wisdom and great advice––showing you that you can thrive and you can live an incredible life, no matter what. Kicking Sick shows you how.”

Kris Carr

New York Times bestselling author

“Kicking Sick is like the best friend who reminds you of what’s possible and holds your hand as you navigate difficulty. This book is brimming with earthy wisdom that will empower your mind and make your spirit shine.”

Tara Brach, PhD

author of Radical Acceptance and True Refuge

“Amy Kurtz’s inspiring story will motivate readers to take control of their health and heal their body. In Kicking Sick, she pairs personal experience with key resources that will guide and support anyone who is interested in embarking on their own wellness revolution.”

Frank Lipman, MD

“Amy is a true leader. With courage and inspiration, she is the ray of light needed to bring awareness to chronic health conditions from the patient perspective, and she coaches you how to embark on the endeavor of you in difficult situations. Kicking Sick and functional medicine combined are the perfect combination to heal your life.”

Mark Hyman, MD

Author of the New York Times #1 bestseller Eat Fat, Get Thin; director, Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine

“With love, wisdom, humor, and grace Amy Kurtz brings chronic conditions out of the shadows, and guides readers on a powerful journey of healing, hope, and renewal. A must-read.”

Elena Brower

Author of Art of Attention and Practice You

“Amy’s book can show you the path to healing your life and your body. When you love your life and body, the message your body receives is filled with live messages. True healing is about more than one’s physical self and condition. Read and learn from Amy. All you have to do is show up for practice.”

Bernie Siegel, MD

Author of A Book of Miracles and Faith, Hope & Healing

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“Are you among the over 125 million Americans with a chronic illness and are sick of being sick? Then let Kicking Sick, by Amy Kurtz, be your guide to escaping your ineffective disease-management care and reorganize your approach to escaping illness. Coach Amy will give you a game plan to overcome obstacles and reach your goal of optimum health.”

Gerard E. Mullin, MD

Associate Professor of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; author of The Gut Balance Revolution

“We all need heroines and happy endings in this rough and tumble world. And we can never get too much inspiration. Amy’s book gives us you a healthy dose of all, as you travel with her on her journey to becoming her own healer, reminding you it is possible to go from sick to being a shining Glow Warrior, from hopeless to healthy and happy again. Jump onboard this train for a ride to health freedom.”

Aviva Romm, MD

Director of Thrive Health Center and Author of The Adrenal Thyroid Revolution

“Kicking Sick is part of an exciting movement that sees health and well-being as the result of a holistic effort to connect the dots and treat the body as a system, not as separate and unrelated symptoms and problems. Amy Kurtz not only gives personal counsel that is valuable, she brings a series of experts to the table to present a full picture of what great health can look like.”

Leo Galland, MD, and Jonathan Galland, JD

International bestselling authors of The Allergy Solution

“In Kicking Sick, Amy Kurtz has deftly consolidated her own practical self-help advice with the wisdom from well-known wellness warriors to help anyone who is chronically ill get out of their sick mode. She understands that the optimal health we all seek depends upon a happy gut, starting with what you eat. She also includes key advice on positive affirmations and visualizations, how you move, and how often you connect with nature that will influence and foster healing within the body. If you are looking to break free from the chains of chronic illness, Kicking Sick is the book for you. Read every word and take notes!”

Vincent Pedre, MD

Functional Medicine Certified Practitioner and Author of Happy Gut: The Cleansing Program to Help You Lose Weight, Gain Energy, and Eliminate Pain

“Amy Kurtz’s Kicking Sick is a must-read for those trying to navigate the difficult path of chronic illness. Her journey is inspirational and shows that it is possible to rise above and become a better, healthier you. She will help guide you in creating a ‘health team,’ searching for the underlying cause, integrating Eastern and Western treatments, and the importance of better nutrition and proper exercise. Readers upon finishing this book will be able to develop an action plan and successfully ‘kick sickness.’”

Keith Berkowitz, MD

Medical director, Center for Balanced Health

“Amy Kurtz is a true fighter and she shows you how to be one. . . with grace, determination, and passion.”

J.J. Virgin, CNS, CHFS

Author of the New York Times bestsellers The Virgin Diet and The Sugar Impact Diet

“Amy Kurtz in Kicking Sick offers an action plan that is not only doable for people who suffer from a chronic condition, it’s sympathetic, wise, and courageous. Her tools and strategies get you dealing head-on with yourself, your family, your friends, and your coworkers, and put you back in charge of your own health. Amy not only inspires you, she is you.”

Lauren Handel Zander

Cofounder and chairwoman, Handel Group

“Amy Kurtz takes the fear out of chronic conditions and replaces it with healing, love, and ease. It takes courage to take the first step toward wellness, but in Amy’s hand, the rest of the path is simple to navigate.”

Terri Cole

Psychotherapist, Coach, and Founder of the Real Love Revolution

“Amy Kurtz is a highly intuitive resource for practical and inspiring information on how to not only survive with a chronic condition, but thrive. If you have the intention and will to live beyond perceived limits, Kicking Sick is a must-read for you. Amy can help bring that desire over the finish line.”

Joel M. Evans, MD

Founder and Director, The Center for Functional Medicine, Stamford, Connecticut

Amy Kurtz reveals a truth in Kicking Sick, the source of wellness is within. Amy inspires us to empower ourselves to elevate and evolve as lead navigator of our own well-being by taking responsibility to learn, love, nourish and deeply care for our body, mind and spirit.

Paulette Cole

CEO & Creative Director, ABC Home

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About Amy Kurtz

Amy Kurtz is a health and wellness expert, teacher, writer, and former full-time patient. She is a board-certified AADP Holistic Health Coach (HHC), with certification from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition in New York City, and a member of the American Association of Drugless Practitioners (AADP).

During her health coach training, she studied more than one hundred dietary theories, innovative coaching methods, and practical lifestyle management techniques with some of the world’s top health and wellness experts. Her teachers included Dr. Andrew Weil, Dr. Mark Hyman, and Dr. Deepak Chopra. She has also worked alongside a prominent Functional Medicine doctor in NYC as the health coach for his practice, before embarking on her own.

Amy has radically improved her health, and today she’s helping people of all ages live well regardless of their health situation. Many of her clients have acute chronic conditions, and she helps them to stabilize and manage their conditions by providing guidance and helping them create the right team of health care professionals. She also helps clients learn and make self-care regimes a priority, and to become an active participant in their healing journey. She empowers them to embark on their own wellness revolution.

Amy is a regular contributor on popular websites including MindBodyGreen and is the wellness expert at Yoganonymous. She lives in New York City.