The Kiss of Lyme by Ian McCartney

The Kiss of Lyme is a collection of eight personal stories from Lyme disease patients across the world, including the author Ian McCartney, who have struggled, fought and battled to recover from chronic illness.

Lyme disease is an extremely controversial, infectious disease caused by a bacterium that is typically spread by ticks. Caught early, the illness is usually resolved with a three-week course of strong antibiotics, however if left undetected it can prove extremely serious and potentially fatal. Unfortunately, traditional medical professionals on both sides of the Atlantic are neither equipped with the understanding nor the testing capability to accurately diagnose the disease, leaving hundreds of thousands of people struggling for a diagnosis and treatment.

The collection of stories in The Kiss of Lyme reveal how people living in the USA, Canada and the UK have suffered, how their local doctors have failed them, how their health has deteriorated over months and years – with stories ranging from 2 to 20 years – and how they have been left to scour the internet for their own solutions and pay small fortunes for treatments in a desperate bid to recover.

Despite the controversy, many are walking on the road to recovery, and in some cases have managed to turn turned life-threatening adversity into something positive. The book is written to offer inspiration and advice to others going through similar experiences with Lyme disease or any other chronic illness.