On June 10, 2026, Tick Boot Camp Co-Founders Matt Sabatello and Rich Johannesen attended the launch celebration for Amy Kurtz’s highly anticipated new book, But You Look Fine: Trapped in the Hell Between Sick and Well and How to Break Free, at Barnes & Noble on New York City’s Upper West Side.
The event brought together patients, advocates, healthcare professionals, authors, caregivers, and members of the chronic illness community to celebrate a book that shines a light on one of the most overlooked parts of healing: what happens after the diagnosis, after the treatment, and after the crisis phase of illness has passed—but before someone truly feels well again.
For anyone living with Lyme disease, tick-borne illness, autoimmune disease, mold illness, chronic fatigue, or another complex chronic condition, Amy’s message was both validating and hopeful.
A New Framework for Understanding Life After Chronic Illness
At the center of Amy’s new book is a concept she calls Medical Trauma Brain.
Drawing from her own experience with misdiagnosed Lyme disease, Amy describes Medical Trauma Brain as the emotional, neurological, and psychological impact that chronic illness can leave behind long after a person is no longer considered physically sick.
What Many Patients Experience
Fear of relapse. Many patients continue living with the fear that symptoms may return, even after meaningful physical progress.
Health anxiety and hypervigilance. After years of symptoms, appointments, testing, and uncertainty, it can become difficult to stop monitoring every sensation in the body.
Difficulty trusting their bodies. Chronic illness can change a person’s relationship with their own body, making recovery feel emotionally complicated even when symptoms improve.
Loss of identity. Many people struggle with who they are after illness, especially when years of life were shaped by survival, treatment, and limitation.
Feeling stuck between sickness and wellness. This space between being sick and being fully well is exactly where Amy’s book offers language, validation, and guidance.
While these struggles are common, they are rarely discussed.
Amy’s book seeks to change that conversation.
According to Amy, healing is about more than symptom improvement. It is also about addressing the trauma accumulated during years of illness, uncertainty, and medical challenges.
Why But You Look Fine Resonates with Lyme Disease Patients
Many people living with Lyme disease have heard the phrase:
“But you look fine.”
For patients, those four words can be frustrating.
Outward appearances rarely tell the whole story.
Even after treatment, many individuals continue navigating emotional and psychological challenges that friends, family members, coworkers, and even healthcare providers may not fully understand.
Amy’s book gives language to an experience that countless patients have struggled to explain.
Important Questions for Chronic Lyme Disease Patients
What happens after treatment? Many patients are left wondering why they still feel emotionally stuck even after making physical progress.
How do patients move beyond survival mode? After years of fighting for answers, it can be difficult to shift from surviving illness to rebuilding life.
What role does trauma play in recovery? Amy’s work highlights how medical trauma, fear, dismissal, and uncertainty can shape the healing process.
How do individuals rebuild confidence after illness? Recovery often involves learning how to trust the body, make plans again, and reconnect with identity and purpose.
What does true healing actually look like? Through personal stories, research, expert insights, and practical tools, Amy offers readers a roadmap for navigating the often-overlooked journey between sick and well.
Through personal stories, research, expert insights, and practical tools, Amy offers readers a roadmap for navigating the often-overlooked journey between sick and well.
An Inspiring Evening at Barnes & Noble
The launch event featured a conversation between Amy Kurtz and award-winning NBC News correspondent Chloe Melas.
The Conversation
Amy’s Lyme disease journey. Amy shared how her experience with misdiagnosed Lyme disease shaped her advocacy and inspired her work.
The inspiration behind the book. But You Look Fine grew out of Amy’s desire to name an overlooked phase of healing that many patients experience but rarely see reflected in mainstream health conversations.
Medical Trauma Brain. The conversation helped explain why emotional and neurological patterns can remain even after the most acute phase of illness has passed.
Patient advocacy and resilience. Amy’s message centered on helping patients feel seen, supported, and empowered as they rebuild their lives.
Throughout the evening, one message became clear:
Healing is not always linear.
For many patients, the emotional recovery process can be just as important as the physical one.
The audience included people from across the chronic illness community, many of whom recognized themselves in the experiences Amy described.
A Conversation with Amy Kurtz
While attending the event, Matt Sabatello had the opportunity to briefly connect with Amy and discuss the release of But You Look Fine and the impact the book is already having on patients.
In the interview, Amy describes Medical Trauma Brain as “the illness after the illness” and explains why so many people remain trapped in the space between being sick and being well.
For Lyme disease patients, that message is especially powerful.
Many people spend years focused on getting diagnosed and treated, only to discover that healing requires addressing much more than physical symptoms alone.
Amy Kurtz and Tick Boot Camp
Amy has been a longtime friend of Tick Boot Camp and an important voice within the Lyme disease and chronic illness communities.
In 2024, she joined us for episode 449 of our Tick Boot Camp Podcast titled Kicking Sick: Your Go-To Guide for Thriving with Chronic Health Conditions
During that conversation, Amy shared her Lyme disease journey, lessons learned through chronic illness, and practical strategies for building resilience and creating a meaningful life despite health challenges.
Since that interview, Amy has continued to advocate for patients while helping people better understand the emotional and practical realities of chronic illness recovery.
From Stories That Heal to But You Look Fine
The launch of But You Look Fine comes shortly after Amy participated in Project Lyme’s landmark Stories That Heal event in New York City.
The event brought together leaders from across the Lyme disease community, including patients, physicians, researchers, advocates, and authors, all united by a shared mission of education, awareness, and hope.
Praise for But You Look Fine
The book has already received praise from some of the most respected names in health, wellness, trauma recovery, and functional medicine.
Mark Hyman, MD
“A paradigm-shifting book and a must-read.”
David Perlmutter, MD
“An empowering guide that gifts readers the tools needed to move forward with clarity and purpose.”
Kris Carr
“A testament to the enduring human spirit.”
Tara Brach
“Amy writes with honesty and great compassion, helping readers feel less alone.”
The endorsements reflect the growing recognition that emotional recovery deserves a larger place in conversations about chronic illness healing.
Key Takeaways from the Launch Event
Several important themes emerged throughout the evening.
Validation Matters
Patients need their experiences acknowledged and understood.
Healing Is More Than Physical
Recovery often requires addressing emotional and psychological wounds alongside physical symptoms.
Trauma Can Persist After Illness
Many patients continue carrying the effects of years spent navigating uncertainty, misdiagnosis, and medical challenges.
Community Creates Hope
Connecting with others who understand the journey can be transformative.
Recovery Is Possible
Healing may not look the same for everyone, but meaningful progress and personal growth are possible.
Why This Book Matters
At Tick Boot Camp, we frequently hear from people who have made significant progress physically but still struggle with fear, anxiety, uncertainty, and questions about what comes next.
Amy’s work addresses that reality directly.
What Readers Will Gain From This Book
Language for their experience. The book helps patients name a part of healing that has often gone unnamed.
Validation for their struggles. Amy’s message reminds readers that they are not alone and that their experience is real.
Practical tools for moving forward. The book offers guidance for navigating life after chronic illness and rebuilding from the inside out.
Hope that healing is possible. Most importantly, it reminds readers that recovery is not simply about eliminating symptoms.
Most importantly, it reminds readers that recovery is not simply about eliminating symptoms.
It is about reclaiming identity, rebuilding confidence, and creating a meaningful life beyond illness.
Order But You Look Fine
To learn more about Amy Kurtz and order the book, visit AmyKurtz.com
Coming Soon: Amy Kurtz Returns to Tick Boot Camp
Matt Sabatello and Rich Johannesen recently welcomed Amy into the Tick Boot Camp studio for a new in-depth interview focused on her book, Medical Trauma Brain, Lyme disease recovery, emotional healing, chronic illness resilience, and building a life after illness.
The episode will be released soon on the Tick Boot Camp Podcast, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast platforms.
Final Thoughts
Amy Kurtz’s book launch was more than a celebration of a new release.
It was a conversation about a part of healing that many patients experience but few people talk about.
For those navigating Lyme disease, tick-borne illness, or other chronic health conditions, But You Look Fine offers something powerful:
Validation.
Understanding.
And the belief that healing is about more than surviving illness—it’s about learning how to live fully again.
