Brandy Schantz
Author Interview - Brandy Schantz
Author of Living Chronic: Conversations That Changed Me, Lessons That Saved Me
Brandy Schantz was an Army Intelligence officer, an Ironman triathlete, and a consultant who believed her body was one more asset she could outwork. Then Crohn's disease arrived in 2013, and years later a reaction to the medication meant to control it set off a cascade she could not outrun: drug-induced lupus, neurological collapse, the loss of her ability to walk. It took nineteen months and eleven doctors to name what was happening, and four and a half more years to arrive at the diagnosis that finally explained the rest.
Living Chronic is the account of those years and what came after. It is a story about medical trauma, about being told the problem is stress or imagination, about the particular grief of losing not just health but the identity built on top of it. It is also a story about survival. Schantz started the Living Chronic podcast as a reason to get out of bed, and the conversations that followed gave her something no clinician had: a blueprint.
That blueprint is the book's spine. Fifteen lessons, hard-earned, ranging from the blunt (no one is coming to save you) to the unexpectedly tender (anger is not the enemy; extend grace to yourself and to those who love you) to the structurally furious (the system didn't fail you, it was never built for you). Together they map a way to live in an unreliable body without disappearing into it.
Written with candor and no small amount of humor, Living Chronic is for the millions navigating invisible and misunderstood conditions, and for anyone who has been asked to prove they are sick. It offers something rarer than a cure: the experience of being seen.
Author Interview - Brandy Schantz
Author I draw inspiration from:
Malcolm Gladwell. I love how easy he translates information and makes it engaging.
Author Interview - Brandy Schantz | Author I Draw Inspiration From
Favorite place to read a book:
In the park with my dogs
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with:
Frances "Frankie" McGrath from The Women by Kristin Hannah. I was an Intelligence Officer, not a nurse, and I never served in Vietnam, my service came many years later during the Global War on Terrorism but I felt so much kinship to Frankie and what she was experiencing. It was so vivid and to me that I had to take frequent breaks from reading the book to reflect on what I had just read and how I felt about it in relationship to my own service and experiences. I'd like to ask her what she would do differently if she had it all to do over again. I'd also like to know what she thinks of the difference in women's roles in the military today versus during Vietnam and what we could do better to honor women in the military, their roles, and their legacy.
Author Interview - Brandy Schantz | Book Character I’d Like to be Stuck in an Elevator With
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author:
When I was 9 years old and getting my book, "Kelly's Creek" singed by the author, Doris Buchanan Smith. I knew then that I wanted to be an author.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook:
I refuse to read ebooks. I want to feel the book in my hand, smell the paper, and experience all that reading entails. I've learned that turning off devices and reading a book, a real book, calms your nervous system and helps you mentally. It's a part of my nightly ritual before bed. I read a book for about an hour then meditate before turning the lights out and going to sleep. I've listened to audiobooks before but I truly prefer my reading experience. It's my happy place. I'd always prefer a paperback so I can fold it and bend it to my needs as I lay down and read, sit on the bench at the park, or drink my wine while reading at brunch. This is my favorite form of relaxation and I want to take it all in.
The last book I read:
The Five-Star Weekend by Elin Hilderbrand. I rarely watch a show first then read the book but that's exactly what happened here. I enjoyed the show so much, I decided to pick up the book and read it. As usual, the book is better than the show. I really enjoyed it and felt it was a great summer read. Perfect for getting away and losing yourself in a book.
Author Interview - Brandy Schantz | The Last Book I Read
Pen & paper or computer:
Pen and paper. I connect better when I use pen and paper. It's a bit more difficult these days because my brain gets scattered and I deal with heavy brain fog from my nervous system disorder so transferring everything to computer is a chore and a half and I feel like I'm losing papers, train of thought, and my own system. That said, my brain works better and I connect to the feeling of what I'm doing if I use pen and paper. I feel like pen allows me to project my emotion onto the page.
Book character I think I’d be best friends with:
Aunti Mame by Patrick Dennis. I absolutely love fashion, drinking great wine, and getting into a bit of harmless trouble. She's glamorous, worldly, adventurous, generous, and always in a fabulous situation. I believe we'd meet for one glass of wine and end up in another country.
Author Interview - Brandy Schantz | Book Character I’d be Best Friends With
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a:
Reflecting on my life, I'd love to be a news reporter. I once inserted myself into a military exercise I was planning as a reporter and had the time of my life. After the exercise, a reservist who was a real life newscaster asked me if I was interested in a job. I told him I was just playing the role of a news reporter but I thought to myself it may be the best job I could have chosen because it was so much fun.
Favorite decade in fashion history:
90s. Those were my high school and college years and now that this style has come back around, I'm shopping nonstop so I can relive my youth. Also, you can't go wrong with a block heel! Who decided we needed to move on to stilettos after those fabulous block loafers?
Place I’d most like to travel:
I love Paris. I can get lost in the city and find something new and beautiful each time I'm there. I cold also eat chouquettes all day.
My signature drink:
Champagne!
Favorite artist:
Titus Burgess. I could watch him in anything and he could sing anything and I'd love it.
Number one on my bucket list:
I've still never seen the Northern Lights. It's #1 on my bucket list.
Anything else you'd like to add:
My love has always been and always will be running. I can lose myself and take my mind to a new place.
Find more from the author:
@chroniclly_brandyschantz (IG & Threads)
@LivingChronic (Facebook)
@brandy_schantz (X)
About Brandy Schantz:
Brandy Schantz
Brandy Schantz is the author of Living Chronic: Conversations That Changed Me, Lessons That Saved Me and host of the Living Chronic: Ability at Work podcast. A former U.S. Army intelligence officer and service-connected disabled veteran, she is a nationally recognized disability and workforce advocate who serves as Chair of the Virginia State Rehabilitation Council. She is also a lifelong runner and former triathlete who has completed multiple Ironman 70.3 races.
