My audiobook launches tomorrow. And this week, I got overwhelmed.

Not with the recording. Not with the editing. But with everything else it takes to bring an event like this together. Invites, registrations, the host, the guests, a hundred small moving pieces all at once. I had to sit down with my journal and ask myself honestly, Shelly, what's going on with you?

And it brought me back to something I have learned again and again on this journey. The power of small things.

When I set out to write my book, the whole idea felt too big to hold. So I broke it down to 250 words a day. Those small words compounded into 117,000 words, later trimmed through editing. The same thing happened this week with the launch. I could not send a thousand invites at once, but I could send ten. I could not do everything, but I could do one small thing that moved the needle forward.

In this episode I talk honestly about getting overwhelmed, what helped me come back from it, and why small, doable steps matter more than we give them credit for, whether you are healing from chronic pain, working toward a goal, or just trying to get through a hard week.

My audiobook launches tomorrow. If you have not registered yet, its free, the link isbelow:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/but-you-look-just-fine-audiobook-launch-celebration-with-andrea-hayes-tickets-1998429646870?aff=oddtdtcreator

💬 What is one small thing you are going to do for yourself this week? Tell me in the comments.

📖 But You Look Just Fine: micheleroys.com
🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts

#PainAwarenessMonth #ChronicPain #InvisibleIllness #TheMicheleRoysShow #SmallSteps #Kaizen #ChronicIllnessCommunity

What do you do when your health is failing, your business is drowning, and you feel like you've got nothing left?

For Amy Lacey, the answer wasn't to give up. It was to go deeper.

Amy was diagnosed with lupus and Sjögren's syndrome and reached a point where chronic pain left her unable to walk normally. She was using a scooter, had undergone multiple foot surgeries, and was struggling with the reality of not being able to be the mother she wanted to be.

Then came an unexpected idea: cauliflower pizza.

What began as a way to bring a family tradition back into her home became Cauliflower Foods, and remarkably, an eight-figure business within 16 months. But the biggest turning point came when Amy found herself deep in the negative and on her knees praying for God to shut the business down. Then she had a dream about a single mother and her daughter, and the story she shared about them went viral overnight.

That wasn't the end of the story either.

In this conversation Amy also opens up about childhood trauma, EMDR, chronic illness, depression, losing her company and her team, journaling, gratitude, her mother's breast cancer, and learning to see rejection as God's protection and redirection.

We talk about:

• Living with lupus, Sjögren's syndrome and chronic pain

• The connection between trauma and chronic illness

• Turning a health challenge into a groundbreaking business idea

• What happened when she lost control of the company she built

• How gratitude helped her move beyond anger

• Faith, motherhood, and finding your why

Amy's story is a reminder that the hardest chapter isn't necessarily the end of the story. Sometimes what feels like rejection becomes protection.

💬 What is something in your life that felt like rejection at the time, but later became a redirection? Tell me in the comments.

If Amy's story gave you hope, send this episode to someone who needs that reminder today.

📖 Connect with Amy Website:https://www.livyond.com 

Use code MICHELEROYS20 for 20% off sitewide, no minimum purchase required, or simply click the link below and the discount applies automatically at checkout. 

https://www.livyond.com/discount/MICHELEROYS20  Instagram:@heyamylacey Faithfully Found Journal: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H2YK8XSC?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback

🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts

#AmyLacey #ChronicIllness #Lupus #SjögrensSyndrome #FaithAndHealing

They may look fine. They may smile, work and carry on with life. But they could be living with chronic pain that you will never see.

September is Pain Awareness Month, and I'm asking us to look beyond the surface—and start asking better questions.

What if the person who just told you “I'm fine” isn't actually fine?

In this short but important episode of The Michele Roys Show, I'm asking us to have a different conversation about chronic pain and invisible illness.

Because sometimes the person standing beside you looks completely fine.

They're smiling. They're working. They're getting on with life.

But underneath the surface, they may be carrying chronic pain, fatigue, disability, autoimmune illness or an invisible condition that you simply cannot see.

I know this because I live it too.

In this episode, I share what fatigue can actually feel like when you're living with chronic pain—and why saying “I'm fine” can sometimes be easier than trying to explain what's really happening inside your body.

• Why invisible pain is so difficult for others to understand

• What it can feel like to live with chronic pain and fatigue

• Why people with invisible illnesses often “mask” how they're feeling

• How friends, family and colleagues can ask better questions

• Why curiosity can create understanding instead of judgement

• How workplaces can better support people living with chronic pain or disability

• Why we need more empathy, kindness and open conversations

• And most importantly, why nobody living with chronic pain should feel like they have to carry it alone

One of the biggest messages I want to leave you with is this:

Sometimes we judge because someone “looks fine.”

But we don't know what's happening underneath.

So this Pain Awareness Month, I'm inviting you to ask instead of assume.

Ask your friend:

“How are you actually doing?”

Ask:

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

And if you are the person living with chronic pain or invisible illness, you don't have to explain everything—but if you feel safe and comfortable, tell people a little more about what you're experiencing.

Because sometimes people don't lack care.

They simply lack understanding.

And when we open the conversation, we can create more empathy, connection, support and community.

What is one thing you wish other people understood about living with chronic pain or invisible illness?

Share it in the comments.

Your answer might help someone else feel seen and understood today.

And if you know someone living with chronic pain, fatigue or an invisible illness, send them this episode.

Sometimes knowing that somebody sees you is more powerful than we realise.

I'm also celebrating the audiobook launch of my memoir:

But You Look Just Fine: My Journey to Rediscover Joy Amidst Chronic Pain and Invisible Illness

📅 24 September 2026 ⏰ 7 PM Irish time 💻 Live on Zoom

Come and celebrate with us as we mark Pain Awareness Month, bring our community together and make the invisible visible.

👉 Register here: EVENTBRITE LINK

Subscribe to The Michele Roys Show for honest conversations about chronic pain, invisible illness, resilience, faith, hope and rediscovering joy—even when life doesn't go according to plan.

#PainAwarenessMonth #ChronicPain #InvisibleIllness #ChronicIllness #PainAwareness #DisabilityAwareness #ChronicPainAwareness #InvisibleDisability #TheMicheleRoysShow #ButYouLookJustFine

We talk about:You don't have to understand someone's pain to believe them.You are not alone.💬 I want to hear from you:📖 My audiobook launches September 24

Living with chronic pain and invisible illness, I thought recording my audiobook was the hard part. I was wrong.

What happens when you have to listen to your own story, all over again? You don't just hear the words. You relive them.

In Part 2 of this behind-the-scenes journey creating the audiobook of my memoir, But You Look Just Fine, I share what it was really like to sit with the edited recording and hear myself telling my own story back to me.

It was harder than I expected. I found myself reliving painful memories, wondering if I had shared too much, and listening for every tiny imperfection while battling the perfectionist voice telling me it wasn't good enough. On top of that, my trigeminal neuralgia makes wearing headphones for extended periods genuinely painful, which made the editing process even more difficult.

But somewhere in the middle of it, I had a realisation.

It doesn't have to be perfect. It just has to be done.

I talk often about slowing down, listening to your body, and practising self-compassion, but making this audiobook showed me I do not always follow my own advice. With encouragement from my therapist, I stopped focusing on what wasn't perfect and started honouring what I had actually accomplished.

I wrote a book. I recorded an audiobook. I kept going. And that matters.

If you are looking at everything you haven't done instead of everything you have done, this episode is for you.

You are enough. What you are doing is enough. Your journey does not have to be perfect to be worth celebrating.

🎉 You are invited to my audiobook virtual launch!

📖 But You Look Just Fine: My Journey to Rediscover Joy Amidst Chronic Pain and Invisible Illness

📅 24 September 2026 ⏰ 7:00 PM Irish time

💻 Live on Zoom, hosted by Andrea Hayes

🎟️ Free, registration required

👉 Register here: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/but-you-look-just-fine-audiobook-launch-celebration-with-andrea-hayes-tickets-1998429646870 

What is something you've accomplished that you haven't stopped to celebrate yet? Tell me in the comments.

If this episode speaks to you, LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, and SHARE it with someone who needs to hear "you are enough" today.

📖 micheleroys.com

🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Youtube and wherever you get your podcasts

I wasn't just reading my story. I was reliving it.

Recording the audiobook version of my memoir, But You Look Just Fine, was one of the most emotional experiences of my life. There were moments I cried, memories that came flooding back, and times I needed to stop and remind myself that I am okay now.

Because of my health this year I also had to change my original timeline. The audiobook now launches in September 2026 during Pain Awareness Month, which feels like exactly the right moment for a book about making the invisible visible.

But what I really want you to take from this episode is this. How often do we accomplish something difficult and immediately move on without pausing to celebrate what we just did? This episode is that reminder. To stop. To look back. To honour what you have survived.

You are invited to celebrate with me:

📖 But You Look Just Fine Audiobook Launch 📅 24 September 2026 | 7pm Irish time 💻 Live on Zoom | Hosted by Andrea Hayes 🎟️ Free, register through the episode notes

https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/but-you-look-just-fine-audiobook-launch-celebration-with-andrea-hayes-tickets-1998429646870 

What have you overcome that you haven't stopped to celebrate yet? I would love to hear from you.

📖 micheleroys.com

What do you do when 20 doctors can't tell you what's wrong?

Alicia Briggs was 18 when shin splints turned into something terrifying. Her legs swelling, turning purple, pain off the charts, and no one with an answer. It took three years, over 25 medications, and finally a pain specialist to get a diagnosis: CRPS, Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, rated higher than childbirth on the pain scale.

That was just the beginning.

In this episode we talk about navigating the medical system when no one believes you, surviving two heart attacks that were initially dismissed, managing chronic illness in a corporate career, and why after six years of trying, Alicia finally wrote her book.

Her message to anyone in a dark season is simple and powerful: believe in the what if.

What if there is a new treatment? A new doctor? A new answer? Give yourself one thing today and keep going.

Find Alicia Briggs at coachbriggs.com

📖 But You Look Just Fine: My Journey to Rediscover Joy Amidst Chronic Pain and Invisible Illness

🌐 micheleroys.com

When was the last time you genuinely felt good in your body? Not managing pain. Not managing stress. Not simply getting through the day. Actually good.

In this solo episode of The Michele Roys Show, Michele Roys explores what research tells us about dancing and brain health, dopamine, endorphins, stress, cortisol, chronic pain, healthy aging, and the power of community. And she gets personal about why her weekly salsa, bachata and kizomba sessions have become a form of dance therapy while living with Trigeminal Neuralgia, Fibromyalgia, and chronic Lyme disease.

We also explore the Blue Zones, the five places on earth where people live the longest, and what they reveal about dancing, community, and joy as a way of life.

You will leave with three simple things you can do this week starting today. The One Song Rule. Your anchor song. And how to schedule joy like the medicine it actually is.

This episode is for anyone living with chronic pain, invisible illness, burnout, or simply waiting to feel better before they let themselves feel good. The wait is over.

📖 Book: But You Look Just Fine 🌐 www.micheleroys.com 📸 Instagram: @michroys

New episodes every Wednesday.

What are you waiting on God for?

An answer? Healing? Medical results? A job? Provision? Guidance? A breakthrough?

I've been thinking about Isaiah 40:31, and the words have been speaking deeply to me:

“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength…”

In this encouraging episode of The Michele Roys Show, I talk honestly about how difficult it can be to wait—especially when you're tired, overwhelmed, dealing with health challenges, or simply desperate for answers.

I share from my own season of waiting and reflect on what we can learn from Noah, Abraham and David, who each had to trust God through long periods when they couldn't yet see how everything would unfold.

If you're feeling weary or wondering when your answer is coming, I hope this episode gives you a moment to pause, breathe, surrender, and remember that waiting doesn't mean God has forgotten you.

Sometimes, waiting is where our strength is renewed.

What are you waiting on God for right now?

I'd love to hear from you.

If this episode encouraged you, share it with someone who needs a little hope today.

📖 But You Look Just Fine: My Journey to Rediscover Joy Amidst Chronic Pain and Invisible Illness 🌐 micheleroys.com

Sometimes one moment is all it takes to realise just how farGod has carried you.

In this heartfelt solo episode of The Michele Roys Show, Itake you behind the scenes of my trip to Phoenix, Arizona, where I attended the International Impact Book Awards and found myself surrounded by extraordinary authors whose stories of resilience, courage, and faith left a lasting impacton my heart.

Living with Trigeminal Neuralgia, Fibromyalgia, and invisibleillness, I spent years wondering whether my story was worth telling. Then I sat down at the awards gala and saw the words beside my name: Award-Winning Author.

 It became more than an award. It became a reminder of God'sfaithfulness through every hard season, every quiet surrender, every moment I almost stopped believing.

Together, we reflect on the power of community, why your story matters even while you are still living it, and how God can use every season, including the hardest ones, for a purpose far greater than we can imagine.

If you are feeling discouraged or wondering whether yourjourney has meaning, I hope this episode encourages you to keep believing, keep trusting, and remember that your story is still being written.

Connect with me at www.micheleroys.com

Instagram: @michroys

Facebook: @micheleroys

My memoir: But You Look Just Fine: My Journey to RediscoverJoy Amidst Chronic Pain and Invisible Illness

What if the hardest part of chronic illness isn’t the symptoms… but how harshly we treat ourselves?

In this heartfelt episode of The Michele Roys Show, I sit down with Rachel Hayden — founder of Spoonful of Strength and host of The Spoonful Show. Living with Type 1 Diabetes for over 25 years and later diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Rachel shares how she stopped fighting herself and started practicing real self-compassion.

This conversation is filled with honesty, faith, and practical hope for anyone navigating chronic illness, invisible illness, autoimmune conditions, or chronic pain.

In this episode we discuss:

✨ Living with Type 1 Diabetes and Multiple Sclerosis

✨ Why self-compassion is harder than compassion for others

✨ The emotional weight of a chronic illness diagnosis

✨ Redefining strength when your body changes

✨ Letting go of perfectionism and asking for help

✨ Finding purpose, faith, and joy despite ongoing challenges

One powerful reminder from Rachel:

“Be as kind to yourself as you are to the people you love.”

If you’re tired of feeling like your diagnosis defines you, this episode will remind you that you are so much more — and that gentle self-compassion can change everything.

💛 What is one small act of kindness you can show yourself this week? Drop it in the comments — your words might encourage someone else on the same journey.

If this resonated, please LIKE, SUBSCRIBE & SHARE it with someone who needs hope today.

Connect with Rachel Hayden

Instagram: @spoonfullofstrength,

TikTok @spoonfull.of.strength 

Podcast: The Spoonful Show,available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube and more 

📖 Michele’s Memoir: But You Look Just Fine

www.micheleroys.com

#ChronicIllness #MultipleSclerosis #Type1Diabetes #InvisibleIllness #SelfCompassion #ChronicPain #AutoimmuneDisease #Resilience #SpoonfulOfStrength #TheMicheleRoysShow