The Chronic Pain Couple - by Karra Eloff (Hardcover)

About the Book

Based on personal experience and academic expertise, The Chronic Pain Couple is a compassionate, practical blueprint guiding partners living with chronic pain to a remarkable relationship and joy-filled new normal.

Book Synopsis

The struggle to maintain joy & a fulfilling relationship while coping with chronic illness and pain is a serious problem for millions of people today. Australian entrepreneur and health professional Karra Eloff draws on academic research and her own pursuit of joy in spite of suffering to bring this trailblazing, compassionate, low-energy and practical path to a remarkable new normal, for you and your chosen human/partner.

On average, one in five adults suffer from chronic pain. In older people, the number rises to three in five. Most of these people don't realise they don't have to settle for a survival-based coexistence with their partner or bury their hopes for success and joy under a mountain of heat packs or duvets.

Chronic illness or pain, according to Karra, need not hold you back from experiencing personal joy and success. It is possible to forge a path to remarkable--to move the dial of a relationship challenged with chronic pain from embattled and exhausted to joyful and passion-filled.

This is possible through small, practical changes that require little energy but make a big impact in the areas of:

• Communication


• Mental health


• Intimacy


• Personal Success

If you experience chronic pain or love someone with a chronic illness this book is for you. If you are a health professional seeking practical advice for people with chronic pain, this book is for you.

Review Quotes

"Author Karra Eloff knows firsthand what chronic pain can do to a relationship. Pain disrupted her romantic and social life, and held her back from personal joy and professional success. To save their marriage, Karra and her husband made simple changes to improve their intimacy and agreed not to let illness sidetrack their relationship. If you live with pain or love someone with a chronic illness, this book could help save or restore your relationship."- Pain News Network

"By generously telling stories from her own life, before and after pain, Eloff provides the reader with an inside view of how she and her partner achieved their own remarkable relationship. Her story is always truthful and doesn't shy away from the hard bits."

- Books+Publishing

"By taking a series of small, practical steps, [Eloff] argues, you can turn the dial on a relationship, making big changes that require only minimal energy. And the tips in each section are exactly what she promises: practical, doable and 'low-energy', which means they don't use up many of your valuable energetic resources."- Tim Atkinson for Yorkshire Bylines author of 'Where Does it Hurt?: Life with Chronic Pain

"Chronic illness or pain, according to Karra, need not hold you back from experiencing personal joy and success. It is possible to forge a path to remarkable - to move the dial of a relationship challenged with chronic pain from embattled and exhausted to joyful and passion-filled."

- Metropol magazine, July issue

"Eloff, a psychology clinic cofounder, offers chronic pain sufferers advice for maintaining successful relationships in this compassionate debut."- Publisher's Weekly

"Her experience of living with chronic pain, and the impact it had on her marriage, prompted her to write the book The Chronic Pain Couple: How to be a joyful partner & have a remarkable relationship in spite of chronic pain."- Nine Honey

"I'll be honest - I felt nervous going into this book. Perhaps I was worried I'd feel worse about myself afterwards, however that was so not the case!
Karra's writing is as if you're listening to your best friend. She is honest, kind, respectful, and encouraging! I really enjoyed the structure and thought all of the advice was great.
I also enjoyed getting to learn about Karra's story too, which is an important aspect to this book. I immediately trusted what Karra was saying as I knew she understood it! She is also living it, and that makes all the difference (in my opinion).
I recommend this book for anyone who is living with a chronic illness (whether that includes chronic pain or not) who is in a relationship, or looking for one. This book can also be read by support people for an insight, however I think it's more suited for people living with the pain/condition."- Good Reads

"It's in interesting book because mostly when we talk about pain it relates to them personally, but you forget about the impact of other people in your life and of course your partner. The book is devoted to helping other couples going through a similar situation, It's an uplifting book and lots of people will get great value from it."

- Rick Whittle, ABC Wide Bay

"Karra's debut book, The Chronic Pain Couple, is a practical blueprint on how to navigate love and intimacy while being diagnosed. Her book is full of hope and strategy for many.
Think of The Chronic Pain Couple as a go-to guide for tough conversations and pivoting moments."- Style magazine.co.nz

"Thank you for writing the book that so many of us have been looking for our whole lives"- Jacinta Parsons, ABC Melbourne

"This is a compassionate guide to being a joyful partner in a remarkable relationship for couples who live with chronic pain. It tells you how to keep pain from stealing your wonderful marriage. No one wants to just survive, or as a couple, want a relationship that's just sustained."- Public Service News

"Very much based on (Karra's) experience of chronic pain and how it affected her relationship. While you decided to accept over time that while pain was your new normal, you don't have to accept the new normal of the patient carer dynamic with your partner "- Lyrella Couzens, ABC Darwin

"What impact does a loved one's chronic pain have on you? This hour some practical tips for those living alongside those with chronic pain"- Andrea Gibbs, ABC Digital radio weekends

"Your Stories"

- Spondylitis Arthritis Association

Campo "The things that always comes up are compassion fatigue and caregiver burnout. The book answers the question, how do we navigate these changes to regain the joy in our relationship "- Marine and Campo, River 949 Breakfast

About the Author

Karra Eloff is a young Australian health professional, speaker & entrepreneur dedicated to helping suffering people find joy. She is the managing director and co-founder of three private psychology clinics on the East Coast of Australia. She is also the founder of The Chronic Pain Couple, an organisation that delivers practical support to people with chronic pain and their loved one. Karra is a wife, mother, and former speech pathologist who featured as a regular guest panelist on the TV talk show Be That. Karra herself suffers from long-term chronic pain and her personal experience, along with research and work with clients, led her to develop a blueprint to enable any couple living with chronic pain to achieve joy, success and a remarkable relationship.