
You Are More than Your Body
30+ Evidence-Based Strategies for Living Well with Chronic Illness: By a Clinical Therapist Living with Cerebral Palsy
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Narrated by:
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Eleanor Caudill
About this listen
A gentle, supportive guide to developing coping skills and improving quality of life for disabled and chronically ill people
Managing the stresses of everyday life can be exhausting and overwhelming. Dr. Jennifer Caspari knows this struggle well—both through her work as a clinical psychologist and her lived experience as a disabled woman with cerebral palsy. You Are More Than Your Body weaves together clinical expertise, personal stories, and practical, evidence-based tools to help listeners with chronic health conditions better cope with pain, fatigue, depression, and the emotional vulnerability that comes with living in a world not designed for our bodies.
The methods in this book synthesize a wide range of emotional regulation skills and coping techniques drawn from cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), and mindfulness practices, all of which Dr. Caspari has successfully used with her own clients. In this book, you’ll learn over thirty practical coping skills to help you:
- tune into internal experience and connect with your body;
- shift mental focus;
- cultivate self-compassion and radical acceptance;
- change your relationship with your thoughts;
- engage the power of the present to get unstuck;
- practice realistic goal-setting;
- tap into your deepest values as a resource;
- tolerate discomfort; and
- give yourselves permission to do things differently.
Each chapter includes a personal story or experience; a self-reflection exercise; associated coping skills; and practical guidance on how you can start using these tools in your own life.
Having a disability or chronic illness does not have to mean accepting a lower quality of life. While we can’t make our issues and challenges disappear, by practicing the exercises in this book, we can learn to better manage challenges that arise and learn how we can live a meaningful life now—whatever our bodies and abilities might be.
©2025 Jennifer Caspari, Phd (P)2025 North Atlantic BooksCritic reviews
"Written from a place of honest vulnerability, You Are More Than Your Body shares an accessible roadmap to self-acceptance and is a guide from which everyone can benefit."
—SHARON SALZBERG, author of Lovingkindness and Real Life
"Reading You Are More Than Your Body feels like sitting down with a great friend—one who shares her story with authenticity, humor, and eye-opening common sense. Dr. Jennifer Caspari offers not just coping skills but also powerful principles to guide each of us on our unique journeys."
—STEPHANIE SZOSTAK, actor and author of SELF!SH
"A beautiful guide to support you on your journey and help you accept and love yourself even more."
—SHANNON KAISER, best-selling author of The Self-Love Experiment
"Dr. Jennifer Caspari has combined her clinical expertise with her lived experience to create a must-read guide for anyone looking to live their life with more ease.... she effortlessly integrates evidence-based psychological strategies with personal narrative to enable the reader to shift their mindset and make meaningful changes in their life."
—ALEXIS CONASON, PsyD, CEDS-C, clinical psychologist, Certified Eating Disorder Specialist, and author of The Diet-Free Revolution
"Dr. Jennifer Caspari stands at the unique intersection of being a highly skilled psychologist and a woman with a disability. From this vantage point, she offers us a profoundly compassionate and practical guide to enhancing our well-being ... a must-read for anyone looking to navigate life's challenges with an open mind and determined heart."
—DR. DIANA HILL, clinical psychologist, host of the Wise Effort podcast, and author of The Self-Compassion Daily Journal
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