Breaking Chairs
PUBLICATION STATUS: Currently Seeking Representation
A memoir about surviving broken systems and learning I was worthy of being held.
About the Book
Unlike fiction, a memoir asks readers to trust that the story is true. Breaking Chairs is a deeply personal account of life with chronic illness, disability, medical trauma, and the unexpected lessons that come from surviving experiences that reshape every part of your life.
For years, J.B. McGee searched for answers while navigating rare diseases, repeated surgeries, hospitalizations, and a healthcare system that could be both life-saving and deeply discouraging. Along the way, she became an advocate not only for herself, but also for her medically complex children and disabled husband, discovering that resilience is often built in the quiet moments between crises rather than during the dramatic ones.
At its heart, Breaking Chairs is not simply a story about illness. It is about identity, relationships, grief, hope, and learning to separate your worth from the things that failed to support you. The title comes from a simple but powerful idea: when a chair collapses beneath you, you instinctively believe you were too heavy. Over time, that same thinking can shape how we view ourselves after disappointment, trauma, rejection, or loss. What if the chair was never strong enough to hold you in the first place?
In Breaking Chairs, J.B. McGee revisits two decades of chronic illness, medical trauma, caregiving, grief, financial hardship, and the exhausting work of advocating not only for her medically complex children and disabled husband, but also for herself.
Through countless moments of doubt and loss, and because of love, she slowly realizes broken chairs aren't evidence of personal failure. Sometimes chairs wobble. Sometimes they break. It was never because she was too heavy.
Breaking Chairs is a memoir not just about the people and institutions that collapsed under pressure, but about the people who held more than anyone ever expected them to. Tender, honest, touched with humor, and ultimately hopeful, it is a story about learning to trust your instincts and discovering that you were never too much.
Back Cover Synopsis
Inside These Pages
Chronic illness
Medical advocacy
Caregiving
Family relationships
Neurodiversity
Grief and loss
Trauma and healing
Friendship and community
Marriage and resilience
Hope and second chances
Finding your people
Learning you are worthy of being held
"Broken chairs make you think you were too heavy when they collapse."
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