Lily Whelan was once told by a doctor that she had more chance of winning the lottery than recovering from ME/CFS.

Luckily, she likes a challenge.

Two years after contracting glandular fever, she ignored the fact that she had a face like a pufferfish and escaped to the University of Cambridge to achieve her dream of becoming a top scientist.

But her immune system had other ideas. And a virus wasn’t the only thing she found herself fighting, as she came up against a doctor that judged her health based on her thigh measurements; friends who made “helpful” comments such as “You’re not still ill, are you?”; and a society that too often dismisses ME/CFS sufferers as lazy or crazy.

Unable to achieve her goals, she set out to find medical answers. Along the way, she began to question her beliefs and learned that when you can’t define yourself by what you do, you find out who you really are.

Packed with scientific insight and practical pointers, It’s Not the Strongest That Survives tells a tale of finding fulfilment, and shines a light on what it means to truly heal.