What happens when a test to prove someone wrong changes your life?
Anne Freeman was 22, confident, and certain life would unfold exactly as she imagined. After leaving a controlling relationship and starting anew, she felt unstoppable, until her health quietly began to unravel.
Weight loss, relentless thirst, and exhaustion crept in. She ignored it all until colleagues joked about her condition. Wanting to shut it down, she booked a GP appointment to prove there was nothing wrong. Instead, she received an unthinkable diagnosis: Type 1 Diabetes.
In this deeply personal episode, Anne shares what it feels like to have your body shift from familiar to unpredictable in an instant. She speaks honestly about denial, fear, and the confronting reality of daily insulin injections and lifelong monitoring. Over time, she reflects on how the diagnosis reshaped her identity, deepened her compassion, and found its way into the women she now writes about.
This is a story of learning to live with vulnerability and redefining the future inside a body that demands constant attention. A conversation for anyone navigating chronic illness, disability, or curveballs that arrives without warning.
Anne Freeman is a contemporary fiction writer from Melbourne, Australia. Her novels explore the extraordinary ways women shake themselves loose from stuck lives. Anne draws inspiration from her own experiences, including her journey with Type 1 Diabetes.
For more information about Anne, please visit her website:
https://www.annefreeman.com.au/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annefreemanwrites/
For support with diabetes, please visit: https://www.diabetesaustralia.com.au/
⚠️ Our episodes contain conversations about difficult life experiences. Some episodes include coarse language and themes such as childhood trauma, sexual assault, infant loss and references to suicide. Please take care while listening and prioritise your wellbeing.
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Production assistance from John Hresc at Sydney Sound Brewery
