I have Crohn’s...but Crohn’s Disease Does Not Have Me.
The honest, lighthearted true story of one man’s 40 years with Crohn’s Disease — the diagnosis at 18, the hospitals, the operations, the dark days — and how he learned to laugh, cope, and keep going. Non-medical. Plain English. Brutally honest. Genuinely funny.
40+ Years
Living with, fighting, and finally understanding Crohn’s Disease.
Countless Hospital Stays
Real operations, real recoveries, told with zero medical jargon.
One Honest Voice
No sugar-coating — and no self-pity either.
Still Laughing
Because you don’t feel pain when you’re laughing.
This isn’t a medical book.
It’s a fly-on-the-wall documentary, written in plain English by someone who has actually lived it — diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease at just 18, in and out of Dublin hospitals for decades, through dozens of operations, and out the other side.
Brian tells it exactly as it happened: the fear of that first diagnosis, the hospital wards, the surgeries that kept getting bigger, the medications, and the moments — some very unexpected — that got him through. It’s brutally honest. It’s also, somehow, very funny.
Readers say it reads like sitting down for a chat with Brian himself — and that most people get through it in one sitting.
Six reasons ‘Crohnies’ — and the people who love them — keep recommending it
Zero Medical Jargon
Brian isn’t a doctor — he’s a patient. Every page is plain, honest English anyone can follow.
For Newbies & Old Crohnies Alike
Just diagnosed and terrified? Twenty years in? Either way, you’ll recognise yourself in these pages.
A Real Self-Help Tool
Readers message Brian saying they spotted their own habits in his story — and finally changed them.
All Fact, No Fiction
Nothing here is invented. It’s Brian’s real medical file, decades thick, turned into a book.
Serious Subject, Light Touch
Crohn’s is hard enough. Brian chose to write it with humour — because laughing beats crying.
A Genuine Feel-Good Ending
It doesn’t end at diagnosis. It ends with a man still here, still playing music, still laughing.
A few of the moments you’ll read about
The busker who became a diagnosis
Merchants Arch, Grafton Street, and the pains he ignored for far too long.
‘What the F is Crohn’s Disease?’
Eighteen years old, told it was incurable — and told almost nothing else.
The band, the hospital, the encore
A gig cut short by an ambulance — and thirty-four years playing music anyway.
The file three Yellow Pages thick
Decades of hospitals, operations, and the moment he decided to fight.
What readers tell Brian
Real statements Brian has published about how readers respond — not invented reviews.
Brian Prendergast — a normal Crohn’s patient, just like you
Diagnosed at 18. Now in his late 50s. Musician, former busker, graphic designer, husband to Geraldine for over three decades — and a ‘fully qualified Old Crohnie’. Brian wrote this book so that nobody newly diagnosed has to feel as lost as he once did.
New to Crohn’s Disease? Start with this free page first.
Six things Brian wishes he’d known on day one — plus where to find real support. No purchase required.
Common questions
Is ‘Diary of an Old Crohnie’ a medical book?
Who is this book written for?
Is it available on Kindle as well as paperback?
Where can I buy it?
Is it really lighthearted, given the subject?
Get your copy today.
Priced as low as Brian could make it — so it can reach as many Crohnies as possible. Please spread the word.