Danielle Roessle, LCSW—Author and Advocate

Hi, I’m Danielle. I write about navigating uncertainty, living with chronic illness, and the truths we think but rarely speak.

In February 2024, I lost my kidneys due to complications during childbirth. I spent a year on dialysis, received a kidney transplant—and then it failed. Miraculously, my kidneys recovered just enough to keep me off dialysis and postpone another transplant—for now.

I reject the pressure to stay positive or treat life as a test to triumph over. Through my newsletter and memoir (in progress), I explore living in the gray—processing grief, learning to accept the unpredictable, letting go of the “shoulds,” and finding moments of hope and gratitude along the way.

Many of my readers don’t have a chronic illness, but they relate because we all encounter challenges and the unexpected. They tell me my writing sparks reflection on their own lives—and that’s exactly why I do it.

My newsletter is a space to read, reflect, and explore what it means to live fully in the gray.