Books

Yolanda Hadid Is Writing A Book About Her Illness

by Emma Oulton

The latest season of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills has centered around Yolanda Hadid's battle with Lyme disease — and the persistent and hurtful rumors that she's faking her pain. At last, Hadid is taking control of the narrative. Yolanda Hadid's book, Believe Me: My Battle with the Invisible Disability of Lyme Disease, is coming out in February 2017 — and it's going to delve deeper than ever before into Hadid's personal journey coming to terms with her illness.

The book's title is a clear message to Hadid's detractors — and I'm not surprised she wants to set the record straight. The 52-year-old was diagnosed four years ago, and has since revealed that two of her children, Bella and Anwar Hadid, have the disease as well. Since then, she has suffered serious pain and fatigue — and so the suggestions that her illness isn't as severe as she claims, just because it's not very visible from the outside, are cruel and unsympathetic.

The book is going to contain all the details of Hadid's medical journey — the treatments she's tried, the places she's been, the photographs she's taken along the way — but it's also about her spiritual journey.

Not only has Hadid been battling with Lyme disease, she's also recently ended her four-year marriage to David Foster. The last few years have been quite a journey for the reality star — so it was no surprise when she told The Daily Dish back in February that she's "been wanting to write a book...for four years." Back then, Hadid's book on Lyme disease was little more than a rumor — but now it's official. Yolanda Hadid has finally got the chance to share her own story in her own words — without being edited by RHOBH producers or gossiped about by her co-stars — and I can't wait to read what she has to say.