Book Review: Your Pain Playbook

A book that changes how you see pain and healing. 

“Your Pain Playbook” by Helen Roome is a transformative guide that shifts your perspective on pain and healing. The author expertly leads readers on a journey away from suffering and towards a sense of wellbeing that might once have seemed unimaginable.

Written in accessible, bite-sized chapters, the book is both easy to read and hard to put down. The content throughout is rich with understanding, compassion, and actionable guidance. Helen Roome’s voice shines through her thoughtful storytelling, so readers never feel alone as they navigate their experiences with pain. This book stands out for its evidence-based, highly practical approach, making it especially valuable for anyone living with persistent pain whether that’s musculoskeletal aches and pains associated with peri/menopause or fibromyalgia which often shows up in peri/menopause.

The book is a six-week, day-by-day program filled with short readings, reflective prompts, and small, manageable daily tasks. Helen Roome breaks down complex pain science using simple, memorable metaphors making challenging concepts not only easy to grasp but also relevant to everyday life.

Far more than a workbook, “Your Pain Playbook” draws from the author’s extensive clinical experience to foster daily habits that put control and hope back in the hands of people living with pain. The program doesn’t require you to follow a strict order; readers are encouraged to pick and choose sections according to their own needs and energy on any given day. The daily content weaves together real-life stories, easy-to-apply routines for better sleep, meaningful movement, stress management, pacing, and simple mindfulness practices.

These tools allow for a personalised, holistic approach to pain management.

One of the strengths of this book is its flexibility and recognition of real-life challenges. Weeks and days can be tackled in any sequence, which is invaluable for those whose lives and symptoms don’t always follow a predictable routine. Helen Roome’s writing is sensitive to the emotional and social realities of living with pain, encouraging self-compassion alongside behaviour change rooted in up-to-date pain research. The accessible layout, visual cues, and short chapters help relieve the mental fatigue that often comes with chronic pain, making it especially user friendly.

Your Pain Playbook isn’t just for women living with pain. Healthcare practitioners will gain fresh insights and creative strategies for supporting patients, while friends, family, and caregivers will find ways to better understand and walk alongside loved ones living with pain. It’s the kind of book that brings hope, clarity, and a renewed sense of possibility, one habit at a time. Highly recommended for anyone seeking step-by-step, real-world strategies to build a resilient and fulfilling life beyond pain.​

I highly recommend “Your Pain Playbook”.