Learning to Cope. Learning to Hope.

I’m Rev. Dr. Sharon Kiesel, and I live with Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS). I haven’t overcome it. I haven’t “healed.” I’m still in the thick of it—like many of you. But I’ve learned how to live with it, manage the daily battles, and hold on to hope through the hardest moments.

MCAS changed everything. At one point, I had to leave my home and live in vehicles just to escape the mold that was making me sick. I know what it feels like to be trapped in a body that reacts to the world around you. I know how exhausting and isolating it can be when others don’t understand—or don’t believe you.

But through years of trial and error, I’ve learned ways to cope. Not perfectly. Not easily. But enough to reclaim parts of my life, and to help others do the same.

With a Doctor of Ministry and a background in systems management, I’ve helped people and organizations navigate big changes—and now I use those same skills to support people like us: the environmentally sensitive, the chronically inflamed, the exhausted and searching.

I coined the term Hista-Maniac to describe what this life feels like—fighting a war inside your body while others call you crazy.

This site, and my book WE React to Everything, aren’t about miracles or magic cures. They’re about:

• Creating safer environments in a toxic world

• Learning how to listen to your body

• Letting go of beliefs that make things worse

• Finding strength through faith, knowledge, and community

I travel full-time with my husband of 48 years, living this reality every day. And while I haven’t “licked this disease,” I have found purpose in helping others carry the burden—and reminding them they’re not alone.