Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jenn Williams. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Jenn thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

As dramatic as it may sound, my entire life changed in 2019. I was a healthy, happy, and ambitious person with a full-time job, a loving husband, and a newly renovated home. I was even preparing to launch a side business. Life felt full of possibility—until suddenly, it didn’t.

It was as if someone flipped a switch, and I just fell apart. That summer, I spent most of my time in the ER, urgent care, and countless doctor’s offices, undergoing test after test—only to be told repeatedly, “According to your results, you’re perfectly healthy.” But I didn’t feel healthy. I felt like I was dying.

It took nearly two years to finally get a diagnosis. Two years of fear, frustration, and relentless searching for answers. At the start of 2021, I began treatment, and after about six months, I started to feel a little better physically. But once my body reached a stable place, I realized something else: I had emotional healing to do.

Being consumed by illness for so long had stripped me of my identity. The things that once brought me joy felt distant, and I had no idea how to get them back. During that time, I found incredible online support groups, many of which I’m still part of today. They were a lifeline, offering comfort and understanding. But I started noticing something—while these groups provided crucial support for managing physical symptoms, very few people were talking about the emotional toll of chronic illness.

So many members shared how they felt lost, stuck, or completely consumed by their illness. And I got it—I had been there too. But no one seemed to be talking about how to reclaim joy, how to heal beyond just the physical struggles.
That realization is what led to the creation of The Joy Muck Club.

Our mission is to help people break free from the drudgery of chronic illness and embrace a more playful, peaceful, and fulfilling way of life. We’re not here to sell toxic positivity—because we all know that simply “thinking happy thoughts” doesn’t fix everything. But we are here to help you rediscover yourself beyond your illness. To build a mindset of joy and resilience. To dream again. To have fun again. Because you deserve that.

We’ll sit with you on the hard days. We’ll give you a loving kick in the butt when you need it. We’ll laugh, we might cry, but most of all—we’ll be real. This is a no-nonsense space where we learn how to make the best of life with chronic illness, not despite it.

I’m beyond excited to bring this work to the chronic illness community—to offer the kind of support I wish I had when I first got sick. And from what I’ve heard, I’m not alone in that feeling. If you’re looking for a space that truly understands what you’re going through and will cheer you on every step of the way, welcome to The Joy Muck Club. You belong here.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

First and foremost, the Joy Muck Club is a community. We’re here to support each other through this chronic illness journey in doing the emotional healing needed to have our healthiest and happiest lives possible. Currently, I have a weekly podcast and newsletter, both of which have lots of great information, exercises to try, and tools to use on your healing journey. You can find the podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, and you can sign up for my newsletter on www.joymuckclub.com. And you can join in the community discussions on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and Substack. I also offer one-on-one coaching if you have specific issues you need extra help working through. This year, I plan to create a couple of courses that will walk you through this work in-depth to help you reach your healing goals, and I hope to launch the membership, which will be a robust program full of lots of guided work, resources, group coaching calls, community collaboration, and more.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I’ve had quite a few pivots in my life, following a winding path—especially when it comes to my career. I used to see that as a drawback, but over time, I’ve realized it’s been a gift. Those twists and turns have allowed me to develop a diverse skill set in a variety of environments, making me highly adaptable.

Aside from dealing with illness, the biggest turning point in my life came at 29. I was working a day job that was making me totally miserable, while teaching acting classes and helping to run a community theatre, which I loved. Though I had been working in theatre for almost a decade at that point and it had been my passion, I had gotten to the point where I felt unfulfilled and like something was missing. I didn’t know if I just needed a new approach or if I was on the wrong path entirely, so I worked with an incredible life coach to figure it out. Through that process, I came to a huge realization: I wanted to pursue a career in holistic health.

The problem was, I felt trapped. I had commitments to the theater, and the school I wanted to attend was across the country in a place where I had no job, no connections—nothing. The idea of making that leap seemed impossible. Then, after one especially terrible day at work, I came home, laid down on my bedroom floor, and cried. At that time, I didn’t meditate and I certainly wasn’t one to pray, but I felt like I needed help. So, between sobs, I said “I don’t know what to do. Please help me”.

And my request was answered, a lot faster and in a much more dramatic fashion than I thought it would be. About a week later, I got laid off. Ironically, that very morning I spent the first 15 minutes of my work day looking at the calendar figuring out a quitting timeline that seemed reasonable. When I was called into the meeting and let go, my first reaction was indignation—my ego flaring up because I had never been fired before. But almost instantly, that anger gave way to a sense of relief, even freedom. I practically skipped out of the room. I realized that getting laid off was exactly the push I needed. It forced me to make the decision I’d been avoiding, and with unemployment benefits, I had a financial cushion while I figured things out.

One month later, I moved to Arizona to start school. And it’s one of the best things to ever happen to me.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

One of the most important lessons I had to unlearn—and one I think everyone, especially those with chronic illness, should unlearn—is the idea that someone else is more of an expert on you than you are.

Getting proper medical care, both physical and mental, is essential, and having good doctors is a true blessing. But never, EVER let anyone convince you that they understand your body better than you do.

Two major moments in my life drove this lesson home.

The first happened while I was still working with my general practitioner, trying to figure out what was wrong with me. It was late 2020, and after nearly two years of tests and specialist referrals, I still had no answers. My doctor was leaning toward a fibromyalgia diagnosis, and his method for confirming it was to prescribe me a medication for fibro—essentially, “if it works, that’s what you have; if not, we’ll try something else.” But the potential side effects were terrifying, and the whole approach felt reckless. By that point, I had been researching my symptoms non-stop and had finally come across information that deeply resonated with me. So I asked him to test me for Lyme disease. I explained that after reading patient accounts and medical studies, Lyme seemed to fit everything I was experiencing.

Without hesitation, he dismissed me. “You don’t have Bell’s Palsy, and you live in Arizona. It’s not Lyme disease.” Then he walked out of the room, refusing to order a simple blood test.

That was the moment I knew I needed better care.

Which led me to my first naturopathic doctor. Unlike my GP, he actually listened. He ran a comprehensive set of tests, making sure no stone was left unturned. And one of those tests? It confirmed I had Lyme disease. I’ll always be grateful to that doctor for taking me seriously and giving me the right diagnosis.

But about nine months into treatment, I hit a plateau. I told him I wasn’t feeling any real improvement and that, at best, I was maybe 30-40% better than when we started. His response? “I think you’re actually doing better than you think you are.”

And just like that, the Universe gave me the same lesson again: Doctors are not the ultimate experts on you. YOU are the expert on you.

One of the most important things I’ve learned is that doctors work for you, not the other way around. If they’re not doing their job well, you have every right to fire them. And that’s exactly what I did—with both of those doctors.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://joymuckclub.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joymuckclub/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Joy-Muck-Club/61567618300795/
• Other: Threads: https://www.threads.net/@joymuckclub?xmt=AQGz0Ym24ol-8zKKJdFSNbJ2ZWpRFGzmbW5ltVjqG-xBmN8

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