Kelly Carmichael can't seem to find her niche in life. Her father pushes her in one direction while her mother pulls her in another. Now almost thirty, she grows weary of pursuing someone else's happiness. But just when she believes she has found the perfect career and the love of her life in Memphis, her father dies. Now she is forced to give up her dream job to take care of the mother she doesn't understand and deal with the harsh reality of a father she thought she knew. When she is finally ready to resume her life in Memphis, she is set back once again, this time with ulcerative colitis and the horrible changes in her body she must deal with as she fights to keep her boyfriend, gets to know her mother, and adjusts to her changing life in a small southern town. With this humorous and honest novel, Tracy Lea Carnes offers up an inspiring glimpse at ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease through the eyes of a thirty-year-old woman dealing with her diagnosis, its treatment and the complications it brings into her life. Today, 1.4 million people live with some form of IBD (irritable bowl disease) in the U.S. and an estimated 750,000 live with an ostomy. Like the heroine in Excess Baggage, Kelly Carmichael, most people on average are diagnosed with ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease in their early to mid-30s, though the disease can strike at any age. Despite its extensive impact on the lives of many young adult Americans, ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease is low on our radar. Focusing our attention by drawing from her own experience, Tracy Lea Carnes has written a story that needs to be told. A groundbreaking novel, Excess Baggage shatters convention bringing colitis and Crohn's disease awareness into the national spotlight.