Kevilina Burbank
author of
Sick & Wrong
&
Misnested
A little bit about me
After being thrown out of nearly every school I attended after the seventh grade, I had a hunch that college might be different from the confines of high school. I went on to earn a B.A. in English and an M.A. in Creative Writing, and later began a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing—a program I eventually left after realizing that, as a single parent, I would need a more stable career path. I then earned a Master of Arts in Teaching.After a year of teaching in China with my seven-year-old daughter, I returned to the U.S. and taught writing at Portland community colleges. I later worked as a substitute teacher in high-need Los Angeles public schools.Following a nasty breakup that resulted in the loss of my Nigerian Dwarf goat herd, a failed business, and loss of stability—I focused on acrobatics, chess, and travel.I spent five years traveling solo, funded by substitute teaching and random writing gigs. I eventually got a job teaching English, and a few other things, to women at a university in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.There, I met my Dutch partner. We traveled through Jordan and Oman and lived in Dubai for a year before relocating to the Netherlands. This transition included being stranded in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic and spending several weeks in Belgrade, Serbia, while awaiting permission to re-enter Europe.I now live in southern France with my partner and three cats.
Sick & Wrong
A Memoir of MCAS, EDS, POTS, EBV, CMV and PCOS, Medical Gaslighting and Missed Diagnoses. How A.I. Helped Uncover the Conditions Doctors Aren't Trained To See
When after a decade of being sick the doctors still couldn't figure it out, I turned to A.I. instead. Sick & Wrong is two distinct books in one, engineered to be both a compelling narrative and a tactical survival manual.A Gripping Memoir: a darkly comedic, defiant, and deeply human account of surviving medical gaslighting, gender bias, and the fight for a diagnosis.
Medical References: An extensive, meticulously verified scientific appendix detailing the pharmacology, targeted supplements, and systems biology behind these complex conditions.
The Checklists: Ready-to-print symptom guides and comprehensive lab lists designed to be taken directly to your next doctor’s appointment.If you are one of the millions of women who know something is wrong but are repeatedly dismissed by doctors or handed a psychiatric diagnosis when your body is actually experiencing a multi-system crisis, the medical system is failing you. This book is a fun read on a serious subject that will leave you better equipped to deal with doctors who don't know what they don't know.
Misnested
“Post-it notes of religious affirmations dotted the mirror. Jesus is King! one said. Angles surround us, said another. As a former spelling bee contestant, I couldn't resist pointing out the error—and the mathematical likelihood that angles were, in fact, far more likely to surround us than angels.”Misnested is a tragicomic memoir set in Spokane, WA between 1982 and 1995, about growing up between apocalyptic religion and parental narcissism.An essay from the memoir titled "The Mark of the Beast" was published by Sneaker Wave magazine in May 2026 and is also posted on my Substack page.
Contact
If you'd like to be updated on the publication date of Misnested, or read more of my work, please visit my personal Substack or subscribe to it below.