Essay Contest

Renal Support Network’s annual essay contest for people who have kidney disease is incredibly moving and inspires people to share their experience with others traveling the same road and looking for answers. Contest winners will receive cash prizes: First Place, $500; Second Place, $300; and Third Place, $100. Winning essays will be featured in RSN’s publication, Live & Give, a newsletter written for and by people who have kidney disease and on the Renal Support Network website. “People who successfully adapt to life with a chronic illness like kidney disease learn both universal and specific coping skills,” says Lori Hartwell, RSN’s founder and president, who was diagnosed with kidney disease in 1968 and is the author of Chronically Happy: Joyful Living in Spite of Chronic Illness and the host of KidneyTalk podcast. “The people who suffer from kidney disease know firsthand the importance of sharing their experiences and inspiring their peers.” She added, “There are so many stories and great life lessons that have come from our renal patient community, as RSN’s Essay Contest has shown over the years. Every year, we still learn from the incredible stories that people who have kidney disease share with us.”