About Jo
Where It All Started
My love of books started when I was a child—I read prolifically and that passion led me to study English and eventually become an English teacher. As part of my studies, I attended Eastern Michigan University where I focused on American literature, which sparked a fascination with F. Scott Fitzgerald and led to a dissertation on his novels. I also spent a year at the University of Oxford, researching sex-stereotyping in children’s fiction, and produced a dissertation and various publications on the subject.
Personal Life
I taught English in a school in South Oxfordshire for ten years, and I’m still in touch with some of my former students, having organised two reunions in recent years. I’ve always loved encouraging children to write creatively and, this August, I’ve been invited to be part of a project doing just that at a summer school for children facing challenges in their lives.
After teaching, I moved on to a long career working in various capacities with children with special educational needs, particularly those with challenging behaviour. I always strived to instil in these children a love for reading and writing—even in those who found these areas particularly difficult.
My Writing Journey
I’ve travelled extensively and kept journals of many of my trips around the world. More recently, I began writing blogs for ForCrohns, a charity I was involved in, which is sadly no longer operational. I raised thousands of pounds for the charity to fund research into Crohn’s Disease, which I have lived with since my mid-twenties, by organising fundraising events and taking on challenges in different parts of the world. I wrote these blogs to encourage and inspire people with disabilities, showing that it’s still possible to travel to remote locations. An edited version of one of my blogs was published in a magazine, and recently summarised in Disruptive Authors.
In 2022, I decided to record the experiences of people I’d met around the world during the pandemic, which resulted in the publication of my first book, Lockdown Stories. My second book was published by The Book Guild in May 2025. It’s called Gutsy Travels: Travelling the World with my Invisible Friend.
A Proud Moment
Attendee of King Charles' Garden Party 2023
In 2022, I decided to record the experiences of people I’d met around the world, which resulted in the publication of my first book, Lockdown Stories. The great feedback I received inspired me to follow up with my second book, Gutsy Travels.
My Writing
Discover My Books
To discover both of my books, click the link below to see my original book Lockdown Stories as well as my latest release Gutsy Travels.
Gutsy Travels
Lockdown Stories
Reader Reviews
Read What Those Who Have Read The Books Think
4.5 Review average from my book readers
Maureen Taylor
I loved this book for its honesty and humour combined with insight about the day to day experience of living with Crohn’s disease while travelling around the world. A truly inspirational and entertaining read for all.
Christine Hartley
A wonderful collection of inspiring anecdotes of travelling the world while living with the challenge of Crohns disease. As a fellow traveller, I really enjoyed Jo's descriptions of the places she visited and the colourful characters she came across. Some left me in awe of her bravery and resilience when falling ill in the most remote places, others left me crying with laughter picturing her grappling with a rather mischievous baby elephant! I hope to read more about her adventures in the future.
Kelly Simmonds
What a shock when Joanna was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease over forty years ago. Gutsy Tales. Travelling with my Invisible Friend demonstrates her refusal to accept this as a barrier to her desire to visit remote areas of the world. The book is a testament to her resilience and adventurous spirit. Joanna has travelled widely, challenging herself with an unwavering determination, often on volunteering expeditions to help others or fundraising for Crohn’s, alongside a quest for travel and adventure. Climbing to Machu Picchu and not on the tourist route. Working with children at a Day Care Centre in Quito at a dump. Building a house for a family in Cambodia. These are just a few of the stories she has to tell. There are some amusing incidents and some quite worrying and even dangerous. Sharing her travel adventures will serve as an inspiration to others, encouraging them to persevere and face new challenges. Gutsy Travels is well worth a read and I can recommend it wholeheartedly.
Jane Davies
Travelling the world is exhilarating but can be challenging at times, particularly for someone who faces the issues that Joanna does with a hidden disability. Her determination not to let this hold her back shines through the book and sometimes we even forget it is a problem until she reminds us. Not only has Joanna been able to help others by her volunteer work and raising money for Crohn’s research but she has spread the message about Crohn’s Disease to numerous fellow travellers and people around the world. This book is an entertaining read describing her experiences in Australia, Southeast Asia, South Africa, Madagascar and Central and South America and across the world, which gives readers unfamiliar to these countries an insight into them from her perspective. Hopefully it will encourage others who may face setbacks to push the boundaries and follow in her footsteps.
Jonathan Smith
Having read Joanna’s book of her travels I was transported to places I could only dream of going to. Joanna has shown us how to overcome the challenges she faced travelling with a diagnosis of Crohn’s Disease I admire her courage and her honesty. Travelling the world can be an amazing experience. To travel while you have a medical problem would stop most people in their tracks, Joanna shows us how to overcome adversity, by believing in her ability to know how to navigate the necessary problems. I highly recommend reading this book.
Rita-Marie Lenton
All the ‘stories’ are so diverse and many are very emotional. But all the stories show the determination of the writers not to give up. They also show how prepared we all were to ‘follow the rules’. A real treasure to snuggle down to!
Maureen Taylor
This book is a collection of various people’s reactions to the Coronavirus outbreak during 2020/2021. It reflects the shock, the tragedies and difficulties that were experienced but also the ways in which people coped, their positivity and resilience.
Gillian Agnew
Joanna along with her contributors takes us on a journey how different individual coped during the COVID pandemic.
Delmar Byers
This is a powerful collection of writings from around the world, written by those who survived COVID-19 but whose lives were touched by it in ways that are irreversible.
Mel
I enjoyed this book and found it fascinating to get an insight into how COVID-19 impacted people of different backgrounds worldwide. It is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the human impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in a very readable way. A powerful reminder of the strength of the human spirit.
Kevin Yates
I enjoyed this book and found it fascinating to get an insight into how COVID-19 impacted people of different backgrounds worldwide. It is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the human impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in a very readable way. A powerful reminder of the strength of the human spirit.
Kevin Yates
Suffering from Crohn's Disease since her 20's, Joanna O'Donoghue made up her mind to live life to the fullest - and that included travelling the world with her 'invisible friend'! Her bravery is breathtaking and to say that many of her experiences were 'challenging', would be an understatement. This book will be a route-map to living, whether you've just been diagnosed, or you've lived with the disease for a long time. An interesting addition to the book are the two 'guest' chapters - the first, about getting through airport security when you a serious medical condition and have to travel with lots of medication in your hand luggage: the second about the difficulties parents of neurodivergent children face, when taking them on holiday. Both a must read!