In the quiet hours of a Malaysian night, a man lies on cold concrete, unable to move. His foot feels like it’s on fire. This is how Mohd Fazli Baharom’s life with gout began—not as a minor inconvenience, but as a seismic shift that reshaped his body, his family, and his faith.
My Foot, My Test is an intimate portrait of life with chronic pain, told with unflinching honesty and unexpected warmth. Through Fazli’s eyes, we experience:
The Sand, The Shard, The Knife—how gout pain evolves and how to listen to its early whispers
The Hospital—when home remedies fail and humility becomes the first medicine
The Food Paradox—navigating cultural celebrations when every meal feels like a minefield
The Body in Prayer—adapting worship when standing hurts and prostration seems impossible
The Family Effect—when your pain becomes their burden, and your limitation becomes their lesson
The Invisible Battle—shame, stigma, and reclaiming your identity beyond diagnosis
The Two Medicines—bridging modern prescriptions with grandmother’s wisdom
The Tribe—finding your people in a world that doesn’t understand
Travel & Special Occasions—how to live fully within new boundaries
Looking Forward—managing gout for decades and leaving a legacy of patience
Written in a conversational, journal-like style, this book speaks directly to the millions worldwide who live with gout—not as a “rich man’s disease,” but as a complex metabolic condition that affects construction workers and CEOs, vegetarians and athletes, young women and older men.
Fazli’s unique perspective as a Muslim husband and father adds a spiritual dimension rarely found in health memoirs. He reframes medication as chemical sabr (patience), dietary discipline as an act of stewardship, and pain as a teacher of humility.
Packed with practical tools—from 7-day meal plans and printable trackers to travel checklists and flare protocols—this book is both a comforting companion and a useful manual. But more than that, it’s an invitation to see your limitation not as a life sentence, but as a landscape in which to build a deeper, more meaningful life.
For anyone who has ever felt alone in their pain, misunderstood in their struggle, or hopeless about their future with chronic illness, My Foot, My Test offers a hand to hold, a path to follow, and a quiet reminder: you are not walking this road alone.
