Meet The Regular Writers & Bloggers on the ICN

The IC Network consists of a large community of women and men who want to be a part of the cure. We pour our expertise, knowledge and passion into articles and resources that provide hope and encouragement to men and women who often suffer in silence! In addition to our core writers below, hundreds of patients have written materials found throughout our website and in the ICN Forum. We honor and admire each and every one who has taken the time to strike pen to paper, fingers to a keyboard, to further our mission of providing hope and advocacy.

Jill Osborne MA

As president & founder of the Interstitial Cystitis Network, Jill Osborne has written and developed the great majority of articles and blog posts found on our website, in our IC Optimist quarterly publication and the Simply Delicious: Low Acid Eating Made Simple diet project. An IC patient since 1992, Jill transformed the IC support community by building the first website dedicated to interstitial cystitis, launching a support forum that has provided support to millions of patients. It was social networking before the term became popular! In 2013, Jill has been busy rewriting and updating most of the ICN educational materials to incorporate the new AUA guidelines, as well as the IC Optimist magazine and the Simply Delicious: Low Acid Eating Made Simple IC Diet Project. Jill is single and lives in the Valley of the Moon with SammyWhammy and Gracie (rescues). She believes her perfect match is a man with prostatitis! Yes, really!

Julie Beyer RD

Julie Beyer. MA, RDN is an internationally recognized expert on diet and interstitial cystitis. She is a dual graduate from Michigan State University with a Master’s degree in Health Communications and serves on the faculty of the University of Phoenix. Drawing on her personal experience with interstitial cystitis and her professional expertise as a registered dietitian, Julie is the author of three books about IC: Confident Choices: Customizing the IC Diet, Confident Choices: A Cookbook for IC and OAB and Interstitial Cystitis: A Guide for Nutrition Educators. Julie’s latest articles have been featured in the Simply Delicious: Low Acid Eating Made Simple diet project. She is a prolific blogger as well (Interstitial Cystitis Diet: Confident Choices)! Julie lives in the midwest where she is a proud grandmother, mother, wife and, of course, dietitian and educator.

Bev Laumann

Bev Laumann authored the first formal cookbook for interstitial cystitis: A Taste of the Good Life – A Cookbook for an IC Diet which has helped thousands of patients navigate the complex dietary demands of IC. A former IC support group leader (Orange County, CA), Bev was one of the first to create a formal IC foods list and developed the three column format of “Safe” “Try It” and “Caution” food lists which, over the years, have been expanded greatly. Also the author of the “Fresh Tastes by Bev” feature column, she is one of the most knowledgeable and respected patient advocates in the USA. Bev’s latest work is featured in the Simply Delicious: Low Acid Eating Made Simple diet project. She lives in Southern California where she’s working on her next book and working with her husband to build their photography business.

Stacey Shannon

A freelance journalist and educator, Stacey Shannon has been a featured writer in the IC Optimist Magazine for many years. Her feature stories blend research, physician interviews and practical self-help tips into articles that helped patients understand their medical condition. We think she’s a brilliant writer! Stacey is the proud mother to two young children and lives with her husband in the midwest. Read her blog, Written Creations!

Past Writers

Gaye & Andrew Sandler

Authors of Patient to Patient: Managing IC & Related Conditions (1996), Gaye and Andrew contributed dozens of articles to the IC Network on fitness, pain care and complementary strategies in their series “IC Lifestyles” that they stopped writing after their home was devastated by the Hurricane which destroyed New Orleans. The great news is that they have a new book to be released in early 2014 on IC!

Frannie Rose

Reading Frannie Rose is, simply put, food for the soul. Her blogs and articles have inspired patience, calmness, insightfulness, spirituality and strength, often in the face of great pain. You’ll find articles on anger management, faith, relationships, working with doctors and so much more! We were honored to have her write for the ICN for several years before she changed careers. She now functions as a minister and counselor. You can still read many of her blogs in the Emotional Health section of our website!