june 1: free webinar on ‘narrative medicine and the art of the medical memoir’

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I’ll be joining award-winning author, Bay Path University writer-in-residence and faculty member, the wonderful Suzanne Strempek Shea on June 1 for a free webinar where we’ll discuss “Narrative Medicine and the Art of the Medical Memoir.”

Hosted by Bay Path University’s MFA in creative nonfiction program, the one-hour webinar, from 1-2 p.m., is open to the public. Register here.

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Strempek Shea is the author of many books including Songs from a Lead-Lined Room: Notes — High and Low — From My Journey Through Breast Cancer and Radiation, a memoir writer Anita Shreve called, “one of those books that changes your life forever.”

Writer Michael Carlton said in Yankee Magazine, Songs from a Lead-Lined Room “is one of the most moving and important books ever written about the extraordinary pressures the disease places not only on the victim, but on family and friends as well.”

Strempek Shea and I worked together at the Springfield, MA daily newspaper, The Republican, and she has written blurbs for a number of my books. It was our connection that resulted in my attending and graduating from the Bay Path University MFA in creative nonfiction program, which she was instrumental in creating.

Please join us for a warm conversation between friends about the craft of writing about the innately personal topics of illness and medicine.

Image credits: Bay Path University MFA in creative nonfiction program, Amazon.

scenes from a virtual author event

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The Southborough Library and Recreation Departments co-hosted a virtual author event via Zoom where I discussed my memoir, Uncomfortably Numb, and fielded questions ranging from inquiries about multiple sclerosis to questions about the writing process.

I read several short excerpts from the memoir, including one about how, in the confusing aftermath of my MS diagnosis, I became obsessed with getting a second dog — a puppy — whom we named Tedy Wilson (after the New England Patriots’ Tedy Bruschi).

Now 5 years old, Tedy made a guest appearance.

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Image credits: Ryan Donovan, Southborough Library, via Zoom.

 

virtual author event/book giveaway, may 20, 7 p.m.

southborough libraryMy book event with the Southborough Library — which was canceled due to the pandemic closures — has been rescheduled and reborn as a virtual book event.

A bonus? It’ll also include a book giveaway.

The Southborough (Mass.) Library, in partnership with the Southborough Recreation Department, will be hosting my book talk on Wednesday, May 20 at 7 p.m. via Zoom.

To register for the free event, contact the Southborough Recreation department here.

The folks at the library will draw a name from those who register and the lucky winner will receive a signed copy of Uncomfortably Numb.

 

talking ‘uncomfortably numb’ at the les bleus lit salon & with podcaster zibby owens

Image-1Two seriously enthusiastic shout-outs to Paige McGreevy and Zibby Owens for affording me  opportunities to chat with them about my memoir Uncomfortably Numb.

These two women have been incredibly generous in helping writers, whose work is being published during a pandemic, connect with book lovers.

McGreevy, who started the New York City-based Les Bleus Literary Salon, has been hosting writers via Zoom as they read from the new books for an audience of literary enthusiasts. (Several of my fellow authors from Lockdown Literature, pictured on the right, have read from their books in recent weeks, so I was in illustrious company.)Screenshot 2020-05-04 13.34.30

Meanwhile, Owens, a well-respected book podcaster who created Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books, recently spoke with me for her Instagram Live author interview series.

You can watch the interview as it happened below. (Luckily, Tedy, my hyper-yappy dog, did NOT burst through my office door — which never quite clicks closed — and start barking. PLUS my three, college-aged kids — who are all finishing up their spring semesters virtually — did not slow down the internet enough to boot me offline.)

Here’s the link to the video.

View this post on Instagram

@meredithobrien – author of "Uncomfortably Numb"

A post shared by Zibby Owens (@zibbyowens) on

Thank you Paige and Zibby! You are truly doing public service, at least to writers and readers!

book review & lockdown lit

MS Treatment Options & Strategies - MultipleSclerosis.netUncomfortably Numb received praise from a MultipleSclerosis.net reviewer as “a worthwhile MS memoir.”

Gary Chester — whose wife Cathy Chester, an MS advocate & writer, blurbed my memoir — said the book is not just recommended for MS patients, but also for those who love them:

As a caregiver, I appreciated O’Brien’s role as a tour guide through the labyrinth of a seemingly healthy individual experiencing early symptoms of MS to the ultimate diagnosis and its consequences. The journey is not one of clinical observations that many MS patients and loved ones can check-off as they proceed through the book. It is a personal diary of the frustration, doubts, worries, and grievances of almost any MS patient.

Chester added, “She transports us through the dread in a manner that is thoroughly readable and relatable.”

Read the full review here.

Now, about Lockdown Literature… I’ve joined a group of 80+ authors — convened by author Mary South — whose books have been released in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. To help one another out and help our books find readers, the group now has an Instagram page, Lockdown_literature. I’ve also put together an evolving list of group members’ Twitter handles and we also have a Twitter handle.

In the coming weeks, the group will be doing 10-book giveaways of our work, which ranges from memoirs and other nonfiction, to novels and poetry collections. Stay tuned!

Image credits: MultipleSclerosis.net and Lockdown Literature. 

 

memoir makes entropy’s ‘quarantine reading’ list

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As one of many authors whose latest book was released during a pandemic, I’ve got to say, I’ve been blown away by the ways in which the literary community has rallied to support writers who’ve been affected by the coronavirus closures.

Case-in-point: The literary magazine Entropy‘s Michael J. Seidlinger put together a quarantine reading list of “Books You Shouldn’t Forget to Buy” and was gracious enough to place Uncomfortably Numb on the list.

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Thanks to both Michael and Entropy for their good will and generous literary spirits!

Image credits: Entropy magazine.

blogger gives kudos to ‘uncomfortably numb’

Screenshot 2020-04-06 16.37.35The Sparkly Life blogger Alyssa Kolsky Hertzig named Uncomfortably Numb one of her top reads for the month of March.

Putting it in her “Liked A Lot” category, Kolsky Hertzig wrote of the memoir:

“It tells the story of the author’s life being rocked when she is diagnosed with a chronic disease (after being told by doctors that it was anxiety/all in her head). I thought it was really interesting to learn about how her illness has affected every aspect of her life, and I also thought it was a good commentary on how women’s concerns still often aren’t taken seriously by the medical community. It’s a quick read and a I love a good memoir.”

Image credit: The Sparkly Life.

tuesday, april 7: #bookpartychat author panel on femininity

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Come on over to Twitter on Tuesday, April 7 at 3 p.m. Boston time and join a panel of authors discussing “Perceptions of Femininity.”

Six authors — including yours truly — will be discussing femininity, sexuality and power. Participants include: Christina Chiu, Rachel McLean, Christina Russo, Emma Miles and Rachel Churcher. The moderator is Mai Taylor.

My contribution to the talk? How women’s medical complaints are handled and received by some physicians.

Follow @BookPartyChat and the hashtag #BookPartyChat.

stat column asks: should you tell your employer you have ms?

Screenshot 2020-03-28 15.13.08While I was gearing up to promote my memoir —Uncomfortably Numb, about the life-altering impact of my multiple sclerosis diagnosis — I realized I should probably tell my employer about both the memoir and the chronic illness.

Thus far, I haven’t had to ask for any accommodations, although I do have a handicapped parking pass to use on campus when I need it. But I thought it would be best if I told the administrator who runs my department in person. (This was well before the coronavirus caused nationwide school shut-downs.)

It prompted me to write an essay which was published by STAT News. The piece starts this way:

As I prepared to tell my employer that I have relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis, I worried about what to expect.

Maybe I’d get a shocked look from the administrator who oversees the department where I teach part-time. Or maybe I’d be quietly phased out, informed that future teaching opportunities have dried up.

This “big reveal” would be, according to multiple sclerosis advocates, a risky move.

Read the rest of the essay here.

Image credit: STAT News.