Book Review The Hand I've Been Dealt

 

Left to right Krista Soukup (Blue Cottage Agency) Julia Clark book designer (Julia Maria designs) Becky Flansburg (writing coach) Barbara Mack (author).

What better way to acknowledge November Epilepsy Awareness Month than to read Barbara J. Mack's debut novel “The Hand I've Been Dealt.”

Readers are taken on a journey of discovery as the author shares her life experiences. It's informational reading since it helps demystify epilepsy, a debilitating brain disorder that causes seizures. I found the author's story inspirational and easy to follow written in a conversational tone.

A tragic car accident in 1982 changed the trajectory of Barbara's life forever when she had her first seizure at the age of 20. Impeding questions surrounded the car crash with no immediate answers. There were no definitive answers: did the seizure cause the crash or was the seizure the result of the crash? From that day forward Barbara found her life being dismantled bit by bit. The word disability began to frame her daily life as well as any planning for the future. An unexpected pregnancy, caring for a child, managing her medications, numerous hospital stays and having to give up driving forced Barbara to make a painful decision to sell her home. She moved back in with her parents on the family farm. All this left Barbara discouraged to face so many challenges. Bouts of depression and loneliness affected self-esteem esteem. How fortunate Barbara had and still has a tight-knit family and friend support. They all pitched in to help on a daily basis.

A game changer for Barbara was being the recipient of a medical procedure, the implantation of a vagus nerve stimulator. It helped regulate her seizures to bring some sense of normalcy as she tried to get her life back on track. After a while Barbara was able to drive again and return to work part-time. Her advice to anyone with a life-altering illness is to never give up hope. Her “can do” attitude and spirit of positivism are evident in her writing. As she looks ahead in her own words, “I have much to do and too many places I want to go.”

It must have been difficult for Barbara to share her life's journey through this book reliving painful moments and losses. But I sense the book is written with the idea readers will better understand epilepsy and how it affects one's life, what's needed to be part of a support system, and provide hope for someone who is newly diagnosed. Barbara has found often the lack of awareness of seizures can contribute to stigma and discrimination. She was quoted in the book “If you are newly diagnosed with a seizure disorder or epilepsy please never stop believing that seizures can be controlled and that you can live a full life.”

Her resilience, resolute determination, and desire to be productive are notable parts of her epilepsy journey. The idiom book title is clever and epitomizes Barbara's epilepsy journey. She has come to the realization that the hand she has been dealt with can be turned around and changed.

Barbara and her son Brandon

Book Bonus-photos from the author's family album are included at the back of the book.

“The Hand I've Been Dealt” is available on Amazon and locally at Cat Tales Bookstore in Brainerd, MN.

Photos are from her recent November book launch in Brainerd at The Green Lantern. They were submitted by Krista Soukup owner of Blue Cottage Agency who represents Barbara J. Mack.