Four years ago, Meli Dez and Jules Morse came back from their “mom-cation” to Montreal changed. Both women were mothers of young children, and suddenly they were exposed to a world they had, to some extent, lost years ago. Their existence took a shape that did not center around keeping their kids safe, fed, and clean. The moms had fun again; they experienced friendship and excitement again.
They knew they had to write a book about it. It wasn’t just about the mom-cation, but the whole new way of looking at themselves as humans that the experience had opened up. They feel so many women, and especially mothers, get stuck trying to maintain the unattainable perfect PTA mom image. It’s easy to forget that mothers are also people, with their own needs and experiences and right to happiness. Dez and Morse felt the problem was well-explored, and they wanted to share a solution that had worked for them. This was the conception of their newly-released novel, Disco Fried.
Suddenly, Meli fell sick. Not long after the mom-cation, she was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome. Guillain Barre syndrome is a rare disease, with unknown causes. The immune system attacks the peripheral nervous system, causing often severe damage. The symptoms may begin with a tingling sensation in the legs, and in severe cases, can lead to nearly-complete paralysis. Recovery is possible, but unpredictable. To learn more about this rare disease, click here.
In Meli’s case, she lost the ability to drive, and was stuck in the house for months. Once she started to recover, the women knew it was time to write the book. They also knew something else that hadn’t been present in their first vision– one of the characters would have Guillain Barre syndrome.
Guillain Barre syndrome is an uncommon experience, but a mom struggling with illness isn’t. The authors point out in an interview, even when a mother gets a cold, it can really shake up the flow of family life. Coping with a serious, debilitating illness means everything gets turned upside-down, for everyone in the family. It brings up serious and frightening questions– who can take care of the kids? How will the family cope?
The experience of moms, especially moms with serious illnesses, are often either overlooked or only represented in one type light: heroic and/or tragic. To be fair, a lot of these moms are heroic, and the situation is difficult. That’s not the only story out there, though. Moms with illnesses can be all sorts of other things, as well. They can funny, exciting, and adventurous. They can care for their families, and figure out what it means to live with a serious illness, while still maintaining deep friendships, and making room for their own needs.
