Individuals who have multiple sclerosis hold a place in my heart. I watched as the diagnosis slowly robbed my own mom of her life. I watched her hang on for many years after she was nothing but a body for caregivers to wait on when they saw fit. I watched MS take away her speech and vision. I watched it take away her ability to swallow food and have a feeding tube added. This is why I decided to write my sweet romance novel, Grounded in January. 

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Because of this, I desperately wanted to give a voice to the disease, but in a different way. I pondered, how can I bring awareness to a disease that’s not like every other book focusing on a disease? How can I create beauty in a disease that’s not beautiful? Then the very idea engulfed me. Multiple sclerosis is often referred to by doctors as the snowflake disease because the symptoms of MS are different from person to person. I decided to set the story in the very environment that the diagnosis mimics, a place with snowflakes.

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I desired to bring light and hope to the diagnosis (because my mom and I both could have used it back in the day). I wanted people to understand it, but not in a depressing fashion. People want a voice, they need their story to be heard, but often a diagnosed voice can be overwhelming in a world which sees enough sadness every day.  

 

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