Reading, Writing, Epilepsy and More...My First Blog

         

            As a young girl my greatest loves were newspapers and books. I dreamed one day I’d be a newspaper reporter, and one day I’d write a book. At  21, I graduated with my degree in journalism and worked at newspapers in Collingwood, Barrie and Oshawa, but the book eluded me. Not any more.

Four years ago I made time to follow my dream. In my little downstairs office I’d set my timer for 60 minutes and allow the words, the feelings and the memories to flow. With two 60-minute intervals a day, the words weren’t always pretty, but they were on the page. Today—following memoir writing classes at Ryerson, a graduate certificate in creative Writing from Humber College, working with an amazing editor, and countless hours of pouring my heart on the page—I’m ready to birth my 327-page baby.

Seized—A Memoir of Epilepsy, Complications and Love, explores my journey with my son, James, who since birth has suffered debilitating seizures ten to twenty times a day. He had brain surgery five times to stop the seizures, including his first surgery at just three years of age, but those surgeries were not successful. In 2014, at 26 years of age, he was offered a radical, gruelling surgery that involved removing a massive portion of his left brain. If it succeeded, he would no longer seize. If it failed, he could die. The only guarantee: He would forever lose all use of his right hand and arm. I was opposed. James believed this surgery was his only hope.

Poignant and sometimes funny, Seized will appeal to a broad readership, including the more than 300,000 Canadians with epilepsy, disabled individuals and their families, medical professionals who want to understand the patient experience and to anyone who enjoys an intimate, honest story of hardship and triumph.

Join me here on the journey to find an agent and publisher for my manuscript. Nancy Figueroa Writes is also my home for information about epilepsy, about what I’m reading, what I’m writing, what I’m loving, and everything in between. Yesterday I started reading Robin, Dave Itzkoff’s amazing biography of Robin Williams and I have three other books simultaneously on the go. Can’t wait to discuss them with you!

If you’re ready to start writing your own story, here are my suggestions for books on the craft that every writer should read:

Bird By Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, Anne Lamott. Lamott is funny, passionate, powerful and my favourite writer on writing.

On Writing, A Memoir of the Craft, Stephen King. Need I say more?

True to Life: Fifty Steps to Help You Tell Your Story, Beth Kaplan. Easy to read, funny, with loads of wisdom from a great teacher.

The Elements of Style, William Strunk, Jr., and E.B. White. A classic, always on my desk.

Fucking Apostrophes, Simon Griffin. A funny little book that tells you exactly where you can stick your apostrophes.

What about you, dear reader? What books do you recommend for writers?

James, 3 years old, two days post-op from his second brain surgery. The dressing was twice as big as his head.

Marching in a sea of purple at the 2018 Epilepsy Toronto walk.