Trapped: My Life with Cerebral Palsy

Fran Macilvey is an author and motivational speaker.  Her first book, Trapped, tells the story of her life with cerebral palsy.   Fran was born premature and disabled, the younger of twins. She shares her earliest years to the joys and frustrations of marriage and motherhood.  Her book shines a bright, fresh light on the myths that “spastics” live with – and reveals the common ground that she endeavors to share with the rest of the world.

She worked as a lawyer for ten years before turning to her first passion, writing. In the midst of home-making and the demands of child-rearing, I write about my experiences so that others can understand how challenging it is, to maintain the appearance of a “normal” life with a disabling condition. I also like to write about making the most of life, and my next two books are about how we can do that.

In Fran's words.......

"My first tool for coping is to surrender. A quote in my IN box lately came via Ingrid Bergman, who said, ‘Happiness is good health and a bad memory’ and I am relieved to hear it. I enjoy the reminder that the past may be real, but is not as real as the shadows beneath the trees I can see over the road. And in the midst of life’s unexpected challenges, it is anyway easier not to think about our preoccupations. Somehow, that makes them bigger and more looming. As they get bigger, they cast a wider shadow over the rest of life.

The next tool is notice how far I have come. Not to dismiss the compromises and the dignified silence, but to see these as the best I could manage, at the time.

And finally, keep eating. Oatcakes at three am, with a cup of barley coffee, are remarkably sustaining, and remind me that small acts of love are just as important as big ones."

Fran's second book, Happiness Matters, and her third, Making Miracles, detail her quest for happiness and success.