In my new novel, ๐ป๐๐ ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐บ๐๐๐ ๐ช๐๐๐๐๐, I have crafted the story of a psychologist and five of her patients, based on extensive research on psychology, medical conditions and the fascinating ways that the brain and the body interact and impact each other.
I then spent hours into days discussing my research and my characters with mental health and social service experts and one remarkable psychologist, Dr. Kathleen Calabrese. It was crucial to me that the proven research and clinical data I wove into the storyline would suspend any sense of disbelief a reader might hold.
When ๐ป๐๐ ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐บ๐๐๐ ๐ช๐๐๐๐๐ finally launched, Dr. Calabrese unequivocally told me that this book---this story that came from my imagination---was going to help people in ways I could never imagine.
This week, I spoke to a friend whose life in the last year has been devastated by a rare heart condition .She told me that she feels โdehumanizedโ as she has had to take a leave of absence from her job, lost her health insurance and spends most of her days going from hospitals and ERs to doctorโs offices and counseling appointments to try and regain some semblance of her life.
While my friend and I had spoken several times before about her condition she never mentioned the official name---until this week---Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy.
As soon as she said the words, I fully understood what she was going through. Why? One of the patients in ๐ป๐๐ ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐บ๐๐๐ ๐ช๐๐๐๐๐, is impacted by the same condition---also known as โBroken Heart Syndromeโ---which I spent a great deal of time researching.
One of the many fascinating things I learned about the condition is that those affected are primarily women aged 50 and olderโa factor researchers linked to their lower estrogen levels---a direct result of menopause.
I told my friend the storyline I'd created about a woman whose life was impacted by the same heart condition. I asked if her doctors explained the menopause connection to her. What unfolded was a lengthy conversation about a surgery my friend underwent in her mid-thirties that put her into early menopause. She said that she has continually shared that information with the lineup of medical professionals dealing with her heart condition. All have discounted the impact it could have on her current health crisis.
At that point I pulled up the manuscript of The Secret Sand Circle, copied the pages regarding the Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy storyline, pasted them into a word document and emailed it to my friend---information she's going to further investigate and then offer to her physicians.
As we wound up our conversation and my friend thanked me, I could hear hope in her voice.
And I heard Dr. Calabreseโs words affirming all I had given to writing a book of fiction that was helping someone in a way I had never imagined.
#TheSecretSandCircle #HeartandSoulStoryteller
For more information about ๐ป๐๐ ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐บ๐๐๐ ๐ช๐๐๐๐๐: www.christinaabt.com