We were delighted to welcome Morven-May MacCallum to the monthly event at the Glen Mohr Hotel yesterday evening. The picture below shows her with Paul Shanks, HLS Chair, and Helen Sedgwick.
Morven-May was speaking about her recently-published novel Finding Joy, which describes the experiences of a young woman who has Lyme disease. In writing it Morven-May drew on her own experience of Lyme. Last night, she vividly described its debilitating effects, and her long struggle to get the right diagnosis and appropriate treatment. It is, she told us, a vicious and ‘intelligent’ disease which plays to our physical weaknesses. She is determined to do everything she can to raise awareness of Lyme, the devastation it causes, and the need for significant funding for research into the disease.
Morven-May has always written – it’s something she ‘has to do’ – and it was natural that, when still too weak to leave the house, she began communicating the facts about Lyme by writing her novel. Morven-May takes every opportunity to speak to groups of people about Lyme – she’s been too busy to devote much time to writing, but she has ideas for other works. Watch this space!
Morven-May is a courageous and resilient young woman – it was our privilege to meet her last night.
Also present was her grandfather George W. Macpherson, author and one of the last Seannachies in Scotland. Clearly storytelling, and the wise wielding of words runs in the family.
