Genevieve: Based on a True Story of Pain, Perseverance, and Triumph

The irony of disease is that it often strikes the right person, not because she deserves to suffer or is unlucky, but because she can endure it. The deeper irony is that she is typically the one person who serves as a source of strength for those around her of lesser fortitude. Genevieve is a historical novel about Genevieve Patrick’s trials with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), the death of her unborn child, and her triumph over the disease's damning impact on three generations of family. The novel takes place between 1937 and 1948, traversing Great Depression and World War II events that frame Genevieve’s struggle with MS. The novel is based on a true story and includes short interludes of biographical nonfiction commentary from the author. When Gen is stricken with MS at age 25—newly married and pregnant—she musters the inner strength to bounce back to near normalcy only to suffer a debilitating MS attack several years later, an event that forces her husband, parents, a sibling, and the Church to fiercely debate and choose the fate of her unborn child. Near death, Gen endures an interstate voyage in the bed of her father’s truck to undergo surgery that ultimately terminates her pregnancy but saves her life. Faced with a multi-year recovery, a strained marriage over the loss of her child, a husband drafted into military service, and the dispersal of her three children with family members, Gen relies on nothing more than her unyielding character to mend literal and figurative wounds, rebuilding her life and the lives of those around her.