IT'S BACK, IT'S BIGGER AND BETTER

 Bonjour, 

Six years ago I published my second book of poems 'So many symptoms' about living with M.E. (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis). However, it was published in a hurry to coincide with May M.E. awareness month and was poorly done.  I've been meaning for a long time to go back and remedy that. At last I have succeeded in revamping the contents and the cover and republished. I've added some other poems, gone back and edited some of my poems, added my personal comments under some of the poems, added a contents list, page numbers and many links and references. Plus I found Sam Miller who so kindly volunteered to design a new cover for my book. I would like to thank Sam for her perseverance in creating a stunning cover. I would also like to thank Stacy Hart for writing a very kind and incisive foreword to my book. 

Of course with time and experience I have improved, as is the case with many things in life. You can always go back and improve on something. Besides Amazon is more exigent now in the format and requirements for a self published book. What's more the publishing costs have increased greatly. So that means I've had to increase the price of this book and all other books that I've published. Otherwise there will be no profit margin. I don't make much money for my books and I don't really do this to for monetary gains. I do this to raise better awareness and understanding of M.E. What's more I always donate a percentage of my sales to the charity Invest in ME Research. With each book I set up a Just Giving Page. I wouldn't be able to do that if there was no profit margin. My books are always available both in paperback and kindle versions and the kindle version is much more affordable for those living on low incomes. 

So at last I'm pleased to announce that my book 'So many symptoms' is available on Amazon in many countries throughout the world. 

Here are some of the links to my book  

Amazon UK

Amazon France

Amazon.com 

So many symptoms

There are so many symptoms

that come along with M.E.

which make it extremely hard

to diagnose properly.

 

There are so many symptoms.

How do you know it`s M.E.?

With no one simple, clear test

it seems like a lottery.

 

There are so many symptoms

which are confused with M.E.

No wonder there is much doubt,

delay and anxiety.

 

There are so many symptoms,

that are difficult to see.

So doctor`s don`t believe us

and question our sanity.

 

There are so many symptoms

that come along with M.E.

A complete system breakdown

that affects the whole body. 

 

The poems in my book have been written from my own personal experience of living with M.E. for over 20 years. They are also inspired by and reflect the feelings of so many others who suffer the same as myself. 

I believe that my book is a must read for those living with M.E. or anyone else facing the challenges of a chronic and invisible illness. In this collection of my poems I mainly focus on the symptoms of M.E. and how they affect us.

I hope my poems help friends, family and anyone else wanting to better understand M.E. 

I also hope you will consider buying my book and help to raise better awareness and understanding of this illness, as well as funds to help the research into M.E. 

I would also appreciate it if you share my blog via social media and with your friends and family. Thank you. 

Au revoir 

The French Femme 

 

LOOKING BACK OVER MY LAST TEN YEARS

 Bonjour, 

As we arrive into May awareness week 2023 I realise that I've been writing poetry about living with M.E. (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis) for ten years now. 

A lot has also happened to me personally in those ten years. 

Although in 2013 I was not unfamiliar with writing poetry I wanted to start writing about me and my illness. 

This was, I believe, the start of an amazing feat on my part. I had to overcome all the obstacles linked to M.E. It was to become a very difficult process and one that I wanted to abandon at times. It was a slow learning process with pitfalls and successes. Sometimes it was the cause of relapses. But sheer determination and will power has kept me going. I've been faced with criticism but at the same time I've received some lovely comments and support. 

In the last ten years I've 

• written hundreds of poems about living with M.E. 
• written many other poems, some even in French
• I've written over 100 blogs 
• I've self published 7 books of poetry on Amazon 
• I've set up a page on Facebook 
• I've shared my poetry, blogs and books over many social media sites
• I've taken part in some interviews  
• I've recorded a podcast about me and my life with M.E. 

Phew! I'm not sure how much more that I can do. After all there are only so many ways that you can write about a chronic illness. 

This was the first poem I wrote in 2013 

My first book 'My A-Z of M.E. (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis)' was written and published in 2013. 

My first blog 'Why write poetry about M.E.?' was written and shared in 2013. 

Back in 2013 when I first embarked on my writing projects I was still married to a French man and living in a small village called Juigné des Moutiers in the department the Loire-Atlantique . 

I was so excited and proud when I successfully published my first book of poetry. 

Here I am holding a copy of that book 

However, by 2014 my ex husband decided on a project to buy a caravan, place most of our furniture and belongings in storage and move around France. He hoped to find work as a butcher in different places. I was not keen on this plan but he persuaded me that it would be good for me and would be like a holiday. So I went along with his project. 

The caravan 

In 2014 we started this adventure living in a caravan. At first I loved it and enjoyed seeing new places and relaxing on the campsites. One even had a lovely swimming pool which I was able to profit from. 

However, things soon started to go badly wrong. My ex husband had been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder and life was hard with him. He often developed problems with people and work situations. He couldn't handle stress very well but neither could I. Every time there was a problem we had to move on to a different camp site. During 2014 we stayed in three different camp sites. The caravan proved to be expensive and there was always something to be fixed or repaired. That added to the stress for both of us. Despite this I made the best I could of the situation. What's more I continued to write poetry and blogs. 

Without going into much detail a crisis was reached in October 2014. Living in a caravan was lovely in the Summer but not in the oncoming Winter. The caravan had never ending problems. The stress reached intolerable levels for me and my ex husband became very depressed. I left him in a case of urgency. I was placed in a studio and helped by an association for the next year or more. I was also helped by a fantastic women's support group. They helped me to find a place of my own and to start over. 

When I felt settled I once more embarked on putting together another book of poetry. Since then there's been no stopping me! 

Now I'm retired, still living in France with my cat. 

I have a few more writing projects planned. 

Until then I think it's time for a small celebration! 

A bientot 

The French Femme 

xxx