Migraine awareness, art, and free book offer

By betsyb Monday, June 15, 2009

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Last week was National Headache Awareness Week, but the efforts to promote understanding and research for migraine must never end. For many of us, true expression of our experience comes through creative writing and visual art.

It's often difficult in everyday conversation to convey how we fell, how debilitating, painful, and frustrating migraine can be. And we don't want to be complaining all the time -- we want to participate, to keep up with everyone else, to live life and not watch it pass us by, so we keep trying.

Friday I posted an entry about Headache Awareness Week activites and the role of migraine art and literature in the awareness and advocacy arena. I'm sending a free copy of Migraine Expressions: A Creative Journey through Life with Migraine to the 1st person who commented on the post and I'm offering one to the 5th person to comment, also!

I published Migraine Expressions last year to complement the myriad informational books on migraine with one that expressed life with migraine through the insightful art and words of 125 people living with migraine disease. I'm trying hard to find sponsors to help me get the book into libraries so more people will have access to it.

And more importantly, I will help continue the efforts for true awareness and understanding of migraine. Whether we simply tell someone, write a poem, paint a picture, contact our representatives in Washington, or support someone else in pain, every bit helps.

The first migraine walk/run that I know of was organized and held in San Francisco last year, and I know a migraineur who wanted to plan a golf outing this year to benefit migraine research. Efforts are increasing and the buzz is getting louder.

Congratulations to Jasmine, who was the 1st person to comment on my migraine journey blog post about 'painful migraine art' and win the first copy of the book!! She writes a blog and supports other migraineurs here, on Twitter and facebook. What are you doing to improve your own situation or to promote migraine awareness to others?

Be the 5th person to comment on my post and let others know what you're doing, and I'll send you a copy of Migraine Expressions that you can keep or use for any migraine awareness/advocacy purpose!

All my best,

Betsy

Express Migraine to Congress!

Comments (13) | Add comment

Teri Robert, Health Guide

6/16/09 12:12pm

This is great, Betsy!

Teri

suzette

6/17/09 1:28am

i just discovered you while searching for info about migraines.........i am just saying WOW I am so excited that you wrote a book about this (and in such a creative way).......I hope you do absolutely wonderfully with promoting and selling your work. There is so much to do to help migraine sufferers. if i can help in any way let me know!! i live in the kansas city area. suzette

betsyb

6/17/09 1:23pm

Thanks so much, Suzette!

Regarding the book, of course you can spread the word, tell people about it (Migraine Expressions is a wonderful gift for people impacted in any way by migraine , www.wordmetropress.com), and you can tell your local library about it and ask them to carry it. We have built-in donations with purchases via the Migraine Research Foundation and the National Headache Foundation, and as we sell more books, we want to donate funds to the Alliance for Headache Disorders Advocacy as well! I'm looking for companies who would like to sponsor the purchase of books to be donated to public libraries, also.

Regarding migraine awareness, you can definitely talk about migraine to anyone who is interested, follow up with the advocacy efforts Teri Robert publishes here and any others you may see, e.g. writing to your representatives about the importance of migraine, headache, and pain research. And if anyone else reading this knows of any specific activities/efforts in the Kansas City area, please let us know!

Depending on how ambitious you are or hoe much time you have, you could even organize a local meeting, migraine lecture at your library, support group, fundraising event, and so on! The possibilities are many!

All my best, and please let me know if I can help you in any way,

Betsy

Jen C

6/17/09 4:34pm

Hello - Nice to see you post. I am excited about your new book! I have suffered from migraines for over 20 years now and it never seems to end. Just when I think my hormones have calmed down or stress has been reduced or I eat just the right foods, another one comes on and it stays for 2-3 days. I would love to hear more about your creative writing/visual art efforts to combat migraines. I too love to write and paint. Great job!!!!

betsyb

6/17/09 8:03pm

Oh, Jen - I know exactly what you mean, even after 40 years I am still trying to solve my migraine mystery! And after I've had a few good days, I am even more discouraged with a two- or three-day migraine attack. I am recently finding some relief and have never given up.

I have always been a language arts lover but also want to do and learn more about drawing, painting and photography; and art as therapy has always fascinated me.

How about you? Do you use art for expression in your life or work with it?

The book, Migraine Expressions, is something I wanted to do for years and years and is a collection of awesome art and writing from 125 people whose lives are impacted by migraine around the world, mostly in the U.S. and Canada. It has expressions of the pain and frustration we feel but also of the humor and hope we all have in our lives as well.

You can see some sample pages of the book at wordmetropress, and I'll be adding excerpts and images from it on my blog, migrainejourney.com soon. What I especially like about the book is that it has work from loved ones of migraineurs, too, thereby including their perspectives of life with migraine.

Please let me know if I can give you any more specific information. Thank you!

betsyb

6/17/09 8:06pm

Well, Jen, I see you did say you love to write and paint... so have you painted your migraines?

chrissygal

6/18/09 3:35pm

i just found your blog and wanted to share mine. www.throughthewordsofchronicpain@blogspot.com

chrissygal

6/18/09 3:44pm

sorry i typed it wrong.

www.throughthewordsofchronicpain.blogspot.com

betsyb

6/18/09 3:48pm

Hi, Chrissygal! I already found yours, visited quickly, and I'll be back!

Thanks!

Nancy Harris Bonk, Health Guide

6/18/09 8:34pm

Hi Betsy,

It's a very telling, gorgeous book. I love the way art comes together for our cause.

Thank you for all your hard work.

Nancy

betsyb

6/18/09 10:27pm

Hi, Nancy!

Thank you for all your hard work! I enjoy your posts and appreciate all the information you provide.

Betsy

bri83

7/ 9/09 6:25pm

How can I get a copy of this book? It doesn't matter to me if I have to pay for it. I am just curious about other migraine sufferers and how they express their pain. I know I like to write it out or sometimes draw. It would be neat to see how others express themselves.

Thank you

betsyb

7/ 9/09 6:39pm

Yes, you can purchase it directly from the book Web site, and I would certainly appreciate that! (Contact me from the site if you have any trouble.) You will love the expressions in it and it sounds like if you had known about it in 07, we might have included some of your work, too!

Thanks so much,

Betsy

Migraine awareness, art, and free book offer

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