Jim O'Connell is the author of the new memoir Incurable Gifts: My Weepy, Wobbly, Wonderful Life with Parkinson's. He is a longtime journalist, and he lives in Alexandria, Virginia.
Q: Why did you decide to write this book?
A: I love to write, so before I went on disability with Parkinson's Disease I was writing about things that happened to me and I don't know why but I sent a few essays to Mark Willen.
I didn't know him well but we had both worked at Bloomberg and I knew he had written a book or two, but I hadn't even had a conversation with him so he was probably surprised to receive my email.
He responded with a note every writer dreams of, saying it made him think about his life and his relationships with friends and family, and how these essays deserved a wide audience. I wrote a few more essays and Mark virtually demanded I produce a book.
He is the reason there's a book with my name on it and he knows how grateful I am.
Q: How was the book’s title chosen and what does it signify for you?
A: I think it indicates that it’s a book about finding fulfillment and even joy in tragic circumstances. My wife came up with the title. You’re probably starting to realize how little I had to do with producing this book.
Q: What do you think are some of the most common perceptions and misconceptions about Parkinson's?
A: Most people have no clue, not the smallest inkling of a clue, what it is to have this disease. It steals your identity and makes you hate yourself. It has about 30 symptoms ranging from the merely embarrassing to the deadly, which is why finding joy is a challenge.
Q: What impact did it have on you to write Incurable Gifts, and what do you hope readers take away from it?
A: I hope readers, especially caregivers, understand better how diabolical this disease is. I want patients to share this with their families so caregivers understand what the patients are going through and why it’s so difficult to help them.
You know when you're holding a toddler and they twist and push to make you release them even though it would cause them to fall? That's a bit like Parkinson’s, except the toddler’s a grown person.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I work every day at being more grateful for my friends and family. and to stop trying to twist away from those trying to help me.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: This book is funny. I know it doesn’t sound like it here but it is. It's sweet and thoughtful and romantic and I really hope it helps someone sustain.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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