My submission for the wiki edit project was adding to the contemporary author Laura Hillenbrand’s page. She is the New York Times bestseller author of Seabiscuit: An American Legend and Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption. I read Unbroken and fell in love with Hillenbrand’s writing style and the incredible story of Louis Zamperini. But after reading further about Hillenbrand’s own life, I discovered she has an amazing story of resilience of her own.
Hillenbrand suffers from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, a gross misnomer for the debilitating disease she has lived with since she was struck down by it at 19. I wanted to add more about her disease to her page because it is truly shocking what she has lived through and what she has accomplished despite the severe limitations she has.
Hillenbrand said of her illness, 'I was not taken seriously, and that was disastrous. If I’d gotten decent medical care to start out with — or at least emotional support, because I didn’t get that either — could I have gotten better? Would I not be sick 27 years later?'
“One day driving back to school from spring break she became violently ill. Three days later she could hardly sit up in bed and had to drop out of school soon after because she could not make the walk to classes.”
From the onset of her sickness at 19 years old to being diagnosed with CFS a year later, she was shuttled from doctor to doctor, who were unable to help. Instead of admitting their inability to solve a baffling sickness, most accused her of having psychological issues, anorexia, making up things and being lazy. Her friends and family withdrew from her in the midst of the disease, unable to offer answers. She was left alone, ashamed and afraid, bedridden and sinking into depression. Hillenbrand experience a slight recovery after her diagnosis, only to have a severe relapse four years after. During this time her longtime boyfriend stayed by her side and took care of her. Eventually she was able to regain enough strength to write from home, despite vertigo and an inability to focus for very long on words on a page.
Hillenbrand’s incredible attention to detail and ability to sink into the lives of her characters is shaped by the silence and stillness her sickness leaves her in. The incredible amount of research and interviews she conducted for both her books was done from home. I think her perseverance, dedication, and resilience in the face of such awful circumstances sets Laura Hillenbrand apart and makes her a role model for people everywhere, especially those suffering with any sort of disease or sickness.
