I would like to share a self -help book A Petit Mal by Ana Maria Caballero which I received a copy of in exchange for this review. Inside this post are my affiliate links if you click on the link and make a purchase I will make a small percentage from the book.
A Petit Mal brings us along on a mother’s journey to understand the origin and healing options for her son’s epileptic seizures. A Peti Mal is a personal, original and courageous account of the family. The dauntless approach to alternate medicine; and all the research and desperation can make you turn the world upside down looking for the right answers.
Even though I’ve been blessed with two healthy children A Petit Mal made me connect on levels of motherhood, and second guessing, of life. Which I’ve done since the death of my daughter and the birth of my son. Just as I’m sure you’ve done in your own life. Ana Maria Caballero is an author I hadn’t heard of until I received this book but she is a author I will be watching to see what other books she publishes to purchase and read as well as to give as Gifts
About the book:
When her young son is diagnosed with epilepsy, award-winning Colombian-American artist and poet Ana María Caballero, is devastated and hopelessly confused. As the long journey of healing commences, Caballero eschews traditional medicine and instead turns to a group of alternative healers she’s worked with before, whom she affectionately refers to as her army of “witch doctors.”
A PETIT MAL (Black Spring Press Group; 2023) narrates a powerful emotional journey as Caballero braids the story of her son, who loves soccer and refers to his episodes as “Messis,” with previous trauma—her father was treated for a brain injury and never woke up. Caballero grapples with the endless stream of advice she receives from those around her, from trying out strange treatments in Ecuador to investigating the color of her son’s aura.
She catalogs her weariness with traditional medical systems, which put her son through countless tests and employ a terminology as inaccessible as it is ridiculous. First opinions, second opinions, third opinions—Caballero bares it all in her uniquely poetic voice, haunting readers with the sheer weight on her shoulders, while weaving in happier moments as she attempts to faithfully record experience. Her suspense-filled story flows through the wings of hospitals and doctor’s offices, where she takes multi-faceted stabs at the nature of emotion, of illness, of health, of faith, of loss, stabs that elicit fresh meaning by mixing the muscle and marrow of words.
Paired with incredibly sharp wit and even sharper writing, Caballero does not leave her reader wanting. A PETIT MAL illuminates the struggles countless families face when they must confront an often heartless healthcare system. But, told with her uniquely creative sense of humor, this story emerges as an example that even in times of great strife, love, laughter and art can provide solace.
Pub Date: May 2023
Genre: Memoir / Medical Essay / Parenting
Publisher: The Black Spring Press Group
Page Count: 284
Format, ISBN, Price: Paperback, 978-1-915406-08-8, $21.99
Meet the Author:
Ana María Caballero is a first generation Colombian-American poet and artist. Her nonfiction manuscript for A Petit Mal was awarded the International Beverly Prize. She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University and was a finalist for the Academy of American Poets Prize. Recognized as a digital poetry pioneer for her own innovative work, she is also one of the cofounders of web3 literary gallery, theVERSEverse.
Caballero knows there are many parents who struggle daily to protect their children dealing with epilepsy and other illnesses. She hopes her book offers inspiration, knowledge and “a protective friend” to others on the same path.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
