Ya Gotta Laugh by Barbara Alldritt

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In "YA GOTTA LAUGH", Barbara Alldritt presents a series of short stories based on her own experiences, and those of others, about living life with joy & happiness, in spite of life's challenges.

While pursuing an academic career, Barbara was hit hard by a debilitating disease. She quickly determined she needed a new direction in life. Always interested in writing, she turned to creating stories about this new path.

These are stories that show that even in trying circumstances, there are still ways to find humour.

Read an Exclusive Excerpt

I’m sure there’s a country and western song based on the old saying “misery loves company.” That was how I felt when I learned I had a debilitating and, according to my doctors, incurable chronic illness. I thought meeting others who were facing similar challenges would help me deal with my new reality. Finding company was easy. This is the rationale behind the proliferation of self-help groups for people facing everything from unwelcome new facts about health to changes in marital or work status. I soon found, though, that I needed a certain kind of company, otherwise it just created more misery.

Since my health problems had been labelled multiple sclerosis, I called the organization that specialized in working with this illness. I spoke with a counsellor named Sandra who told me that a group for the newly diagnosed would probably be the most suitable for me. Although I didn’t expect to find someone who shared my interests there, it turned out that Sandra had a personal interest in what is now called alternative medicine, as I did. In part to meet Sandra, I decided to go to the next meeting, even though it was a half-hour drive from where I lived.

Entering the newly diagnosed self-help group meeting room, I joined a half dozen people sitting in a circle. Unfortunately, though, I found more misery than company. The first woman to speak described the horror she’d felt with her recent first experience of bowel incontinence. How does one respond to a story like that? I wondered. I had no ideas, and frankly would rather not have heard about the ordeal. It seemed others felt the same way as an awkward silence ensued. Sandra smiled stiffly and asked if anyone else wanted to share. An intense, drawn-faced man in his thirties spoke of a new drug study he’d heard was about to start in our city. He stated his intention to offer himself as a subject and promised to bring more information to the next meeting for others. I stayed the scheduled two hours of the meeting, sharing my story of numbness and disabling fatigue when asked.

As I drove home from the meeting, I reflected on why it was called a self-help group. I felt worse than when I arrived.

About the Author:

Author Barbara Alldritt was born and raised on a farm in Saskatchewan and although there was always work around the farm she preferred hiding behind the couch reading a book rather than be out in the fields hoeing potatoes or washing dishes in the kitchen. After High school she travelled extensively in Western Canada and then set out on a 2-year adventure around the world and met her husband on that trip in Western Samoa. They returned to Canada settling in Calgary. Barbara then returned to higher education at the University of Calgary and completed her Honours Degree in 1988, and was awarded the Faculty of General Studies Gold Medal and the Lieutenant Governor’s Gold Medal for that year.

They then moved to Vancouver, BC, and Barbara entered a master’s program at UBC. In the throes of completing her MA and preparing to start her PhD, MS hit her hard and put a stop to her academic work.

Needing a new direction and given her interest in both research and writing she looked into many options for maintaining her health from taking up aqua-fitness to nutrition and what she should and should not eat.She also became active in the MS Society and produced their newsletter, in which she wrote stories that looked at the humorous side of living with a disability. Many who read her stories were inspired to contact her to tell their own tales and adventures. She interviewed them and added them to the newsletter, resulting in this compendium of stories.

CONNECT WITH BARBARA ALLDRITT

WEBSITE - https://barbaraalldritt.com/
GOODREADS - https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21918420.Barbara_Alldritt

PURCHASE LINKS YA GOTTA LAUGH

AMAZON.COM - https://amazon.com/dp/0228854482
AMAZON.CA - https://amazon.ca/dp/0228854482
AMAZON KINDLE - https://amazon.com/dp/B09HKPLHG2
INDIGO CHAPTERS -
BARNES & NOBLE - https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ya-gotta-laugh-barbara-alldritt/1140284315
BOOK DEPOSITORY - https://www.bookdepository.com/Ya-Gotta-Laugh-Barbara-Alldritt/9780228854487
SMASHWORDS - https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1107091
APPLE IBOOKS - https://books.apple.com/us/book/ya-gotta-laugh/id1588808339

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