Meet THE AUTHOR
Laura Beretsky is an author and community activist based in Somerville, Massachusetts. Her recently published memoir Seizing Control, describes the challenges of living with epilepsy. The book explores the sacrifices we make and risks we take to live—or appear to live—a “normal” life, and gives hope to those who fear their path to fulfillment might be impossible to navigate.
Laura’s work has appeared in WBUR’s Cognoscenti, Health Story Collaborative, Sisyphus, and Wire’s Dream magazines. She is a member of the writing community at GrubStreet, the largest creative writing center in the U.S.
Laura has a BA from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. As a tween, she learned the value of participating in actions that yield community change. These lessons were critical to her journey negotiating seizures and others’ reactions to them, and pushing back against stigmatization. They were also key to her recovery from brain surgeries.
Read more about my story.
ABOUT LAURA’S PAGE SIX WRITING GROUP
I am grateful for the support of my Page Six Writing Group. We met at a GrubStreet class in 2017 and have been convening regularly ever since. In addition to accountability, Page Sixers provided constant companionship and cheer leading along our respective writing journeys. Each of us has a story that the world needs to hear. Meet my writing buddies!
BEV BOISSEAU
Bev is a nonfiction writer with published essays in The Chronicle of Higher Education, the MIT Press, Stethoscopes and Pencils, Chomsky.info, and on Reddit and other social media. Bev ran the MIT office of renowned linguist and social critic Noam Chomsky for 24 years. Her book, Chomsky and Me: A Memoir, is her account of those years, working next to a man described by the New York Times as “arguably the most important intellectual alive today.”
Read Bev’s blog posts. Follow her on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
JEAN DUFFY
Jean is the debut author of “Soccer Grannies: The South African Women Who Inspire the World.” She is grateful that, going into this project, she didn’t understand how long it actually takes to write a book.
Her nonfiction writing has been published in the Boston Globe, the Concord Monitor, the Packingtown Review, the Somerville Journal, the Stamford Advocate, and WBUR Cognoscenti. To purchase her book and sign up for her newsletter, visit her website at https://jeanduffy.com/
MARGARET LOWE
Maggie specializes in the history of American women, gender, race, and first-person studies. Her books include Looking Good: College Women and Body Image, 1875-1930 and with Susan Ross & Sandra Sarkela, From Megaphones to Microphones: Women’s Public Discourse, 1920-1960. Her memoir in progress, Way Opened, traces the history of the modern evangelical movement through three generations of women in her family.
Read more about her accomplishments at Bridgewater State University. Follow Maggie on Facebook.
S. SCHIRL SMITH
Sue is a writer, photographer, and holistic nurse living on the Seacoast of New Hampshire. Her essays have been featured in Pangyrus and Cognoscenti, among others. Her memoir in progress is Desperado, Song of the Outlaw, a story of grief and hope, and the connection with loved ones that lasts forever. She is a member of the Boston-based GrubStreet writing community and the New Hampshire Writer’s Project.
Read Sue’s essays and view her photography on her website. Follow her on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.