And We All Fall Down

Book excerpt: Graham and Joanna Kornelsons' life has all gone according to their plan. Graham a lawyer, and Joanna, a stay-at-home mom to her three children, live in the quaint town of Mountain City, Manitoba, enjoying a typical busy life together. Until one Sunday morning when Joanna finds their fourteen year old daughter, Ally, at the bottom of the staircase enduring an unexpected seizure. What happens to this family is as unpredictable as the diagnosis of epilepsy. The Kornelson family find themselves emotionally collapsing as they try to make sense of this untimely illness that has shattered their idyllic home life. Ally, who dreams of becoming a concert pianist, continues to suffer from seizures and endures the difficult experience of finding the right anti-seizure drugs. Twelve year old twins, Jack and Lydia, want to know that their family will be back to normal as Graham and Joanna can't find balance between managing Ally's medical changes and dealing with the crippling trauma that grips their family. Graham, who recently lost his dad to cancer, struggles to be the supportive husband and father for his suffering family. Joanna is desperate to cling to the easy life they once knew, but in the process alienates them all with her controlling and overprotective decisions. But over these difficult years, the Kornelson family turn to each other to find strength and renewal as they learn to pick up one another, as they all fall down.