My stroke of Fortune By Amy Maroney

 I grew up in Northern California, in a family of bookworms. Every week I checked out the maximum number of books (five…so few!) from our local library. I wrote little fictional stories inspired by my favorite genres — fantasy, science fiction, mysteries. Maybe unconsciously, I sought out stories with strong, adventurous heroines. I was content to read books featuring male protagonists because that was more available, but looking back, I remember how dog-eared my copies of Anne McCaffery’s Dragon Riders of Pern series were. 

My father spent forty years as a journalist. My mother worked in communications for environmental groups and later as a program officer for a community foundation. Clearly, writing and editing were in my bones, and concern for the environment was a key family value. 

While I always dreamed of writing fiction, it seemed unrealistic as a career choice. At 23 I was hired as a staff writer for an environmental NGO. From that point on I worked as a writer and editor of nonfiction for various nonprofit groups. 

In our mid-twenties, my husband and I moved to Paris for a year and half while he ran an office for his company there. I had already lived in Europe twice—in Germany for two years with my family, then in France for a study abroad experience. We knew we wanted to live in Europe again someday. After we returned to the U.S. and had our two daughters, I was the primary caregiver while my husband traveled frequently for work and started his own company. 

During the early years of parenting, I freelanced part-time as a writer and editor, and slowly did all the coursework for a master’s degree in public policy. I had always loved doing research. Having a university library plus unlimited academic databases at my fingertips was incredible. I also started a website called Armchair Adventurista, which focused on people—mostly women—doing adventurous things all over the globe. I interviewed a woman rowing across the Indian Ocean, I wrote about teenage Pakistani girls climbing mountains, I highlighted the accomplishments of open-ocean swimmers, of cavers who descend to the earth’s cold, dark depths. 

As I neared 40, I felt a need to challenge myself. I overcame my fear of swimming in deep water and completed my first triathlon. I started my master’s thesis. The kids were at dreamy, easygoing ages (6 and 9). 

Then, just two weeks after my 40th birthday, I had a stroke while coaching my younger daughter’s soccer game. Not a big one, but enough to land me in the hospital with a disturbing MRI to take home, and a prescription for blood pressure medication. Over the next few days I developed troubling symptoms, listened to my gut instinct, and returned to the hospital. After another doctor examined my MRI results, it turned out I had the stroke due to a carotid artery dissection (a tear in the artery). I was put on heavy-duty blood thinners and told to take it easy for a few months.

But the story wasn’t over yet. Several weeks later, more ominous symptoms developed. I insisted on another scan of my head and neck. This time, the image showed a rapidly growing “pseudo-aneurysm”. In other words, I was about to blow a gasket. I was quickly scheduled for surgery and spent a couple of days in the ICU. (Trust your gut, people!)

Afterward, I struggled with fear, depression, and anxiety. And excruciating nerve pain that went on for more than a year. For me, acupuncture was the eventual solution to the pain. I did not finish my master’s thesis. Despite loving support from my family and friends, I struggled to find a sense of purpose and joy again.

Art helped a lot. I had been taking regular art classes since the birth of our first child. Drawing and painting were integral to my healing process. Journaling was important. I started feeling the urge to write fiction again. After becoming obsessed with Swedish crime writer Henning Mankell’s work during my recovery, I began freewriting scenes for a pharmaceutical thriller with the working title of The Sunscreen Caper. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed writing fiction.

I also had a vivid sense of mortality after the stroke, like anyone who goes through a life-threatening event. I realized that “someday” had better be now. My husband and I decided to take our children out of school for a year and “roadschool” them in Europe. We rented out our house, found a temporary home for our dog, and left. And I brought The Sunscreen Caper along. I vowed to a) teach the girls a serious homeschooling curriculum so they wouldn’t fall behind their classmates; and b) finish that novel.

That was eight years ago. Our daughters did not fall behind. But I still haven’t finished The Sunscreen Caper. Instead, I wrote and published the Miramonde Series—the story of a Renaissance-era female artist and the modern-day scholar on her trail. Inspired by our travels, I wrote books I wanted to read—page-turners set in the Pyrenees mountains and the great cities of Europe, packed with history and adventure, about extraordinary women who fight to achieve their goals.

I absolutely would not have written the trilogy if I hadn’t been derailed at age 40 by a medical odyssey. A setback that can seem like the end of many things can actually be the catalyst for positive change—it can launch you forward, give you a new perspective, new priorities. Although I wouldn’t wish a stroke on anyone, I’m grateful that it gave me the courage to finally achieve my dream of writing and publishing fiction.

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Amy Maroney lives in the Pacific Northwest with her family and an extremely ridiculous dog (or is it a muppet? We’re not sure). She writes historical fiction set in Europe, featuring extraordinary women of the medieval and Renaissance eras. Amy is currently writing a new series set in and around the Greek island of Rhodes when it was ruled by the Knights Hospitaller.

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Find The Girl from Oto, the thrilling story of a Renaissance-era female artist and the modern day scholar on her trail, at all the major online platforms (or order it from your favorite independent bookstore). To get a free prequel novella to the Miramonde series, visit Amy’s website: www.amymaroney.com. Connect with Amy on Twitter @wilaroney, on Instagram @amymaroneywrites and on Pinterest @amyloveshistory. 

THE GIRL FROM OTO

An exquisite novel.” Martha Conway, author of Thieving Forest

A Renaissance-era woman artist and an American scholar. Linked by a 500-year-old mystery…

The secrets of the past are irresistible—and dangerous.

1500: Born during a time wracked by war and plague, Renaissance-era artist Mira grows up in a Pyrenees convent believing she is an orphan. When tragedy strikes, Mira learns the devastating truth about her own origins. But does she have the strength to face those who would destroy her?

2015: Centuries later, art scholar Zari unearths traces of a mysterious young woman named Mira in two 16th-century portraits. Obsessed, Zari tracks Mira through the great cities of Europe to the pilgrim’s route of Camino de Santiago—and is stunned by what she finds. Will her discovery be enough to bring Mira’s story to life?

A powerful story and an intriguing mystery, The Girl from Oto is an unforgettable novel of obsession, passion, and human resilience.

Perfect for fans of Kristin Hannah and Anthony Doerr.

Tags: featured, women writers

Category: Contemporary Women Writers