Today we’d like to introduce you to Muffy Walker.
Hi Muffy, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease twenty-three years ago. One day she told me she wanted to train brains with someone who had a lesser evil disease. A light bulb went off for me and I decided to write a book about a woman with AD. The book actually took over thirteen years to write and there were many twists, turns, edits and reshaping of the story.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I don’t think it can be a smooth road for an author. The story is always changing. Editors, writing coaches, literary agents, beta readers and publicists all have opinions on what she be excluded, added or embellished. Most everyone I work with wanted more conflict. This was difficult for me because although not 100% about my mother, Memory Weavers is loosely based on her. I didn’t want for her to become a drug addict or alcoholic. Ultimately, I introduced Chance to add the conflict.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a psychiatric nurse clinician. In that space I worked with a lot of people with histories of abuse, specifically with survivors of multi-generational cult abuse.. I am also the founder of the International Bipolar Foundation, which will turn eighteen this month. I received a lot of awards, both nationally and internationally, for my advocacy work in mental health. Now with my novel Memory Weavers, I am continuing to advocate for caregivers, especially those caring with someone with Alzheimer’s disease.
I’m not sure what sets me apart from others, but I do like to stay active, learn new skills, and delve into new projects. I was always impressed with George Plimpton. As a journalist, he believed he should immerse himself in whatever he was covering to fully understand whatever was involved. I guess to a much lesser degree, I am doing the same.
What am I most proud of? Professionally, it would have to be the non-profit organizations I founded. NeighborHelp, which helped low income families and minority groups in SoCal and International Bipolar Foundation which empowers individuals living with bipolar disorder and their caregivers by providing advocacy, education, support, and awareness—fostering a caring community and stigma-free world where mental health is equitably acknowledged and treated.
Personally I am very proud of my three amazing sons who are compassionate, resilient, and honorable young men.
What were you like growing up?
I am the youngest of three children. My sister is five years older and my brother three. As a child I was described as bossy and a chatterbox. I think today, I am more accurately described as an assertive, opinionated leader. Those weren’t descriptions used on girls/women in the 60’s and 70’s.
I think I took on interests in order to be included in my father’s life and to stand out from my siblings. I went fishing with him, sat in the back seat of his car on Sundays when he went antiquing, and I showed great interest in medicine (he was an OB-GYN). I read the Merck Manual (a book of comprehensive medical information) for fun, studied the pictures of pills in the PDR (compendium of prescription drugs), volunteered for the ambulance corps, and candy striped at our local hospital. Ultimately, I went on to nursing school and received my Master of Science in psychiatric nursing at the University of Pennsylvania. As I’ve noted elsewhere in the interview, my work in health care continued with my founding the International Bipolar Foundation and now my debut novel, Memory Weavers.
From early childhood to today, I continue to be very interested in animals, especially dogs. I have fostered Golden Retrievers, worked with groups aginst “kill shelters”, and have been mom to many dogs throughout my life.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.muffywalker.com
- Instagram: muffywalker_thewriter
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MuffyWalkerTheWriter/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/muffy-walker/
Image Credits
Chad Thompson Photography (only for the headshot)
