( ENSPIRE Feature ) Molly Weisgram Is A Wife, A Mother Of Four, And An Author In The Midst Of Life
ENSPIRE Contributor: Re’Dreyona Walker
Author Molly Weisgram, a South Dakota native, released her new book, The Other Side of Us: A Memoir of Trauma, Truth, and Transformation—a beautifully crafted memoir about a young family that faces the unimaginable, the sudden and traumatic health crisis of Weisgram’s husband, Chris Maxwell. An otherwise healthy man and a South Dakota native himself, Maxwell was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome on Valentine’s Day in 2019. Within days of his diagnosis, he became a quadriplegic on a ventilator, with no promise of a full recovery.
With their small business to keep afloat and four children between the ages of eight months and eight years, it took every ounce of strength this couple had to sustain. The experience was excruciating on every level, but it was also rife with beautiful truths.
The Other Side of Us takes readers on their journey from the depths of calamity and to the heights of restoration,” says Weisgram. “Sometimes the road of life just takes a turn, and all you can do is veer your proverbial steering wheel to stay on the road and not total out. Although our valley was difficult, we had to choose that the pain and uncertainty were for us somehow, and that became our power play.”
When it seems all is lost, they begin the eventual climb to a new life. It took almost a year in various hospitals and significant therapy before Chris was restored to their lives, miraculously able to walk again. During this time, Chris received life-changing treatment, care and rehabilitation at Avera Health in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals in Lincoln, Nebraska, and QLI in Omaha, Nebraska.
Today, Weisgram is sharing their journey in written form, as this family continues to integrate the truths that they learned into their second chance at life. Both Weisgram and Maxwell have determined to use their story to offer hope to others battling a rare disease and will donate 30% of the book proceeds and 10% for each hospital that paved a way for Chris and Molly to find their way back to the other side of this debilitating disease.
The book is now available on Amazon. You can also learn more about Molly and her family via her website.
