You know what I love about history?
Understanding myself and where I come from.
I think that gets overlooked a lot.
This has been around for almost a century and a half.
The first recorded case (and the reason we have a diagnosis) was a woman in 1800's France. Not only that, she was a countess, shortly after the French Revolution when relations between the classes were tense at best.
AND she had the swearing form of Tourette's called Coprolalia.
As I've studied her life preparing for this novel, I have LOVED seeing how she never hid.
We have records of her cussing out Napoleon's son. We have records of her nicknaming Jean Menier, founder of the Menier chocolate factory in France "Baron Cocoa."
When I was first diagnosed, I read of people who met in church basements with the lights off to have support groups for those with TS.
I found many FB groups on social media, where the only real discussion was medication and side effects and wishing for a cure.
While it's can be argued this was because of her upper class title, keep in mind how many rules the noblesse in France had to follow. Or how nervous they might have been to make a misstep at the risk of loosing their heads.
It should also be noted that these interactions were more commonly known as she aged. it is a confidence that she grew into, and I love that.
We don't always start out confident in the things we do, but we can get there.
This woman and her history fascinate me.
Her parents and grandparents... her family line each faced trials and struggles that inspire me.
It hurts that her story was lost for so long, but oh, what a privilege to rediscover this woman and her uncredited mark on the world.
It's coming soon. Not soon enough, I grant you, but soon.
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