Brandon Twp.- Rheumatoid arthritis has disfigured Rebecca Roberts? hands and feet, but it has never crushed her spirit and has even inspired her as a writer and artist.
‘I think the key is not to allow it to take over,? said Roberts, 65. ‘It’s your life, you have to pursue what you want to do. You don’t have to be a victim.?
In October, The Georgia Review, a literary journal published internationally four times a year, will feature Roberts? essay, ‘The Art of Looking Down.?
The essay is a meditation on having to look down in order to keep from stumbling and falling, a challenge presented by the rheumatoid arthritis, a systemic blood disease which is characterized by inflammation of the joints.
‘Writing often starts from a practical place and if you’re lucky goes to a philosophical place where other people identify with your experience,? Roberts said. ‘That’s what you hope for.?
Roberts was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis when she was 25 and eight months pregnant with her youngest son, Adam. She had fallen and scuffed her hand. The pain worsened and after tests, doctors found she had the disease, which two of her sisters share.
In addition to the disfigurement of her hands and feet, the arthritis has caused Roberts to develop ulcers and has required seven surgeries on her hips and knees. The joint replacements are called revisions, which she finds funny as a writer. But she has never allowed rheumatoid arthritis to define who she is.
Roberts has been painting and writing for the last 30 years. She has previously done freelance writing for the Detroit Free Press and achieved her master’s degree in English from OU in 1996. In the mid-90s she published her first essay, about stand-up comic Tim Allen, in The Massachusetts Review.
‘The Art of Looking Down? will be Roberts? second essay published this year. In May, her essay ‘Cy Twombly, Michael Ondaatje and the Mystery of the Missing Translator,? which describes a personal art experience, was published in The Antioch Review.
‘If I get an acceptance, once a year, I feel great,? said Roberts, who estimates it takes her about two or three years to write an essay. ‘I have two this year, so I am giddy with success.?
In her fight against arthritis, her first line of defense was always her husband, Larry, whom she was married to for 46 years until his death earlier this year. Her second line of defense is her children (besides Adam, she is also the mother of Mike) and her art.
‘The disability after awhile becomes a way through which you live,? she said. ‘It’s a pragmatic life view. My hands aren’t straight, I’m in danger of falling, I have periods of a lack of function, but I live through it. It’s more than enduring it.?