Quadriplegic ‘Polyanna’ launches her debut novel

Rhodes University alumnus Briony Chisholm, who survived a horror car crash on her way home after graduation, has defeated the odds despite the accident leaving her a quadriplegic and wheelchair-bound.

And now, she has also written a book which will be launched on Tuesday in Makhanda (formerly Grahamstown).

“I was very lucky to have a very supportive family and lots of friends,” Chisholm, 43, said of her ordeal in 1996.

“Fortunately, I also have a sunny disposition and have always been a bit of a ‘Pollyanna’.

“People pulled me through – my family, friends and boyfriend at the time. I was young and ready for the world – an accident was not going to stop me.”

Chisholm said it took nine months to recover after the accident and to adjust to life in a wheelchair.

After graduating with her degree in pharmacy, Chisholm moved to Cape Town.

“I continued with my career as a pharmacist, working at the national HIV and TB hotline in Cape Town and pursuing my other love – writing. I published my first novel this year.”

Chisholm described her book, as a fun, “chick lit” read.

“It took me about five years to write and edit it properly, with large gaps of ignoring it in between.” She said the book was not based on her personal experiences.

“It’s fiction, although I think any book – fiction or non-fiction – has bits of real life in it. I am nothing like the main character though, and neither is her family anything like mine.

“I like reading books that are familiar, so I wrote a character that I’d like to meet for a glass of wine after work,” she said. A summary of the book reads:

set in Cape Town, chronicles the life of 33year-old Sarah Trafford, who has sworn off committed relationships after her last failed affair. The book has a fair share of lascivious bosses, heartbreakers and clingers-on.

“While we are asked to consider the meaning of ‘ever after’ within the levity provided by Sarah’s antics, the story is fun, humorous and entertaining; it allows us moments of letting go with the comfort of an exit.”

Chisholm said she was currently studying for a postgraduate diploma in HIV and TB management, while attempting to finish her second book, which would be a very different one to One Night Only.

The book’s launch is expected to take place on Tuesday at the National English Literary Museum (NELM) from 6pm.

Asked what she would say to people who were going through difficult times, Chisholm said: “There’s no answer to this. Each person has a different experience, different circumstances, a different outlook.

“If I were forced to say something, it would be to focus on the things you have control over, not the ones you don’t. And eat cake.”

I was young and ready . . . an accident was not going to stop me