ALS diagnosis leads man to author novel
 

ALS diagnosis leads man to author novel
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By Alex Haglund
Photo by Alex Haglund ~ Advocate-Press Barry A. Coughlin, of St. Elmo, is in his mother and step-father Shirley and Thomas Henson’s backyard in Xenia. Coughlin was diagnosed with ALS or Lou Gehrig’s Disease and has recently released his first novel, “Living the Dream,” and came to the area to promote the book.

By Alex Haglund
The Clay County Advocate-Press
Thu Oct 02, 2008, 12:50 PM CDT


St. Elmo -
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, is a trying and ultimately fatal affliction. Normally, a patient has a three to five year life expectancy from the time of their diagnosis.

While it would be a stretch in any sense to describe this disease as a blessing, Barry A. Coughlin, of St. Elmo, has used the time he’s had since his ALS diagnosis seven years ago to do some things he never thought that he would, namely, become an author.

With the release of his first tome, a historical fiction novel titled “Living the Dream,” Coughlin has realized a dream of his own, one that he did not even know he had before his diagnosis.

“No way,” said Coughlin when asked if he had ever thought of writing before the disease, “I wouldn’t have even thought of it.”

The novel is about William Bassett, a land surveyor in the small town of St. Elsewhere, who goes into a deep coma after a car accident and finds himself literally living his dream of surveying the new Illinois state capitol in Vandalia back in 1818, a task that was more of a trek and adventure in the wilderness than merely looking through a scope.

The book’s influences are from Coughlin’s own life, dreams, and experiences. A career with a surveying company before his diagnosis and an interest in backpacking and historical times, Coughlin’s experiences were brought to bare in his authorship of “Dream.”

Indeed, Coughlin’s daydreams do play a major part in this book. Coughlin says that while his constant daydreaming makes it hard for him to read a book on his own, it made it easier for him to write his own, because “It’s like a series of different daydreams strung together,” as he said.

With a disease like ALS though, writing the book was not physically easy. The condition makes it impossible for him to type with his hands, so he types using his mouth on a touchscreen, a painstaking process that he compares to the stop-and-go method of filming used for Claymation.

All told, the process of authoring “Dream” took 15 months.

Along with authoring the novel, Coughlin has also started writing articles, mostly motivational in nature, and is also working on a sequel for “Dream.”

When he talks about motivating people, he shows them what he has been able to do with ALS, and also lets them know that their lives could change at any moment, so the time to start working on their dreams is now.

Coughlin released his book in the beginning of August and had his first signing in St. Elmo on Aug. 25. He has ties to this area in his mother and step-father, Shirley and Thomas Henson of Xenia, and is now working on scheduling a book signing for the very near future at the Flora Wal-Mart.

Barry has an active website with a blog at www.barrycoughlin.com which will also have more information on purchasing the book or regarding the signing.

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