Laura Beretsky

LAURA BERETSKY is a writer and community activist. She lives in Somerville, Massachusetts with her husband, children, and two cats where she’s active on the local Community Preservation Committee and high school parent-teacher-student association. She is also a part- time grant writer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Introduction to Technology, Engineering, and Science department.

When she’s not working, spending time with family, or partaking in local campaigns, she’s collects material and writes stories for her All Things Epilepsy blog/newsletter. Laura ordained herself an Epilepsy Ambassador and established the blog in 2022, to increase awareness about epilepsy, its impacts on those who have it, and the need for expanded epilepsy funding and research. Laura’s writing has appeared in WBUR’s Cognoscenti, Health Story Collaborative, Sisyphus, and Wire’s Dream magazines. Her website is Home - Laura Beretsky

Her memoir, Seizing Control describes the challenges of living with epilepsy, and the patient self-advocacy required to get the best medical care possible, regardless of diagnosis.

Laura has a BA from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. As a tween, she learned the value of participating in actions that yield community change. These lessons were critical to her journey negotiating seizures and others’ reactions to them and pushing back against stigmatization. They were also key to her recovery from brain surgeries.