Set the scene: you meet your partner in an old-fashioned “meet-cute,” explore on a few dates, pursue a relationship, and now both of you are happily married, a simple love story. Mandra Biscornet describes her story as “just another love story,” but there is more than meets the eye. In her new book, Just Another Love Story, Mandra Biscornet explores her relationship with her husband, Brad, and how their story was forged through illness and resilience, culminating in where they are today. She touches on the writing process, defining moments in her relationship, and offers takeaways for readers who want to write and publish their memoirs.
Biscornet’s Inspiration for Just Another Love Story
Maya: What was the inspiration behind Just Another Love Story? What do you hope readers will get from reading?
Mandra: The initial impetus for writing Just Another Love Story was to keep a family history of sorts. I wanted to chronicle the journey of Brad and Mandra so that our son, Darby, and other children in the extended family would know about that period of our lives. There were no initial plans actually to publish. As I wrote, however, it occurred to me that maybe others would find the story inspiring and informative.
I hope that patients and caregivers alike will find something that resonates with them, maybe comforts or helps them on their own journey. Sometimes just knowing that someone else navigated significant medical issues helps people feel less isolated. It’s that “all in the same boat” phenomenon.
Biscornet’s Writing Process For Telling Her Story
Maya: What was your writing process from the planning stage to the final manuscript? What routines did you have in place to support you?
Mandra: The first stage was to gather all the notes, journals, medical reports and calendars that I’d kept over the years. That way, I could piece the timeline together and jog my memory of events. I had scheduled writing time a couple of times a week. Sometimes writing time was productive, other times I literally stared at my screen or notebook. The key for me was to adhere to the schedule anyway, regardless of how productive the time was. It needed to be routine.
Once I had a general outline and started writing, I joined a writing group, which was instrumental in my writing process. We were a group of three women who met regularly and sent each other pages for review ahead of the meeting. The accountability of having to send pages and attend our meetings is probably the only reason the book is even done now!
With a very rough draft in hand, I started working with a developmental editor who kept me on track with the editing and offered invaluable feedback on the memoir’s narrative arc. Working with a professional was a key part of my process. As a first-time author, there was much to learn, and since I’d now decided to publish, I wanted to write something worthy of being read by others. Our process was similar to the group’s: I’d send a few chapters, he’d send feedback, and we’d work back and forth until it was finished.
The Editing Process For a Memoir Is Just as Important as the Writing Process
Maya: Were there scenes or editing challenges that you faced while writing your memoir about your marriage? What were some parts that were difficult or easy to write?
Mandra: I think memoir as a genre is difficult because you are constantly balancing your truth with the feelings of others, and trying to hold space for both. The family meeting scene and my analysis of it were particularly difficult to write – it was challenging to acknowledge everyone’s feelings while also describing how unsupported I felt by family members in that moment.
Sometimes family members and the emotionally charged scenes with them were edited out mainly because those scenes did not move the story forward in any meaningful way. Whenever that was the case, I chose to delete.
Why Just Another Love Story Is Not a Typical Story
Maya: In Chapter 1, what drew you to open your love story with this particular first impression of Brad, and how does it foreshadow the journey ahead?
Mandra: Hahaha! Well, I guess because it was the truth. While I didn’t necessarily have a “type” of man I dated at the time, workboats, flannel, and law enforcement were not it. But, like the unexpected journey ahead, there was so much more to Brad, and I quickly fell in love with it all. Now, all these years later, Brad is Captain of our town’s fire department, and there is a special place in my heart for the boys who wear blue, boots and all.
Maya: In Chapter 3, the sequence of events of the diagnosis of cancer and September 11, 2001, created a metaphor of catastrophe—emotionally, mentally, and physically. Why did you decide to include that vital detail in your story, and how did you reflect on that moment while writing it?
Mandra: For those of us in the Northeast, especially Massachusetts and New York, it is impossible to think about September 2001 without reliving the events of the 11th. We all remember where we were, what we were doing and who we were with, not only on the 11th but also in the days that followed. September 11, 2001, was the backdrop to my cancer diagnosis, and one could not be written without the other. I was falling apart inside and watching buildings and lives fall apart on the outside. Nothing felt steady; nothing I had believed up until then about my health and the safety of my country was ever the same after that.
How Biscornet Portrays the Emotional Drive In Her Story
Maya: When you named this chapter, “The Only Way Out Is Through,” how did that mindset shape your emotional response to Brad’s health conditions?
Mandra: It speaks to the belief that while it will not be easy, it will be the only way to the other side. Trying to deny, circumvent or avoid difficult situations will not work. Trying to go over, under or around something will not work—some things we must experience and move through.
In the face of horrible medical news, I would remind myself that the only way out for us was to go through it. The phrase became a rally cry for me to gather my resources, emotionally and physically, take a deep breath, and start walking through it.
Maya: In Chapter 7, you explore that feeling of your married life being “under a microscope” because of the frequent family check-ins. How did that pressure affect your sense of independence?
Mandra: My sense of independence and agency was already under fire with Brad’s chronic medical issues and initial lack of successful treatments. The family check-ins further chipped away at my autonomy and the feeling of being a capable adult. They sent the message that Brad and I needed oversight. Often, young adults and newly married couples need to move through the process of establishing themselves as an independent unit. For us, this process and establishing our own identity were made more difficult by the medical issues and subsequent family check-ins.
Biscornet On Establishing Boundaries During Her Marriage
Maya: I absolutely loved Chapter 9, “Brad the Blogger,” because you highlighted the importance of setting boundaries when sharing health updates with family and friends. Do you continue this practice within your marriage along with your own writing?
Mandra: Yes, we have learned how to maintain healthy boundaries with family and friends. There is information that we share only with each other, and we decide together what goes beyond “us.” While the memoir includes many details about ourselves and our families, it is not a “tell-all” story. I tried to be thoughtful about what went in, making sure any details furthered the story and were necessary. If not, they were deleted. It was also important that Brad read the final version and feel comfortable with what would be put out there into the world.
The Defining Moments In Just Another Love Story
Maya: At what point in your relationship with Brad did you realize that your story would be more than just a romantic fairytale, that it would become a partnership that symbolizes resilience?
Mandra: We’d been married for less than a year when Brad’s long-time cardiologist at Boston Children’s Hospital said he would need an ICD (implanted cardiac defibrillator). I knew then that his medical condition had taken a turn and would no longer be a once-a-year visit to Boston. Medical hardware capable of delivering an electric shock to Brad was now part of our lives. That changed our perspective and our journey. It was a moment of, “Oh, that’s the level of illness we’re dealing with.” We’d better buckle up because this could get bumpy and we’re going to be navigating unexpected waters together.
Maya: What moment during the transplant process felt most defining for your relationship?
Mandra: I would have to say our time together in the pre-op room before Brad went in for transplant surgery. We used those moments to do something that many couples don’t get –time to say how much we had meant to each other. We recounted our favorite memories together and agreed that if we had to do it all over, we would choose each other again. It was both joyous and challenging because we were deepening our love while at the same time saying goodbye in case the surgery was unsuccessful.
How to Balance of Storytelling and Medical Terminology
Maya: In Chapter 2: Cardiology 101, you set the scene of yourself in the hospital learning about Brad’s procedure with sensory narrative details. How did you balance the medical terminology/information with emotional storytelling?
Mandra: That balance that did not come easily for me, and again, I credit my writers’ group. I had a tendency, as they would often point out, to “write the facts-just the facts.” My writing partners encouraged me to dig deeper and write about myself, how I or other characters felt, or what the environment was like. In that way, readers would get to know the characters and hopefully feel a connection to the story. Using the five senses was a way for me to get beyond “just the facts” and to richer, more layered descriptions.
Some of the detailed medical descriptions were cut out. I did not want readers to get too bogged down in the jargon and lose interest in the story or the characters. This was one of the questions put to the beta readers who read the manuscript and their feedback further helped me strike a good balance.
What Biscornet Would Like Readers To Take Away From Her Memoir
Maya: What are some takeaways that you want readers and caregivers to hold on to from reading your memoir?
Mandra: I hope that patients and medical staff can approach medical care as a team and learn how to build that rapport. Effective patient advocacy, making the patient a person and simply “showing up,” matters and leads to better medical outcomes.
I hope caregivers find support in the pages and learn that self-care is not selfish but necessary to sustain themselves on the journey. Identifying resources, asking for help when needed, or setting boundaries can support a caregiver through chronic medical issues.
And while Just Another Love Story chronicles a time during Brad and Mandra’s marriage, it is also a love story of humanity. I hope readers see how small moments of love and kindness have significant impacts, be it a much-needed ride to a hotel late at night, a “Get Well” card, or a visit from a nurse or doctor. Moments of genuine human connection matter–that is the love story of all of us.
Maya: Do you want your readers to see your memoir as a love story, a medical journey, or both, and why?
Mandra: Both! Readers will miss important layers if it is seen as only one or the other. I hope the interconnectedness of the two resonates. Our love unfolded and strengthened through the medical journey.
Advice and Tips for Promoting A Book/Memoir
Maya: How are you promoting this book and its content to audiences?
Mandra: I’m planning a formal book launch for May 31 to not only promote the book but also celebrate reaching the finish line! What a journey! Leading up to that will be social media posts. I also have relationships with New England Donor Services and other transplant-related groups that will be important connections for getting the book in front of people for whom the subject matter resonates. Author interviews such as this are also valuable ways to reach readers and I’m grateful for the opportunity to speak with you. Thank you again.
Maya: Any advice or tips for our readers in terms of writing and publishing a book?
Mandra: I would highly recommend finding a writers group and working with a professional book coach/editor. The accountability and initial motivation of a writer’s group will provide structure and support. Investing in a professional book coach/editor will serve as an expert guide through the world of writing and publishing, and ensure you write the best book possible.
About the Author
As the Artistic Director of DNE School of Dance, Mandra has shared her passion for dance and the performing arts for over 20 years. She embraces the art of writing with the same drive and energy, taking the craft of storytelling from the stage to the written page.
Mandra lives a quiet life in her home along a river in northern MA with her adventurous husband, precocious son, and slightly neurotic dog. They live in a “family compound” surrounded by relatives, much as she grew up, and are grateful for the health and well-being they wake up with every day. Order your copy of Just Another Love Story!
