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FITS AND STARTS:
A MEMOIR OF LIVING WITH EPILEPSY

2022 AUDIE AWARDS FINALIST
* Best Autobiography/Memoir *

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Enquiries: Rebecca LaChance at press@almost-tangible.com

Epilepsy affects about 1 in every 100 people in the UK.  
Every day, 87 people are diagnosed.
Would you know what to do if someone had a seizure?

• Fits and Starts: A Memoir of Living with Epilepsy by former journalist and teacher Franziska (pronounced Fran-ZIS-ka) Thomas, is a 2022 Audie Awards finalist in the Best Autobiography/Memoir category other finalists include Jamie Foxx and Ron Howard.

• A searingly honest and thought-provoking memoir, Fits and Starts offers an unvarnished glimpse into a syndrome shrouded in secrecy and laden with stigma. With candour and humour, Franziska describes her daily challenges of fits, injuries and memory loss, and charts her own coming of age as an epileptic, as a teacher and, ultimately, as a mother.

• Narrated by Tracy Wiles, the audiobook also includes several ‘Stream of Unconsciousness’ passages read by Franziska herself that are beautifully underscored with immersive sound design, giving listeners a direct and deeply moving window into Franziska’s experience during and after a seizure.

• Fits and Starts also features an original title song ’Fits and Starts’ by Stephanie Macgaraidh (pronounced Mac-Garry).

• Available on commercial audiobook platforms or free via charities Royal National Institute of the Blind and Listening Books for people with sight impairments or other health issues affecting their ability to read the printed word.

Fits and Starts

In 1992 Franziska Thomas had her first seizure and her whole world was turned upside down - literally.

In Fits and Starts Franziska gives a compelling personal description of living with epilepsy, an illness shrouded in secrecy and antiquated myths. Laden with self-deprecating humour she describes her own coming of age - as an epileptic, a teacher, and ultimately, a mother. Alternately stubborn and mischievous, down trodden and determined, Franziska remains ever hopeful despite the constant set backs and instinctively refuses to conform to the role the outside world has chosen for her. This searingly honest and thought-provoking memoir is the story of the author's fits, injuries, and memory loss, set inside the wider story of epilepsy and society. Focussing on her own experience of repeatedly falling down, getting up, then falling down again.

Fits & Starts has sold thousands of copies making it one of the best-selling books about living with epilepsy. Any questions you have about epilepsy, either as an epileptic or someone who knows and loves an epilepsy sufferer, your questions could be answered here.

Franziska has previously worked as a journalist and History teacher. She is currently working as an author and Fundraising Manager for a UK and Nepal based charity. She lives in London with her husband Tim, their children Oskar and Kurt and two misbehaving Maine Coons.

www.almost-tangible.com/fits-and-starts

“Making an audiobook of Fits and Starts was the obvious choice to reach a greater audience. Audiobooks have opened the world to people with a plethora of disabilities or special education needs like dyslexia– I wanted to be part of that movement. Reading your own work is a bizarre experience. I hope everyone enjoys listening to it as much as I enjoyed making it.”

Franziska Thomas, Author, Fits and Starts

“It’s been a privilege and pleasure to collaborate with Franziska on her deeply moving and life-affirming book. I have learnt so much and hope that our audio version will give many more people the opportunity to learn about epilepsy and help dispel some of the social discomfort and stigma surrounding the condition. Because Franziska will fall down again. And she will need all of us to know what to do when she does.”

Charlotte Melén (pronounced Meh-LIN), Founder & Producer, Almost Tangible

With immersive 3D sound - we recommend listening on headphones!

For access to a full review copy, please contact Rebecca LaChance at press@almost-tangible.com.

Read by Tracy Wiles and Franziska Thomas
Producer Charlotte Melén
Director Carl Prekopp
Sound Designer and Composer Stephanie MacGaraidh
Cover Design Rebecca LaChance
Social Media/Video Rebecca LaChance
With special thanks to Jon Hawkins, Johnny Edwards, and Jon Nicholls

Adaptation and Production copyright 2021 Almost Tangible Ltd

To download, click on an image (it will open in a new window) and right-click -> Save Image as…

Audio You Feel

Winner of over 25 industry awards since their inception in 2018, including 2019 Production Company of the Year at New York Festival of Radio, Almost Tangible harnesses the power of technology and the talent of some of the world’s finest artists, directors and technicians to create audio experiences unlike anything you’ve heard before - audio experiences you don’t just hear, but feel.

Almost Tangible’s creative approach challenges traditional audiobook formats and aims to create a new category, the immersive audio experience.  Taking inspiration from the creative process of film-making, Almost Tangible record on location with the real world as their backdrop and employ cutting-edge, binaural sound recording techniques to put the listener at the heart of the story - surrounded by the characters, with sound moving around and through them.

www.almost-tangible.com