The Migraine Mafia

By Maia Sepp

On paper, Viive McBroom lives the perfect life—a key player in a fast-paced, technical field, one promotion away from real success—but that’s only if you ignore one little problem.

Sandwiched between one migraine and the next, Viive’s life is like those choose-your-own-adventure books you read as a kid, only less fun and with a lot more drugs. And lately, as her bosses politely march her toward a vacation that might never end, even the good days seem like a struggle for survival.

Faced with frustration from her loved ones and the dark machinations of a new coworker, Viive feels herself getting pulled under by guilt, apologies, and workplace shenanigans. But then she meets the Migraine Mafia, a quirky, vibrant support group, and her fragile camouflage begins to crumble. She discovers that a room full of strangers just might be able to change the way she views her illness—and realizes that if she doesn’t learn to ask for help, her health isn’t the only thing she stands to lose.

Sometimes painful, frequently hilarious, always entertaining, "The Migraine Mafia" is the story of one woman’s life-altering decision to thrive in the face of chronic illness.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Maia Sepp
• Release date: Dec 2, 2013
• ISBN: 9781311317025

Maia Sepp

Maia Sepp is an author of quirky contemporary and dystopian fiction. She left the tech sector to write books about sock thievery, migraines, the future, and...the tech sector. Her latest, "Wake," is the prequel to the "End Times Series" and is a story about climate change, unruly appliances, and finding somewhere to belong. It will be available June 2015."The Sock Wars, an Amazon top-100 digital bestseller, is her first book. Maia's second novel is "The Migraine Mafia," a story about a nerdy thirtysomething's quest to come to terms with a chronic illness. Her third book, "An Etiquette Guide to the End Times," is a humorous near-future dystopian novella. Sign up for Maia's mailing list at: www.maiasepp.com/mailinglist.html

Reviews for The Migraine Mafia

[gentlespirit512 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I'm sorry if this image is a trigger to you. It was one that so made me think MIGRAINE!!

I just finished reading Maia Sepp's The Migraine Mafia. The title refers to the support group she found where she met others who were living with the same issues. She didn't want to speak openly about the headaches and the effects they had on her life at first; but when she did, she discovered that she didn't have to pretend she felt better than she really did to people who didn't understand what she was experiencing.

How many times have we all caught ourselves doing exactly that?

I forget the power of support from people who get it. I forget how scary it is to be vulnerable with people when you first meet them and have felt completely alone in your pain and fatigue. Everyone who knows you thinks they know the answer for you. They don't know your body, and they're not doctors, so what makes them so sure they can tell you how to take care of yourself?

It was only when Viive started pushing back against those who didn't get it and feeling some hope and control over the migraines that she began to take back her life.

It's a lesson we can all relate to and remember when living with chronic illness and/or disability. I need to think about looking for or starting a support group to learn to live with what is going on in my body. People who don't understand tell me "if you only did this or that, it would be better." I wish the surgeries I've had would fix all the difficulties I'm living with. Now I have to learn to deal with different things so that I can keep trying to take back my life.