Hometown Clinton - Fall 2017

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Obviously, a bit more complicated to explain than,
“Mommy’s got a cold, and in a few days she’ll get well.”
Adele’s wanting to explain Parkinson’s to her son morphed
into a much larger endeavor when the Hensleys lived in
Phoenix, Arizona. “I knew I wanted a story for Clark,” Adele
said. “One day on a hike in the desert behind the house, I had
a moment of insight in which I saw the entire story clearly.”
This became the first children’s book, Monica, Mama, and the
Ocotillo’s Leaves: A book for children who love someone with
Parkinson’s disease or any chronic illness, published in 2013.
In Monica, Mama, and the Ocotillo’s Leaves, Monica and
her mother love to hike in the desert. One day they find an
ocotillo plant, a desert scrub with thorny branches and tiny
leaves. Monica’s mother tells her, “It grew those leaves fresh
this week, after it rained…”
That day would be the last time Monica and her mother
would visit the desert for a while. That summer, Monica
learns her mother has something called Parkinson’s disease
and that she needs to take medicine “to help her body work
much better.”
Sometime later Monica and her mother return to the desert
where they first saw the ocotillo plant, but Monica cries when
she discovers it is all brown and dry, thinking it has died. Her
mother explains that because it was so hot and dry during the
summer, it had to drop its leaves to survive:
“Monica, the ocotillo is just like your Mama. The plant’s
alive in there, but it can’t always let its true face show. I’m alive
and happy in here,” she pointed to her heart, “but my smile
doesn’t always show. My voice doesn’t always sound happy,
but when I have what I need, the right medicine, and a good
walk, I sound, feel, and look a lot more like myself.”
“I see, Mama,” said Monica. “And the ocotillo will look like
itself when…?” Her voice trailed off in a question.
“When the rain comes again,” said Mama. Two more titles
followed: How Marty’s Mom Became a Cyborg, and Face It:
Making Peace with Fear. Adele provided the artwork for
Monica and Face It, while Marty’s Mom was illustrated by
Brent Messmer.
“Each book is the same in that each mother has Parkinson’s,
and each child learns to cope,” Adele said. “Each story is
different because each family has its own path to tread.”
Fall 2016 saw the publication of a fourth book, Twelve Years
and Counting: Reflections on Life with Early Onset Parkinson’s
Disease, a collection of poems—this time aimed at both
adults as well as children. Adele’s husband Frank, professor of
biological sciences at Mississippi College, provided the book’s
wonderful nature photographs. “I’m a self-taught amateur,” he
said, “and I use some of my photos in my teaching.”
Adele continues to write, and is presently working on
another children’s book, this one all about manners. Though
putting words to paper takes longer than it used to, she will
not stop, because she has something to say.
Punch through the static. zx
Her books are available at amazon.com,
barnesandnoble.com, booksamillion.com,
and Pentimento Books in Clinton.
36 • Aug/Sept/Oct 2017
Hometown Clinton • 37