Almost Normal: Stories from the Well Within

Seana Kozar
46 minutes • 2004

Storyteller and folklorist, Dr. Seana Kozar is a woman with an invisible disability. When she was born with cerebral palsy, her parents were told she would never enjoy a full life. But when she was just 19, she was offered a fully funded spot in a Ph.D. program.

In Almost Normal, Seana takes a deeply personal journey with four other women whose disabilities are as diverse as their life experiences:

• A Dalhousie University graduate, Nadine copes with attention deficit and an auditory disability she characterizes as “ten different TV screens going at once.” After years of trying to keep pace with her peers, she expresses relief upon receiving a diagnosis and developing strategies to cope.
  
  
• Susan describes bipolar affective disorder as potentially life threatening and yet also life enhancing. She points out that, in her manic state, she sometimes finds an incredible sense of direction. With the proper treatment, her mood disorder can become part of what makes her unique.
  
  
• Judy is an assistant professor at the Maritime School of Social Work and lives with reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD). She discusses the difficulty of accommodating workload at times when chronic pain worsens.
  
  
• A passionate gardener, Evelyn left a long career in nursing when rheumatoid arthritis and asthma led to a severe physical breakdown. She recounts the arduous process of applying for her Canada Pension Plan (CPP) benefits.

These women know first hand that the greatest barrier to living fully with an invisible disability is a society that chooses not to see. Together, they discover the well within that helps them nourish themselves and support one another.

Award(s): Honourable Mention to a filmmaker with a disability (Documentary category), Picture This…International Disability Film Festival

Subject(s): Healing, Health, Identity, Inclusive education, Mental health, Women