What Makes Him Tic?
What Makes Him Tic?
Author Interview with Michele Turk
When Michele Turk’s 11-year-old son, Michael, was diagnosed with Tourette syndrome, she made it her mission to show him, and later others, that he was so much more than the boy who shouted obscenities hundreds of times a day. In What Makes Him Tic? (June 4, 2024; Woodhall Press),describes Michele’s leave-no-stone-unturned strategy to figure out what her son needed to succeed academically, socially, and emotionally in a world where Tourette is the punch line of jokes.
In What Makes Him Tic?, Turk blends firsthand experience raising a child with Tourette with useful information on how her son was able to control his symptoms, accept his condition, lean into his strengths, live a full life, and transition to a young adult who is now living independently and thriving at age 24. Readers follow Turk on her six-year journey to make sure Michael survived his school years with his self-esteem intact and didn’t become one of the many students with special needs who fall through the cracks. Michele found him treatments and people who could help, pushed for a good education, and became his advocate and his champion.
An educational and heartwarming memoir, What Makes Him Tic? serves as a road map and inspiration for parents, caregivers, and educators of children with Tourette and other special needs as well as people with TS. After reading What Makes Him Tic?, parents of a neurodivergent child will feel less anxious and alone — and better able to cope with the challenges of parenting a child in a world that’s wary of people who are different. The book is a must-read for parents and caregivers hoping to find the right medical care and education, and who want to help their child navigate the social landmines of middle and high school while finding and nurturing their talents.
People have achieved great success despite, or perhaps because of, their TS, including Oscar-and Grammy-Award winning musician Billie Eilish, actors Dan Akroyd and Seth Rogan, and soccer star Tim Howard. In fact, the book addresses how neurodivergent people are now being viewed not only in terms of their deficits but their strengths as well.
An experienced journalist, Turk sprinkles the narrative with facts based on extensive interviews with medical experts about Tourette, often referred to as “the most misunderstood well-known condition.” More memoir than medical story, What Makes Him Tic? is a moving portrait of a family, a marriage, and a mother coping with day-to-day life amidst the stresses of caring for a boy with a stigmatizing condition. The book is also a surprising testament to the healing power of music: taking readers to New York City’s famed Carnegie Hall — where Turk was certain she was the only parent ever to sit in the audience and wonder whether her child would curse while singing with a youth chorus onstage — as well as inside bars and music venues where Michael sang, played drums and guitar, and, ultimately, where he found himself as part of School of Rock.
Personal and powerful, Michele’s story also takes readers inside her marriage — which became a relationship in turmoil — as she honestly explores the toll Michael’s struggle took on her marriage to a doctor who didn’t make time to help his son, leaving her, a woman who had doubted her abilities as a mother, to find reserves of strength she didn’t know she had — just like her son.
Join Michele and I as we discuss her debut memoir and life as a journalist.
Rachael W: Throughout the memoir, you make important distinctions about what Tourette is and isn’t—and how it’s been treated in popular TV shows and movies. For those who haven’t read your book, how would you briefly define Tourette and what were the symptoms you and your son, Michael, dealt with?
Michele T: Tourette syndrome is a neurological disorder characterized by involuntary motor and vocal tics. Despite being portrayed as commonplace, only 10% of people with Tourette syndrome curse or use offensive language, a condition known as coprolalia. My son did, in fact, develop coprolalia at age 11, but prior to that, he had mild motor tics like eye blinking, which are much more common. He has been more or less tic free for a decade.
RW: In chapter 2, you discuss your ambivalence about becoming a mother, that you didn’t have the “yearning” other women have. This is not a book about “finding yourself as a mother,” though, in some ways, it actually is, as you navigate the challenges of raising a young boy with Tourette. First, I want to share my gratitude for acknowledging a feeling that we, as women, are conditioned not to have, surely not to talk about openly. Did you feel ambivalence writing publicly about your ambivalence to become a mother?
MT: Not really because I had already written about my ambivalence about motherhood in a Washington Post article before I became a mother. I agree that it was sort of a taboo subject, especially 25 years ago. However, I felt it was important to address here because all women don’t have the same feelings about motherhood or so-called maternal instincts — I didn’t until I gave birth to Michael and it was love at first sight, as I say in the book. I also added all of this backstory because several people read earlier versions and said that I seem to be so all in as a mother that it was hard to believe that I approached it reluctantly — after almost ten years of marriage.
RW: Later in chapter 2, you write, “I can bake an array of goodies. I am a good reporter and a decent writer, friend, wife, and daughter.” I was struck by your admittance early in the book that you’re a “decent” writer. It is comical because What Makes Him Tic? is far better than decent, but also, I appreciate the writerly candor. As writers, we think we need to be the best, to write the “Next Great American'' something, or it’s all for naught. Indeed—the publishing world is ultra-competitive, which validates a writer’s feelings of self-doubt. What words of advice can you share with emerging writers who let perfection get in the way of progress?
MT: That’s very kind of you. On the one hand, I agree that writers can be critical of themselves, but also writing does not come easily to me. I’m someone who writes and rewrites over and over, which helps me figure out what I want to say and how to say it correctly. Also, I have always thought of myself as a better researcher and reporter than writer — these are my strong suits, and what I love doing. I have a Master’s in Journalism (as opposed to an MFA), and I was taught, and still practice, old school journalism so writing about myself in the first person was difficult.
As for advice, I am not the best person to seek advice from because I have let perfection get in the way of progress. For me, it really helped to get feedback from professional editors who helped me hone and shape my story and figure out what to cut.
RW: When your son, Michael, was first diagnosed with Tourette, you compiled a tremendous amount of research to understand the condition, how to treat it, and how to manage it as a parent. How did all that information help as you sat down to write your book?
MT: The research was invaluable. I still have every email, every packet of information, and every research paper, piled up in boxes. At first, the book was a traditional memoir but a few years back I decided to write a reported memoir, and that’s where all the research came in handy. I went back and rifled through those boxes to find factual information that would help inform readers about Tourette Syndrome. There still is so much misinformation about Tourette so I wanted to sprinkle tidbits throughout the book to educate readers.
RW: You talk a lot in the book about managing a career as a writer/reporter and being a mom to two, one who is neurodivergent. You write, “In the 11 years since Michael was born, Russ had relied on me to take the lead parenting role, which seemed fair, given that I was working part-time from home, and he had a demanding job.” Now that your children are older, and your book is published, what are you working on? What writing projects are in the pipeline?
MT: It was a lot, for sure, especially when he was first diagnosed and we were in crisis mode. Even though his symptoms were severe, I feel grateful because every child with Tourette does not have the happy ending that Michael’s story has, as someone who is a college grad and is living on his own and thriving at 25. If you met him you would never know he has Tourette.
Right now, I am working on a number of companion pieces to What Makes Him Tic? to coincide with Tourette Awareness Month, May 15 to June 15. This involves taking a lot of those facts and stories in the book and unpacking them into longer essays and articles. For example, I did not talk about my daughter too much in the book, but I am interested in sharing information about how parents can support neurotypical siblings. Another idea is for a story on music’s effects on the brain, the healing power of music, and how some people who are neurodivergent have brains that are wired differently in a way that might predispose them to creativity. I discovered early on that my son magically stopped ticcing when he played drums or guitar. In fact, people are beginning to think of Tourette not only in terms of deficits, but in terms of the strengths kids might develop because of their condition.
RW: As a reporter, it is natural that you would write a book about one of the most compelling experiences in your life. How did you land on memoir as opposed to any other genre of non-fiction about Tourette?
MT: Like most journalists, I prefer asking the questions so it was challenging. However, within a year of Michael’s diagnosis, it seemed as though so much had happened that was worth sharing, from his struggles at school, self-esteem, being ostracized from his peers, not to mention the incessant ticcing.
I had begun to scribble notes, I kept a journal, and shared bits and pieces as it was happening in real time with other women writers in a memoir class, and the feedback there helped me to realize that my family’s story was one that needed to be told. Also, I looked for and read a lot of books and there was nothing else like it; My book is the book I needed back then. My goal has always been to educate and inspire other parents.
RW: What is your writing and revision process?
MT: It seemed endless. And haphazard. I wasn’t writing the book for a decade, but it was on my computer for a decade. During that time, I would write feverishly for several days or weeks, determined to finish whatever draft of the manuscript I was working on, and then leave it untouched for months. I showed it to several editors and agents over the years, and I workshopped it for a couple of years early on. I spent time at my local library, coffee shops, and The Fairfield County Story Lab (a writer’s co-working space), where I got my best work done without distractions, and I attended a few writer’s conferences, all of which inched me further along. Once I signed the book contract, and had a deadline, well, that’s when I really hunkered down because, like many writers, I can’t accomplish anything without a deadline. I’m not sure I would call that a great “process!”
RW: Your book is published with Woodhall Press, an independent publisher for independent authors, with or without an agent. Do you have an agent? Can you tell me more about your decision to work with this publisher and the benefits you have found so far vs. pursuing a “big 5”?
MT: I did have an agent at one point, but the contract with Woodhall was unagented. By far the main benefit has been that I have much more control of the story and the edits, which is important to me because I want to protect my son. Most people are pretty misinformed about Tourette and I didn’t want him or his story to be misrepresented. I asked for Michael’s recollections as I was revising and he read and signed off on the manuscript before I hit send (as did my husband and daughter), but if I had been with a larger house, the editors might have taken greater liberties with the story.
It’s funny because even now, people still act surprised when they find out how well he is doing, when in fact, there are many people with Tourette who are successful adults, including soccer star Tim Howard, actors Seth Rogen and Dan Akroyd, and of course, musician Billie Eilish.
RW: What does Michael think of your memoir?
MT: Michael has always been supportive of the memoir, and he has told me how proud he is of me, which is so sweet. He wrote me a Mother’s Day card last year saying he didn’t realize how much I had done for him until he read What Makes Him Tic? and thanking me! Of course, I am more proud of him and I am grateful that he allowed me to tell his story. That said, it has not been published yet so I hope he doesn’t mind a little publicity. He has not had tics for so long, and Tourette doesn’t really disrupt his life any more so I hope he inspires other kids and their parents who may still be in the thick of it.
RW: What is one thing you want readers to walk away with having read What Makes Him Tic?
MT: Parenting a neurodiverse child is hard work so don’t be so hard on yourself. Also, it will strain your relationships, and challenge you in so many ways, and you will make mistakes. While you’re waiting to find medical or therapeutic solutions, be sure to get support in whatever form works for you and your child and make sure your child finds something they love to do and can excel at, that makes them develop self-esteem, and really nurture those talents and interests, whether it’s sports or music or art or whatever. I believe this, in his case music, was truly my son’s salvation.
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