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Local author writes children’s
book on epilepsy
[October 28, 2026]
Kristina M. Alberts is a local
author from Emden who wrote You, Me and Epilepsy, a children's book
aimed at educating young ones about epilepsy and how individuals and
families cope with it. Alberts is also the founder of The You & Me
Book Co. with plans to write at least two more books covering other
topics. Lincoln Daily News recently had a chance to sit down with
Alberts and learn more about her book and motivation behind writing
it.
The story of You, Me and Epilepsy is one inspired by real life
events in Alberts’s life. She shared that her son, James, had his
first grand mal seizure just before his second birthday. Grand mal
seizures, officially called Tonic-clonic seizures, are the most
violent form of seizure. According to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, Tonic-clonic seizures “cause muscle
stiffness and rhythmic jerking,” and can cause loss of
consciousness. “[James] was hospitalized and coded the same day,”
Alberts said. After spending three days in the hospital, James was
diagnosed with general epilepsy.
Alberts said that the next four years, leading up to today, have
been a long journey. “We walked through the stages of medication,
what that meant for him, any side effects and working through all of
that with him. It was just this long journey.”
James now sees a specialist in Chicago. Unfortunately, he also
regularly suffers from absence seizures. Unlike Tonic-clonic
seizures, absence seizures usually cause the person to “stare into
space, blink their eyes quickly, [and] make chewing or hand
movements,” according to the CDC. According to Alberts, these
smaller seizures “can be triggered by a multitude of things.
Lighting, excitement, eating.”
This requires James and his family to make trips to the hospital and
spend lots of time in waiting rooms. These waiting rooms were where
Alberts first noticed something. “I had found that in waiting rooms,
there wasn’t a lot of material that was geared toward explanation of
epilepsy for kids,” Alberts said. “Over the years, I have logged
diaries and journals of our journey and just decided to put pen to
paper one day, and that’s where our book came from.”
You, Me and Epilepsy walks through a day in the life of someone with
epilepsy. It covers this daily life from a multitude of
perspectives. “What that means for your friends and family, what
that means education wise, for the medication… it explains the
in-doctor visits, what EEG’s are, what that means for the little one
who's going through all the testing… and then the educational piece
afterward for extended family.” Since James has an older brother,
Austin, Alberts explained that the book also looks at epilepsy from
the perspective of a sibling who does not have it. “It’s just a huge
educational piece from beginning to end and everything in between.”
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Alberts started
the You & Me Book Co. after You, Me and Epilepsy went to print
with their California publishing company. Alberts has plans for
two more books in a similar style to address other experiences
that she and her family have gone through. Her next two planned
books are You, Me and Autism, and You, Me and the Notorious Tree
Nut. These two books will be based on James’s autism and his
peanut allergies, and the experiences the Alberts had navigating
those. “All three of these books come from personal experiences
that we have had with our son,” Alberts said.
Alberts said that her family is integral to these stories,
especially autism. James’s grandfather takes an interest in his
hobbies. His brother Austin is very understanding and can
sometimes get James to communicate during difficult moments when
Alberts and her husband cannot.
The You & Me Book Co. has a
Facebook page people can follow to stay up to date on these
upcoming books. You, Me and Epilepsy can be found through
Amazon KDP, IngramSpark, and Barnes & Noble. The book will
also soon be available to buy at Ink & Imprint in Lincoln.
[Matt Boutcher]
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