When Jessie Ace woke on her last day of university, unable to feel the whole left hand side of her body, her dreams of becoming an illustrator lay in tatters.
Having already clinched a book deal, which had been her ambition since childhood, Jessie’s future career plans had seemed to be in the ascendancy.
But from that moment, and with her subsequent diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) at the age of only 22, Jessie was forced to delay her ambitions – but was adamant she would never give up.
And now, eight years on, the determination and positivity which characterise Jessie’s everyday life have resulted in her publishing her first illustrated colouring book for children.
Already a published author, having created her highly successful My Enabled Warrior Tracker – to help empower people with chronic conditions in accurately documenting their feelings and symptoms – this is the first to showcase Jessie’s talent for illustration.
The book is being sold via Amazon, and marks the culmination of a long journey to this point – and the beginning of a new chapter as a published illustrator.
“I have always believed in finding a way to do things, even if they most direct way isn’t achievable,” says Jessie.
“There have been so many challenges along the way, but you have to believe you’ll get there and do all you can to make that happen.
“Positivity and belief in yourself is so important, and that runs through my colouring book – the affirmation statements like ‘I am strong’ ‘I am awesome’ and ‘I am beautiful’ are in here, things like that can’t be said from too early an age.”
Following the colouring book, Jessie has many ambitions for what comes next – but realising the potential challenges which may lie ahead as a woman with MS, Jessie is planning now for her future career.
“I had a flare-up recently which was really bad, and it made me think what would happen if I couldn’t use my hand in the future, if I could no longer do my illustrations,” she says.
“So I’m doing as much as I can now, using my creative skills while I’ve got the ability to use them, and will plan for the future so I have work to sell and can continue my career whatever happens.”
Having seen global success with My Enabled Warrior Tracker, Jessie has gone on to create versions which work with the specific needs of people with fibromyalgia, rare diseases, ME and EDS and challenges with mindset.
Building on her graphic design roots, the creation of tracker sheets has proved invaluable to those who need to keep track of information between medical appointments.
“You might have appointments every month or every three months, and you’re expected to recall how you have felt during that time, how your symptoms have presented,” says Jessie, also creator of the acclaimed DISabled to ENabled podcast and Enabled Warriors online group.
“You’re relying on recall bias, which is natural, as you probably won’t be able to describe exactly how you have been during the past several weeks. But that then affects what happens from then on.
“The trackers are proving really useful. The most recent one was the mindset tracker, which was helpful for people during lockdown in creating a positive mindset. I’m so pleased they are helping people.”
As she plans for her future in illustration, Jessie is considering a host of options.
“There are so many different pathways I could go down and things to consider, I’ve flipped between so many ideas. I’d like to look at working with an illustration agent, and also potentially licensing my work – but I’m hopeful that selling with Amazon will be a good start,” she says.
