FINDING MEANING IN life’s UNEXPECTED CHAPTERS
Marie-Claire McKelvey, Author & Social Work Student
For a long time, writing was simply my way of staying connected across a distance, sharing small snapshots of everyday moments. Though the years passed, the habit of noticing and reflecting never left me. It simply shifted.
If my early entries were a way of reaching out back then, this website is my way of opening that door again in a brand-new way. I’m really happy you’re here.
Mais Quelle Vie
— Marie-Claire McKelvey
MARIE-CLAIRE’S STORY
About Marie-Claire
At seventeen, an NF2 brain tumour and progressive deafness rewrote Marie-Claire’s life. Over the years that followed, she navigated undiagnosed Bipolar Disorder, IVF loss, motherhood, and complex postpartum psychiatric crises.
Supported by her husband, she transformed adversity into a battle cry: Mais quelle vie! Today, as a Master of Social Work candidate, author, and “expert by experience,” Marie-Claire is reclaiming her story and using it to challenge perceptions, open conversations, and bring light to the experiences that too often remain invisible.
ADVOCACY & MISSION
Changing Perspectives
As a Master of Social Work candidate with 26 years of lived experience, Marie-Claire is committed to challenging institutional barriers and changing how systems understand the “invisible” among us.
Through open dialogue, shared insight, and advocacy, she brings an “expert by experience” perspective that shifts the focus from viewing individuals as “case files” to recognizing them as active partners in their own healing.
Lived Insight,
Real Impact.
Born from a Mais Quelle Vie curiosity, this is where bold truth meets human connection. A home for the reflections of a social work student and the pages of a journey worth sharing.
THE MEMOIR
The Year My Head Exploded
At seventeen, Marie-Claire’s life changed with a diagnosis of Neurofibromatosis Type 2 and the gradual loss of her hearing. For more than two decades, she navigated the silence, invisible struggles, and systems that too often failed to see the person behind the patient.
Witty, raw, and deeply moving, The Year My Head Exploded is not a story of tragedy, but of survival, reclamation, and finding the courage to become visible again.
A memoir by Marie-Claire McKelvey
“It is the sound of a life well lived, a story well told, and a future that, for the first time, I can finally hear loud and clear.”
— MARIE-CLAIRE MCKELVEY, THE YEAR MY HEAD EXPLODED
LET’S CONNECT
Start a Conversation
Whether you want to collaborate on grassroots disability advocacy, discuss the “expert by experience” perspective, or simply share a mutual “Pffft” at rigid bureaucratic systems, Marie-Claire welcomes the conversation.
Let’s exchange stories, share unique insights, and bring warm light to the quiet spaces together.
FROM THE BLOG
Stories of Mais Quelle Vie
Personal reflections on disability, mental health, identity, accessibility, and the unexpected moments that shape a life.
