Francine Falk-Allen
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Francine Falk-Allen grew up and resides in northern California. She had polio in 1951, and has lived her life as a disabled person making an effort to be a “normie.”
Falk-Allen was originally an art major and later completed her BA in Managerial Accounting, then ran her own business for thirty years. She has always sought creative outlets, such as painting, singing, and writing; has published three books, a song, and many essays and articles in national journals. She began doing extensive family genealogy research in 1999, and has traced both her maternal and paternal ancestors back to the 1600’s. Her two books, Not a Poster Child: Living Well with a Disability—A Memoir and No Spring Chicken: Stories and Advice from a Wild Handicapper on Aging, and Disability, have received the Kirkus star for excellence and won other awards. Her third book is A Wolff in the Family, a riveting early twentieth century saga set in the western United States and based on scandalous family history. Francine facilitates a polio survivors’ group as well as a writing group and volunteers on her town’s Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Committee. She loves the outdoors, swimming, gardening, movies, well-written literature, being with friends and sharing British tea and a little champagne now and then. She resides in San Rafael, California, with her husband, Richard Falk, and their young and feisty Siberian cat, Cleo.
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A Wolff in the Family - A Novel
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Historical Fiction
Frank and Naomi Wolff were happily married in 1908. She was a Kansas farmgirl; he was a railroad engineer. She was excited to embark upon her role as wife and mother with a hardworking man, and together they made a life in thriving Ogden, Utah. Despite Frank’s absence for his job riding the rails, which left pretty Naomi to raise their children virtually alone, their romantic relationship begat fourteen offspring in eighteen years. Like other lower-middle-class women, Naomi’s life was consumed with caring for her brood, who became helpers as soon as they could fold a diaper—and who were required to attend the school of hard knocks as much as public schools. Affection and struggle endured within the crowded family. Despite occasional family train trips across the plains, the marriage ultimately faced exceptional challenges, just before the Depression era began. What scandals led Frank Wolff to abandon his younger children at an orphanage far from home? And why did his elder children keep this a secret for eighty years? Based on true family history, A Wolff in the Family is a gripping saga permeated with misogyny, prejudice, and passion . . .for fans of Kristin Hannah’s The Four Winds. 
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Not a Poster Child: Liviing Well with a Disability: A Memoir
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Memoir
Polio is back in the news. Almost forgotten for decades in the US, it has been brought back into the spotlight by the anti-vaxxer movement – but for millions around the world, especially those who have residual or late effects of polio, this virus has never been old news. Francine Falk-Allen was only three years old when she contracted polio and temporarily lost the ability to stand and walk. Here, in lucid, dryly humorous prose, she tells the story of how a toddler learned grown-up lessons too soon, a schoolgirl tried her best to be a “normie” on into young adulthood—and explores how her disability has affected the choices she’s made as an adult regarding living a fulfilling (and amusing) life in every area. A clear-eyed examination of living with a handicap, Not a Poster Child is one woman’s story of finding her way to a balanced life – one with a little cheekiness and a lot of joy. 
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No Spring Chicken: Stories and Advice from a Wild Handicapper on Aging, and Disability
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Self-Help/Travel
As we age, we all begin to have physical difficulties to contend with. In No Spring Chicken, Francine Falk-Allen—a polio survivor who knows a thing or two about living with a disability—offers her own take on how to navigate the complications aging brings with equanimity (and a sense of humor). Part I is a jaunt through accessible travel pleasures and pitfalls; Part II addresses the adaptations caregivers can make for a mutually rewarding relationship with their loved ones, plus advice for physically challenged and aging persons themselves regarding exercise, diet, pain management, mobility, care tips and more; and Part III discusses the rewards of engaging with support groups sharing similar issues, with a little activism and advocacy for good measure. Accessible and wryly funny, No Spring Chicken is a fun and informative guide to living your best and longest life―whatever your physical challenges, and whatever your age. 
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