Shore Local Talent: Gail Desberg
An incredible true story about her family’s journey through a catastrophic injury
By Ryan Gerace
Gail Desberg, a local Linwood writer, has just released a biographical novel called Jumping the Curb: One Family’s Journey Through a Catastrophic Injury. The book focuses on her family and the unfortunate accident that her adventurous husband, Alex Kiejdan, had over 20 years ago that left him to be a quadriplegic. Her deeply moving tale delves into how her family was able go forward and thrive after such a life altering event.
Gail Desberg and her husband Alex went to the beach one day back in the summer of 1996. Alex Keijdan decides to go body surfing in the Atlantic Ocean and soon after, an accident happened in the water which left Alex paralyzed. They had two very young kids at the time, one was three and the other was one and a half. All of the sudden Gail was thrown into an unfamiliar world.
“With a flip of the switch, nothing was the same” explained Desberg, “I thought how do we as a family survive this?”
With two young kids and a now quadriplegic husband, Gail had an enormous weight on her shoulders. Doctors’ visits, family politics, and nightmare insurance battles are some of the issues that Gail focuses on in her new book.
“In the beginning, it felt like the injury was running us as a family” explained Desberg.
The book reminds its readers that life is full of uncertainty and that tomorrow could bring anything your way, either good or bad. Gail has gone on two raise two amazing kids while taking care of her husband, Alex, who is still as free-spirited and lively as ever, after all that has happened to him and his family. He has gone on to be an amazing father in his own right and is beloved by everyone who meets him.
“My favorite things about him (Alex) is his sense of humor, resilience, and ability to bounce back” Desberg described, “He is an amazing father.”
Laughter is one of the things that really got Alex and his family thru all the hardships of the last 20 years. Gail believes that whatever you may be going thru, laughter is often the best medicine. On top of that, she said that her two kids were the oxygen she needed to keep going forward.
Gail has been a writer for many years and would write down bits and pieces of what she was going thru as a wife and mother once her kids started getting older. Once her two kids were in high school, she more frequently started to write about the whole experience of her family. When she recently decided to create and publish Jumping the Curb, she used the writing pieces that she wrote and compiled over a 10-year span and was able to publish the book in December 2018.
“I want the readers to know that you can survive tragedy, it’s not the end of you” continued Desberg, “you may think it’s the end but, it’s not.”
Jumping the Curb by Gail Desberg Kiejdan is available on amazon.com and at your local library. Be sure to pick up a copy of this incredible book.
Ryan Gerace is a recent graduate from La Salle University with a Master’s in Strategic Communication. Born and raised in Linwood, NJ. He enjoys cooking, baking, and community events.
