Four Fingers and Thirteen Toes

About the Book

An essential read that will make you laugh and cry, be angry and proud with every turn of the page. Rosaleen (Rosie) overcame horrendous injuries to her physical being as a result of her mother being prescribed Thalidomide during pregnancy. The drug left Rosie with four fingers, two sprouting from each shoulder and thirteen toes on legs which came to an abrupt end above the knee. This fascinating and beautifully written true story, charts Rosie‘s birth into an Irish immigrant family, and leads the reader through every facet of her inspirational life. It includes her early years filled with long periods of hospitalisation and treatment; her education, employment and relationships; and onto true fulfilment of a lifetime’s desire to be independent. Illustrated throughout, this remarkable story of a strong willed daughter, wife, mother and respected businesswoman, also details the factual and historical journey of Thalidomide from Nazi Germany to now. This so-called “wonder drug” of the 1960s, thought to be banished after the tragedy unfolded, is still being used in the treatment of various conditions and illnesses. Rosie examines why pharmaceutical companies are eager for it to be re-licensed and includes her honest perspective of the drug. ******************** “This deeply moving book is about triumph over devastatingly severe disability. I hold Rosie in high admiration and hope her inspiring story will be very widely read.” The Rt. Hon. Lord Morris of Manchester AO QSO (first Cabinet Minister for Disabled People) ”Before you know it you are drawn into a story that makes you proud to be a disabled person.” Disability Now magazine

About the Author

Rosaleen (Rosie) is the only Thalidomide Impaired person to have written her autobiography, interspersed with a definitive factual history of the drug Thalidomide from its early years of manufacture in Nazi Germany, to now. Rosaleen Moriarty-Simmonds was born in 1960, and describes herself as a disabled person whose impairment, four limbed phocomelia, was caused by the drug Thalidomide. Having graduated with an Honours Degree in Psychology from Cardiff University in 1985, Rosie became a Civil Servant until she left in 1993. In 1995, Rosie formed the RMS Disability Issues Consultancy and has worked with the BBC and ITV on various projects covering human interest and disability politics. Rosie is committed to her voluntary work with many disability organisations and is happily married with one adored son. She has also contributed to a number of books, dealing with the experiences of being a disabled person on both a professional and domestic level. Of her autobiography, Rosie says that the completion of her story was “A long held promise to my late mother, to commit my story to paper. As the generation of so-called Thalidomide children born in the 1960’s are now in middle age, it is important that the story of Thalidomide, and the lessons learnt from the tragedy, are never forgotten.” As well as being an Author, Rosie is a Media Presenter, an Actor, an Artist and an Inspirational Speaker. For more information log onto: - www.rms-consultancy.co.uk