in The New York Times. But starting in 1993, when
she was diagnosed with MS, Berman began a new
lifestyle of keeping secrets.
“I lived in constant fear of my clients and colleagues
discovering that I had MS,” says Berman. “I thought,
‘I’m dead. My career is over if they find out.’ I didn’t
want people to think, ‘She’s really good, even though
she has MS.’ I didn’t want it to be part of my identity.”
But as Berman’s MS worsened, it became harder to
shield that part of her life. “I felt beyond vulnerable.
I wasn’t envisioning any future for myself.”
In the summer of 2012, Berman began walking with
a cane.“People would ask me, ‘What’s wrong with
you?’ and at first I would say, ‘Oh, I hurt my knee.’
Then finally I said to myself, ‘I’m not lying anymore.’
I started to tell people, ‘I have MS,’” she says. “I
started telling more and more people the truth.”
Though Berman left her high-powered job and
New York City for a quieter life in Madison, Conn.,
she is now pursuing her passion for photography.
Know your rights
For others, disclosing in the workplace is less
dramatic but still requires finesse. The Americans
with Disabilities Act (ADA), a federal law passed
in 1990 and amended four years ago, provides
some protections for those with MS who work for
companies with 15 or more employees. But Linda
Carter Batiste, a lawyer with the Job Accommodation
Network (JAN), an agency supported by the
U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability
Employment Policy, cautions that the law is
