Lake Bell Opens Up About Daughter’s Epilepsy and Neurodivergent Parenting on ‘After Bedtime’

Motherhood comes with sleepless nights, endless to-do lists, and a constant worry that you’re not doing enough. But for some parents, the journey also includes navigating severe medical conditions and the terrifying unknowns that come with them. On After Bedtime with Big Little Feelings, actress and director Lake Bell shared her experience raising neurodiverse children, particularly her daughter Nova’s epilepsy journey. The conversation with hosts Kristin Gallant and Deena Margolin revealed the unseen emotional labor that medical motherhood requires—and how families find resilience through uncertainty.

Bell, author of the children’s books All About Brains, which was inspired by Nova’s epilepsy and her own dyslexia, spoke about reframing neurodiversity not as a limitation but as a superpower. And while the book has brought hope and representation to countless families, the conversation with Gallant and Margolin pulled back the curtain on what it takes emotionally to raise children through medical crises.

Living through the unknown

Nova’s seizures began when she was just over a year old. “She started having that at about one, one and a half years old,” Bell explains. “And they were really dramatic, terrifying. You know, grand mal seizures, falling over unconscious, lasting up to anywhere from 45 seconds to a minute. And, you know, that feels like an eternity.”

Doctors initially assured her that the seizures would likely fade with age. Still, when Nova experienced a grand mal seizure without a fever at five years old, the diagnosis shifted to epilepsy. For context, when a fever doesn’t accompany a grand mal seizure, it’s an indicator of an underlying issue—and these issues can range from a brain injury or a stroke to meningitis and an underlying genetic condition.

Suddenly, the Bell family found themselves navigating an illness with no clear roadmap.

The uncertainty of when another seizure would strike took a toll not just on Nova, but on the entire household. “The seizure itself isn’t the thing that hurts her, but the ambiguity of when it’s coming and the anxiety that that incurs is just kind of brain numbing, for a kid and for the parents,” she says.

The mental toll of medical motherhood

The discussion moves beyond Nova’s health into how these crises impacted Bell’s own mental health. “My mental health was straining during that time,” she admits. “You can’t decode behemoth life-altering things in a relationship without that.”

She credits therapy and strong co-parenting with her ex-husband Scott as lifelines during those years. “Scott, my ex-husband, and I have worked so hard, and we’ve been in such trenches together, and he is such a great teammate,” Bell says. “Even in divorce, we are aligned with our children and their needs, and we work hard at that.”

Parenting through medical emergencies is not just about managing doctors and medications. It’s about the invisible weight parents carry—the sleepless nights, the constant hypervigilance, and the emotional gymnastics required to balance fear with hope.

Finding resilience

Today, Nova is three years seizure-free, something Bell celebrates with cautious optimism. “We took her to Boba Time to celebrate, obviously,” she says. “And we got boba and celebrated that she doesn’t have seizures right now because we never say ever again. That’s not what you say.”

Nova also lives with ADHD, dyslexia, and anxiety—but Lake Bell focuses on resilience rather than limitation. “If you were gonna get zapped 11 to 16 times a day today and you don’t know when, you’d be anticipating,” she says, acknowledging that anxiety is a natural consequence of such an unpredictable condition.

Through it all, Bell returns to the importance of language, representation, and reframing difference as power. Her book All About Brains is a manifesto for kids who feel “other” and for parents who are navigating the unseen battles that come with raising neurodiverse children.

A quiet but powerful reminder of the power of motherhood

The most complex parts of motherhood often happen behind closed doors. While others might see an incredible success in balancing career and family, what’s unseen are the nights spent logging seizures, the anxiety of waiting for the next episode, and the therapy sessions needed to keep going.

As Bell reflects on her family’s journey, she turns the narrative away from fear and toward strength. It’s not just about surviving medical crises—it’s about raising children to see themselves as whole, unique, and capable, no matter what challenges come their way.

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