Singer Mattie Mills grew up in Yuma, Arizona. After high school, she toured with Up With People, taking her abroad to Spain, England, and the former Yugoslavia. As a voice-over artist, she's worked for Disney On Ice and the Barnum and Bailey Circus, for which she sang and was the voice of the invisible ring mistress. After moving to San Diego, she spent over two decades with the Heroes, again touring the world.
Mills and her friend Eve Selis have written a book, Forty Schmorty: Life Keeps Happening. “During the process of writing the book,” says Selis, “Mattie was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 45, and I became pregnant at age 43.
“Mattie and I helped each other get through this journey,” says Selis. “She went through her chemotherapy with courage and the knowledge that she was going to kick cancer’s ass, not the other way around. I felt powerless over the disease but knew our friendship would help us conquer anything.” Selis’s sister is a breast cancer survivor.
“As for my pregnancy, our friendship provided support…Mattie had two children in her 40s and had her fourth child at age 45. She was a great inspiration and help to me because it had been so long since my first pregnancy…my daughter is 13 years old.”
In addition to their book, the duo blogs about their experiences at fortyschmorty.com, which offers BBQ aprons, tote bags, and string thongs, all emblazoned with the Forty Schmorty logo. Selis recommends the latter as a gift for men, to purchase for their forty-something wives.
“Most males have been curious and said that they’d love to read our book, just to get a better idea of what’s inside a women’s mind. It definitely helps answer questions men have when their wives are going through difficult or challenging times.”