Product Description

Julia Fox Garrison refused to listen to the professionals she called Dr. Jerk and Dr. Panic, who—after she suffered a massive, debilitating stroke at age thirty-seven—told her she'd probably die, or to Nurse Doom, who ignored her emergency call button. Instead she heeded the advice of kind, gifted Dr. Neuro, who promised her he would "treat your mind as well as your body." Julia figured if she could somehow manage to get herself into a wheelchair, at least she'd always find parking. But after many, many months of hospitalization and rehab—with the help of family, friends, and her own indomitable spirit—Julia not only got into a wheelchair, but she got back out.

Don't Leave Me This Way is the funny, inspiring, profoundly moving true story of a woman's fight for her life and dignity—and her determined quest to awaken an entrenched, unfeeling medical community to the fact that there's always a human being inside every patient.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #368041 in Books
• Published on: 2006-06-01
• Released on: 2006-06-13
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 352 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Garrison, a 37-year-old Boston-area woman with a great husband and a fine three-year old boy, was busy at work when she suddenly felt "a throbbing pain in the right side of her head... a volcano erupting inside her skull." The next thing she knew, her family was gathered around her hospital bed, and she couldn't feel the whole left side of her body. She'd had a massive brain hemorrhage and had only survived thanks to some very risky surgery. Doctors were divided about why she'd had this stroke; indeed, Garrison spent the next weeks and months fending off a dire diagnosis, vasculitis, from the pseudonymous "Dr. Jerk." Most of the professionals she dealt with were negative, wanting her to accept that she'd never walk again or have a full, satisfying life. But Garrison, with the help of her supportive husband, brothers, parents, friends and a few gifted therapists and doctors, managed an extraordinary recovery. By book's end, she is walking (albeit with difficulties), actively parenting again, trying to sue the makers of the cold syrup that triggered her stroke and giving motivational talks to doctors' groups. Her humorous, tear-jerking, struggle-to-recover-against-all-odds story is a lesson in finding silver linings. (June 13)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
At 37, Garrison, then the mother of a three-year-old boy, suffered a massive cerebral hemorrhage that left her with a physically devastated body and more spiritual resolve than she'd ever had in her life. Armed with a sense of humor that has a real edge to it, she overcame obstacles that would have killed lesser spirits. From the outset, she also knew much more about what it takes to recover than her attending medical professionals, whom she dubs with such tags as Dr. Jerk, Dr. Bleak, and Nurse Doom--monikers that seem deserved for such behaviors as labeling her "in denial" because she refused to accept tacitly the prognostication of total paralysis for the rest of her life. Not medical care's prettiest face, to be sure. Unsatisfied by Dr. Jerk's diagnosis, which would have required a lifetime of chemotherapy, Garrison sought a second opinion. What she got, after the most superficial review of her case, was rubber stamping. But eventually she walked again. Inspirational is too weak a word to describe Garrison's memoir. Donna Chavez
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
"Readers can bring this book to the beach and laugh out loud...There are also moments showing Garrison's incredible sensitivity." (Chicago Sun-Times )

"Inspiring...A moving story that pulls readers through her most humbling and most triumphant moments." (Boston Magazine )

"Wickedly humorous, brutally honest." (Chicago Tribune )

" Garrison can write. She is sharp, terse, tough and wry, especially wry." (Detroit Free Press )

"Fierce optimism and even fiercer wit.(A) unique tone and utterly un-maudlin appeal." (Elle )

"The inspiring story of a feisty woman who stands up, literally and figuratively, and fights for her rights." (Kirkus Reviews )

"Worth reading, every page of it." (Philadelphia Inquirer )

"Her humorous, tear-jerking, struggle-to-recover-against-all-odds story is a lesson in finding silver linings." (Publishers Weekly )

"Inspirational is too weak a word to describe Garrison's memoir." (Booklist )

"Garrison is exceptional because of her response to her experiences, not because of them." (BookPage )

"A stroke (literally) of luck helped define the essence of her life. Her inspirational story can help us find ours." (Mehmet Oz MD, author of YOU, THE OWNER'S MANUAL Mehmet Oz, MD, author of YOU, THE OWNER'S MANUAL )

"This book changed the way I practice medicine." (Gary Sobelson, MD, President, New Hampshire Medical Society )

"Julia Fox Garrison's story isn't just about her own recovery, it's about the best in all of us." (Carol Kauffman, Ph.D. Professor, Harvard Medical School )

"She has raised the bar on honesty and irreverence. to the level of sacred." (Brenda Michaels and Rob Spears, hosts of Conscious Talk Radio )

Customer Reviews

"She's lost a lot of real estate."
Julia Fox Garrison is a successful working mother of a three-year-old son, Rory, and the wife of a devoted husband named Jim. She is loved and admired by her many friends and coworkers, and enjoys a close relationship with her mother, father, and eight brothers. Her life couldn't be more satisfying. However, an unexpected curve ball is thrown her way when, on July 17, 1997, she is felled by a sudden stroke.

Julia is rushed into emergency surgery to stop the bleeding in her brain, but although she survives the operation, she is left with complete paralysis on her left side. Fortunately, she is able to think and communicate, even though her ability to move and function has been severely curtailed. The doctors are unsure what caused the stroke and they recommend a variety of treatments, including chemotherapy for a condition called vasculitis.

"Don't Leave Me This Way" is Garrison's poignant, uncompromisingly honest, and darkly humorous account of what happened to her and how she handled it. Her short, breezy chapters have droll titles such as "Homage to Your Hemorrhage," and, for some reason, she avoids using the word "I" until the final section of the book. However, her unconventional writing style works; the reader is given a front row seat as Julia surmounts one obstacle after another, with many bumps and bruises along the way.

From the beginning, she refuses to take her doctors' statements at face value, especially when she is convinced that they are only guessing. In fact, she decides that in spite of the bleak prognosis, she is going to get back on her feet. She rejects the opinion of her doctors and nurses that she is "in denial" and is too "impulsive." Julia constantly makes sarcastic jokes and gives irreverent and unflattering nicknames to her least favorite health care professionals: Dr. Jerk, Dr. Panic, Dr. Bleak, and Nurse Doom, among others. One of the few physicians whom she admires she dubs Dr. Neuro. At least he treats her like an intelligent adult, not an obstreperous and dense four-year-old.

Julia must learn to deal not only with doctors, but also with an assortment of therapists who assist her in regaining movement and balance. However, her recovery is slow, uneven, and painful, and falling is an everyday occurrence. She must rely on her beleaguered husband, friends, and relatives to take care of Rory, and she wonders when she will be able to walk, drive, or work again.

"Don't Leave Me This Way" is an object lesson for anyone who takes his health for granted. What happened to Julia can happen to anyone. What makes the author unique is her determination and defiance in the face of overwhelming odds, as well as her ability to make jokes when there is every reason to sink into depression. This book is an enlightening, inspiring, and moving account of a courageous woman's struggle to regain her independence. Her final words in the book are: "Thanks for all my blessings. I love life." Nobody could have said it better.

Epiphanies on every page
This is a stunningly important book which should be required reading for all medical and nursing students, and all others who are concerned with the acute care and rehabilitation of stroke patients, whether they are part of the professional therapeutic team, family or friends. This book is destined to become a classic in the field. It will also be invaluable to patients and families who are facing daunting challenges. With humor and the wisdom of experience it is a guide to overcoming the often overly pessimistic predictions of many care givers. Ms. Garrison's book is well-written, indeed often funny. Beware... if you pick it up, you may be glued to your seat for hours.

Simply Amazing!
Only after reading this book could I ever possibly know what my mother is going through after her stroke in 2005. Julia made me laugh and cry. This book, and the honesty it holds, cut right to (and through) the heart. I don't even know what else to say - except perhaps - thank you JFG!!!