About the Book

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.

Critical Praise

“Fierce optimism and even fiercer wit…(A) unique tone and utterly un-maudlin appeal.” — Elle

“ Garrison can write. She is sharp, terse, tough and wry, especially wry.” — Detroit Free Press

“Worth reading, every page of it.” — Philadelphia Inquirer

“Garrison is exceptional because of her response to her experiences, not because of them.” — BookPage

“Inspiring...A moving story that pulls readers through her most humbling and most triumphant moments.” — Boston Magazine

“Readers can bring this book to the beach and laugh out loud...There are also moments showing Garrison’s incredible sensitivity.” — Chicago Sun-Times

“The inspiring story of a feisty woman who stands up, literally and figuratively, and fights for her rights.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Her humorous, tear-jerking, struggle-to-recover-against-all-odds story is a lesson in finding silver linings.” — Publishers Weekly

“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

“Wickedly humorous, brutally honest.” — Chicago Tribune

“Inspirational is too weak a word to describe Garrison’s memoir.” — Booklist

Product Details

• ISBN: 9780061120633
• ISBN 10: 0061120634
• Imprint: Harper Perennial
• On Sale: 05/29/2007
• Trimsize: 5.310 in (w) x 8.000 in (h) x 0.790 in (d)
• Pages: 352
• List Price: $17.99
• BISAC1 : HEALTH & FITNESS / Diseases / General
• BISAC2 : HUMOR / Topic / Marriage & Family
• BISAC3 : BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / General
• BISAC4 : BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Medical
• BISAC5 : BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / People with Disabilities