Main 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.

Review quote:

“ Garrison can write. She is sharp, terse, tough and wry, especially wry.”

Review quote:

“A stroke (literally) of luck helped define the essence of her life. Her inspirational story can help us find ours.”

Review quote:

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

Review quote:

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

Review quote:

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

Review quote:

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

Review quote:

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

Review quote:

“Julia Fox Garrison’s story isn’t just about her own recovery, it’s about the best in all of us.”

Review quote:

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

Review quote:

“She has raised the bar on honesty and irreverence… to the level of sacred.”

Review quote:

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

Review quote:

“This book changed the way I practice medicine.”

Review quote:

“Wickedly humorous, brutally honest.”

Review quote:

“Worth reading, every page of it.”