Slow Dancing with a Stranger

by Meryl Comer

  —FLORENCE HASELTINE,

  Emerita Scientist NIH and Founder of the Society for Women’s Health Research

  “Turning tragedy into art and productive work is a hallmark of the great human spirit as it continually turns from the past to give back to the future. Meryl has done this in a very emotional, engaging and thoughtful manner. The book should be read by all, but especially those with Alzheimer’s disease in their lives.”

  —HOWARD FILLIT, M.D.,

  Executive Director and Chief Science Officer, The Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation

  “Slow Dancing with a Stranger is an unsparing and moving account of the symptoms of early Alzheimer’s disease and at the same time a call to arms, a memoir, and an accurate clinical description, deserving a place in the clinical literature on Alzheimer’s disease. The author’s account will help open readers’ minds to the need for early diagnosis of this devastating global illness.”

  —MARIA ISAAC, M.D., PH.D.,

  Psychiatrist, Senior Scientific Officer, European Medicines Agency

  “Slow Dancing with a Stranger is a gripping account of the real world issues that the loved ones of Alzheimer’s disease families will face and how the community-wide networks of service needed to help any of us cope with this awful disease are woefully inadequate. This a MUST-read for students, service providers, support groups, clergy and policy makers—a primer in why their best intentions too often fail.”

  —LARRY MINNIX,

  President and CEO of LeadingAge

  “Slow Dancing with a Stranger relates in very human terms the essence of palliative care. Not only did the author care for her husband with unconditional love, but optimized whatever physical and mental capacities were left to preserve his dignity. Readers will be inspired to want to help both victims and caregivers.”

  —ELIZABETH J. MCCORMACK,

  Chairman, Partnership for Palliative Care

  “Meryl Comer has courageously penned a heartbreaking open letter from the front lines of caring for a loved one. In a style riveting, candid, powerful, and intimate, Meryl reminds us of the quiet daily heroism of caregivers—and why we must do more to support them.”

  STACY PAGOS HALLER,

  President and Chief Executive Officer, BrightFocus Foundation

  “Meryl Comer has written an amazingly touching, brave, and personal account of her husband’s losing battle with Alzheimer’s. Her style of advocacy speaks to the power of ‘flipping the pain’ and deploying the latest digital technologies in fighting an incurable disease.”

  BARRY LIBERT,

  CEO OpenMatters Strategic Advisor, Angel Investor

  Copyright

  SLOW DANCING WITH A STRANGER: LOST AND FOUND IN THE AGE OF ALZHEIMER’S. Copyright © 2014 by Meryl Comer. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

  HarperCollins website: http://www.harpercollins.com

  HarperCollins®, ®, and HarperOne™ are trademarks of HarperCollins Publishers.

  FIRST EDITION

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.

  ISBN 978–0–06–213082–2

  EPub Edition July 2014 ISBN 9780062130839

  1415161718RRD(H)10987654321

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