Rowing Without Oars Hardback - 2006

de Lindquist, Ulla-Carin; Myers, Margaret

In the tradition of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, the extraordinary account of a woman's illness and her struggle to come to terms with death

Ulla-Carin Lindquist was happily married with four adoring children and a successful career as a newscaster. All of that changed when, as her fiftieth birthday drew near, she began to notice small failures of strength and strange numbing sensations in her hands and arms. As she set out to understand her illness, she began a journal recounting her failing health. Soon the diagnosis became terribly clear: she was suffering from ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease.

In the face of this incurable, degenerative disease, Ulla continued to chronicle her life not only for her children's sake but also to cope with her impending death. From the moments we ordinarily take for granted-phone calls with her daughters, afternoons spent with her husband and sons-through the extraordinarily painful and pervasive decline of her abilities, Ulla's unflinching account reminds us of how precious life really is. Her courage through her final days is evident in her clear and lucid prose. As powerful and moving as books like Autobiography of a Face and Tuesdays with Morrie, Rowing without Oars is an unforgettable work that explores the terror, embarrassment, and pain of illness as well as the universal themes of life, death, love, and the enduring importance of family.

"I have never read anything like it-its quietness, its courage, its lucidity; I found it searing, beautiful, terrifying, and at the same time, affirming-and reassuring."
-Dr. Oliver Sacks, author of Awakenings