Joel Havemann, an editor at the Washington bureau of the Los Angeles Times, has now been living with Parkinson's disease for over a decade, but spent years denying his illness. This is a moving account of his struggle with the physical symptoms and psychological challenges, and also includes medical information.

I'm flat on my back on a couch that's too short in a windowless room in the bureau. I can't even sit at a computer, much less make a keyboard work. My arms and legs are shaking uncontrollably. Although I am only 53 years old, I have already been struggling with Parkinson's disease for seven years. And right now the disease is winning." So begins Joel Havemann's account of the insidious disease that is Parkinson's. Into his own story, Havemann weaves accessible explanations of how Parkinson's disrupts the brain's circuitry, how symptoms are managed through drugs and surgery, and how people cope with the disease's psychological challenges. This new paperback edition features an updated discussion of the latest treatment options as well as recent developments in the search for a cure.