Life in the Balance is the story of Thomas Graboys descent into Parkinson's and progressive dementia. It's brutal but interesting. As he keeps reminding the reader and himself, there is no happy ending here.

Graboys was a nationally renowned cardiologist, part of the Harvard Faculty of Medicine, active in several peace movements, and a top amateur athlete in his age group when he received the news that he had an aggresive form of Parkinson's that would take away his mind and then his body. His book describes the process of loss. It's particularly affecting because he had a bit more to lose than most of us--a top-level career, a new wife, exceptional physical prowess, and a keen mind that he pretty much took for granted.

It was interesting to hear him talk about how he went into as much denial of his condition (and kept working when he shouldn't have) as many of his patients did when he gave them the news about what they would have to do to stay alive. And how do you manage a relationship, a fairly new one, when you are losing capacity each day? Ultimately, he fights to find a way to lead a life that has meaning and pleasure up till that point when he can feel it no more.