Geriatric Junkie

About the Book

An autobiographical account of a once lively, gregarious woman's fatal encounter with a mystery disease, thought to be allied to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease), which inexorably robs her of the ability to speak, to breathe, to keep her balance, to make her body do as she wishes, even to use her eyes for more than a few minutes at a time. Enlisting the medical community's help in her battle to stave off speechlessness, she soon finds herself fighting two battles. This book describes in detail one of old age's ultimate exercises in solitary confinement.

About the Author

Ruth Ann Lief taught English at various colleges—Hunter, Brooklyn, Queens, and Lehman—within the City University of New York and returned to music to perform as soloist and chamber musician until her disease interfered with her playing.

She had published a number of poems and short stories and one critical book (HOMAGE TO OCEANIA: THE PROPHETIC VISION OF GEORGE ORWELL, Ohio State Press, 1969) before returning to music.

She lives in a big house in Yonkers with her husband. They are regularly visited by a slew of “descendants,” including children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.