Phyllis was a vital, single woman, a photographer and writer, who was enjoying life in the city when she was suddenly stricken by Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD), a disease rarer than a lightning strike that spreads, incredibly, via a non-living molecule called a prion. Terrified to realize she couldn't perform her duties at work, Phyllis very soon couldn't even find her way to her desk or to her apartment from the corner store. Apprised of his sister's diagnosis with this dementing and always fatal illness, her estranged brother, her only living relative, brought her home (against the advice of her doctors) to care for her with his wife. In this memoir, Donald Friedman shares a profoundly affecting family drama with themes of reconciliation and of how, paradoxically, closeness can deepen as words are lost--an inspiring truth to anyone with a friend or family member with dementia.