The Last Ten Days:Academia, Dementia, and the Choice to Die is a heartrending memoir of love,scholarship, dignity, courage, and the choices one is forced to make when giventhe devastating diagnosis of a terminal illness. 

Spanning sixty years, this extraordinary book recounts thelove story of Martha Risberg Brosio and her husband, Richard Brosio, Ph.D., abrilliant scholar and college professor whose communication skills dazzled allwith whom he came in contact. Teenage sweethearts who went their separate waysafter high school, Martha and Richard reconnected twenty-six years later over afriendly dinner that sparked into passionate love. They married in 1983,enjoying a vibrant life.  

Then tragedy struck. In late 2013, Richard was diagnosedwith Primary Progressive Aphasia, a type of dementia similar to Alzheimer’sthat affects the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain. The disease impactedRichard’s ability to communicate. Eventually, he would lose his verbal andprocessing skills. There was no cure. Determined to have a dignified death atthe time and in the manner of his own choosing, Richard hastened his death twoyears after his diagnosis by voluntarily stopping eating and drinking, seekingonly palliative and hospice care until the end.

Reminiscent of StillAlice, The Notebook, Tuesdays with Morrie, and When Breath Becomes Air, The Last Ten Days grabs the heartstringsand gives a mighty tug.