Biography/Autobiography
Paperback
ISBN: 0316076171
$8.99/U.S.
320 pages
8.2 x 5.5 x 1 inches
Little, Brown Books
for Young Readers

Paperback for Teen Readers

The dramatic true account of one family's struggle with a tormenting medical mystery.

Cory Friedman woke up one morning when he was five years old with the uncontrollable urge to twitch his neck. From that day forward his life became a hell of irrepressible tics and involuntary utterances, and Cory embarked on an excruciating journey from specialist to specialist to discover the cause of his disease. Soon it became unclear what tics were symptoms of his disease and what were side effects of the countless combinations of drugs. The only certainty is that it kept getting worse. Simply put: Cory Friedman's life was a living hell.

Biography/Autobiography
Paperback
ISBN: 0316076171
$8.99/U.S.
320 pages
8.2 x 5.5 x 1 inches
Little, Brown Books
for Young Readers

A Father's Prologue

THE EVENTS RECOUNTED HERE took place over what seemed like—to those of us who lived it—an endless thirteen-year period covering Cory's life from age five to age seventeen. We decided, with Cory's blessing, to tell his story in his own voice, because this conveys most powerfully what it was like for Cory to live through these experiences.

Some names and other identifying details of friends, doctors, and medical institutions have been changed.

The extremely unusual events portrayed in this story have been reconstructed from Cory's own accounts, from detailed medical diaries that were kept by his mother throughout the period, and from direct family observations. Cory confirms that this narrative presents an accurate portrait of his life story.

Over the four years it took to write this book, I was continuously tormented by the decision of whether or not to make the most intimate details of Cory's life public. Finally, I went to Cory for the guidance I needed, and he resolved the issue in a single sentence, without hesitation:

"If it will help other people like me, yes."

—Hal Friedman

Copyright © 2010 by James Patterson