Meryl Comer’s Book Signing at the New York Public Library

By Max Wallack

Puzzles to Remember

 

Last night, I finally had the honor to meet Meryl Comer, someone I have looked up to for some time. Ms. Comer invited me to participate in an event at the New York Public Library, where she gave a presentation about Alzheimer’s Disease, her efforts, and her book, Slow Dancing With a Stranger.

Meryl Comer, President of the Geoffrey Beene Alzheimer’s Initiative, is an Emmy award-winning broadcast journalist and a leading Alzheimer’s advocate.  She is also a caregiver for over 20 years to her husband, a physician with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease

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Ms Comer’s book is unique in its unflinching honesty.  She doesn’t hesitate to talk about the pain of watching a loved one sink into the depths of this disease.  She doesn’t gloss over the indignities that late-stage Alzheimer’s brings.  Her book is very important for the millions of caregivers who share similar experiences and yet think they are alone.  All profits from her book are donated for Alzheimer’s research.

Ms. Comer asked me to speak briefly to the younger members of the audience, sharing some of my own story as a young caregiver and my research interests.

I also had the opportunity to meet Amber Roniger, Dr. Sam Gandy, from Mt. Sinai Hospital, Dr. Richard S. Isaacson, from Weill Cornell Medical Center, and Max Lugavere, filmmaker.

It was a very worthwhile trip.

Max Wallack is a student at Boston University and a Research Intern in the Molecular Psychiatry and Aging Laboratory in the Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics at

Boston University School of Medicine.  His great grandmother, Gertrude, suffered from Alzheimer's disease. Max is the founder of  PUZZLES TO REMEMBER. PTR is a project that provides puzzles to nursing homes and veterans institutions that care for Alzheimer's and dementia patients.