Best Selling and Award Winning Stroke Survivor Memoir by Julia Fox Garrison

Don't Leave Me This Way

(Or When I Get Back on My Feet You'll Be Sorry)

A Remarkable Story of Hope, Humor & Defying the Odds

By Julia Fox Garrison

One ordinary day changed everything.

At 37, Julia Fox Garrison was balancing a successful corporate career, raising a young family, and living life at full speed when she suffered a massive hemorrhagic stroke that left her completely paralyzed on her left side.
Doctors questioned whether she would ever walk again.

Julia had a different plan.

When Julia first brought her story to market, it sparked a major national publishers’ auction, with many of the biggest houses in the country bidding for the right to share her journey.

Filled with humor, honesty, heartbreak, and hope, Don’t Leave Me This Way (Or When I Get Back on My Feet You’ll Be Sorry) chronicles Julia’s extraordinary journey through recovery, rehabilitation, and rebuilding a life she never expected.

More than a memoir, it’s a powerful reminder that while life can change in an instant, the human spirit is capable of extraordinary resilience.

From the Andover Bookstore - My favorite!

More Than a Story About Survival

Julia doesn't write about what she lost.

She writes about what she discovered.

With warmth, wit, and remarkable candor, she shares the realities of life inside the healthcare system, the importance of hope, the power of humor, and the determination that carried her through challenges that seemed impossible to overcome.

Readers laugh.

They cry.

They cheer.

Most of all, they come away believing that setbacks don’t have to define the rest of their story.

“Her humorous tear-jerking struggle-to-recover-against-all-odds story is a lesson in finding silver linings.” – Publishers Weekly

Why Readers Love This Book

Whether you’re navigating your own health journey, supporting someone you love, working in healthcare, or simply looking for encouragement through life’s unexpected challenges, Julia’s story offers perspective that stays with you long after the final page.

Readers will discover:

200+ 5-Star Reviews on Amazon

Julia is an inspiration, and her book will change your life! You will laugh, you will cry, and you will smile at the end!

This book tells a story from the patients view and is impactful in everyway. She had no healthcare background, was not treated VIP. Everyone can relate to this story, and has become a valuable tool in todays healthcare climate. A must read!

I work in an acute rehab hospital with stroke patients. This is a touching - yet humorous - account of the experiences faced by people after a stroke. I appreciate the author’s candor and spirit to describe the many challenges she faced, which she did with a fierce can-do spirit. I have provided over a dozen copies of this book to my patients as well as to each of my student interns. I consider this a must read for families.

A very fast read filled with humor while simultaneously addressing a horrific medical situation. The author is a strong, intelligent and determined woman and dear friend. Her quest to seek answers to valid medical questions are to be applauded while maintaining such a positive attitude along this difficult journey. Her support from family and friends is to be admired…may they continue to live in the presence of angels ❤️😇❤️

I absolutely found this book moving. I read it about 13 years ago and recently brought it back into my reading. Julia is such a humble amazing person.

I just loved this book! My mother has actually read it twice and for sure will read it many more times! Not kidding either! My brother who had the stroke also read it and liked it very much. The humor Julia has is hilarious! Never thought I would be laughing so much reading a book about strokes! Trust me and buy this book, share it or better yet buy copies for your favorite people! You will want your own copy to re read!!! All I can say you can’t keep Julia down! Don’t even try!!!

Julia's account of her experience brought me to tears through most chapters of the book – if I wasn’t laughing out loud, or both. Having worked with sick people professionally and personally for many, many years, I have to say that it is truly rare and indeed extraordinary to find someone who approached her situation as she did. She has given people the gift of the way she coped heroically with a gravely debilitating stroke which not only speaks to its scientific impact on her miraculous recovery, but moreover, the call of humanity to live for others in order to reach our best selves while enduring deep suffering. I am blown away by her attention to that goal and humbled to improve in my everyday life because of it.

Award Winning & Nationally Recognized

Published by HarperCollins, Julia’s memoir received national attention, sparking a competitive publishing auction among major publishers before its release.

The book has been recognized for its powerful message and impact, including:

Critically Acclaimed

"Her early excursions outside the hospital are nearly disastrous yet truly funny as are her adventures at home with a three-year-old child."

Kirkus Review

"Her humorous, tear-jerking, struggle-to-recover-against-all-odds story is a lesson in finding silver linings".

Publishers Weekly

"Don't Leave Me This Way's unique tone and utterly un-maudlin appeal is perhaps best summed up by its spunky yet spiky subtitle..."

Elle Magazine

"...pulls readers through her most humbling and triumphant moments"

Boston Magazine

"4 stars out of 4"

Detroit Free Press

'Wickedly Humorous, Brutally Honest'

Chicago Tribune

"It's as if your wise-cracking neighbor, the one who can always come up with a biting yet hysterically funny story in any disaster, turned handicap into a stand-up routine. Garrison has an edgy sense of irony that prevents the horrendous events...from becoming too maudlin or depressing. Readers can bring this book to the beach and laugh out loud."

Chicago Sun Times

Advance Praise for Don't Leave Me This Way

"Julia Fox Garrison's story isn't just about her own recovery; it's about the best in all of us. Julia helps us accessour own strengths as we read about hers."

C. Kauffman, PhD.

Professor, Harvard Medical School

Book Club Discussions with Julia

Bring the Story to Life

Reading Don’t Leave Me This Way (Or When I Get Back on My Feet You’ll Be Sorry) often leads to meaningful conversations about resilience, hope, humor, and the patient experience.

Julia is available to join book clubs and reading groups, in person or virtually, to share the story behind the book, answer questions, and connect with readers in a personal and engaging discussion.

Interested in having Julia join your book club? Contact us to schedule a visit.

Order Your Copy Today

Whether you’re searching for hope, looking for a meaningful gift, or wanting to better understand the patient experience, Don’t Leave Me This Way (Or When I Get Back on My Feet You’ll Be Sorry) is a story that will challenge your perspective, lift your spirit, and remind you that even life’s greatest obstacles can become the foundation for something extraordinary.

Available wherever books are sold.