Reynolds Price

Reynolds Price was a successful writer having authored numerous works of poetry, stage plays and novels. He also held a teaching position at Duke University's English Department for many years. At age fifty-one, Price's life changed forever when he was stricken with a malignant tumor that rested on his spine. The tumor was pencil-thick and almost covered the entire length of his spine. The first symptoms he experienced included an inability to run and difficulty walking in a straight line without wobbling. Even though he knew deep down that there was something very wrong with him, he deluded himself for months with the notion that it would pass and refused to see a doctor for months following s the first signs of trouble. Finally, his symptoms had worsened to a level that they could no longer be ignored.

Price endured years of recovery and adjustment to his...