I'm still close with my former long-long-long term boss and his family ~ tonight, I'm going to a reception for [and reading by] his son-in-law, whose book ["The Answer to the Riddle is Me"] has just been published to rave reviews ~ David is married to #1 daughter, Emily [there are 2 more daughters] ~ and is himself the proud daddy of a beautiful 10-month-old daughter ~ tho' I've known David casually [via family functions] for several years, I never knew this story ~ so I'm anxious to get this book and read it ~ here's an announcement from the Book Stall, where tonight's reading will be ~ Sooz

What a story! I'm glad he made it "back" and could write a book about it. I'll look for it.
One burning question I have. Did he eventually marry the woman he was told that the loved? If so, she must have been hugely instrumental in his journey too.

A very interesting review, with snippets from the book. And this about the drug, which may be the cause of many military suicides!

"Among their findings is a 1994 safety review by drugmaker Roche, which addresses suicides in the U.S. armed forces that some associated with Lariam.

The company acknowledged mefloquine could cause depression, which could include thoughts of suicide, but it blamed the actual suicides on "the progressive breakdown of traditional values."


http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2014 ... s-riddle/2

David was interviewed on WTTW [Chicago's PBS station] last night ~ here's a link to a video clip of that interview and an excerpt from the book ~ http://chicagotonight.wttw.com/2014/01/13/answer-riddle-me-memoir-amnesia

Sooz

All of Diana's family has had malaria. I will ask her about the drug.

I'll be curious what Diana has to say ~ in the video clip, David explains the drug was formulated because so many troops in VietNam were exposed to/diagnosed with malaria ~ he also explains the typical symptoms of toxicity ~

Sooz

Last night was a lot of fun ~ there were maybe 30-35 people at the reception ~ including a lot of firm partners I haven't seen/talked to in a few years, so there was lots of hugging and kissing and catching up ~ an additional maybe 15 or so Book Stall regulars showed up for David's reading ~ the excerpts David chose to read were touching, funny, and terrifying, describing his harrowing experience ~ his parents [who were at the reception and reading last night] played an enormous role ~ but, mostly, it was David struggling and fighting for years to reclaim himself ~

There was a q-and-a following the reading ~ an older lady [she was not at the reception so I'm assuming she was a Book Stall regular] asked a few probing questions after saying that she had been in a coma for 6 months as a child and woke up not remembering anything ~ she said she is mostly okay, she has 8 children, 35 grandchildren, and several great-grandchildren ~ she happened to be in front of me in the line to buy the book and was holding 3 copies ~ I said something like "nice of you to gift others with this book" ~ she replied all 3 were for her, she "always buys books in multiples" ~ she didn't explain, and I didn't ask, why ~

As I posted above, I've known David casually for a few years ~ my impression was of a bright, personable, funny guy ~ that impression has not changed, but my respect for him mushroomed last night ~ and I'm anxious to sink into his book ~

Sooz

LOL! She buys one to read, one to keep pristine at home to show off and the last to keep somewhere else in case of a fire. It sounds like she loves her books.

Then again, she could have OCD and has an obsession with the number 3.