Colonel Parkinson in Charge: A Wry Reflection on My Incurable Illness

by François Gravel, Shelley Pomerance (Translator)

A writer’s witty and surprisingly optimistic account of learning to live with Parkinson’s disease. 
When he was sixty-five, François Gravel was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, upending the old age he had imagined for himself. As a way of contemplating his new life with a degenerative illness, he turned to what he knew best and loved most: writing. Gravel immersed himself in research on Parkinson’s, exploring its medical history and treatments and paying close attention to the changes he experienced, all in service of learning how to best manage his symptoms throughout the advancement of this incurable disease. 
With a lightness of touch that belies a difficult subject (he imagines Dr. Parkinson as a military man who has set up camp in his brain), Gravel shares what he has learned in a memoir that is at once charming, serious, and moving. He writes, “For a long time, I believed that Parkinson’s was a disease. Now, I realize it’s a philosophy course.” Colonel Parkinson in Charge is, in some ways, the companion text for this course, engaging with and demystifying a daunting subject to help readers better understand life with Parkinson’s disease.

144 pages, Paperback

Published March 7, 2023

About the author

FRANÇOIS GRAVEL studied economics and taught at the Cégep level until 2006. He is the author of over a hundred books for children and adults, many of which have received awards and distinctions. His adult novels include Ostende and Adieu, Betty Crocker, which have both been translated into English. Adieu, Betty Crocker was a competing title in the 2014 edition of Le combat des livres, the French-language equivalent of Canada Reads. He splits his time between Montreal and Île-aux-Grues.

Reviews

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5 - Loved the format of this...not too memoir-ish, but not fully developed essays either. Gravel struck a nice balance between thoughtful reflections and errant musings. The tone was light and witty with a dry humour that added to the difficult realities of illness. The voice of the author was authentic throughout but I did find the translation a bit strange in places.

[Maureen Marovitch · Rating 4 out of 5]

A surprisingly optimistic and witty recounting of living life with Parkinson's Disease. It's a quick read that starts with how he was first diagnosed, how he shared the news with friends, how he's learning to live with the symptoms and overall how the author continues to find joy and positivity in life. Along the way he throws in some history about the disease and other bits of useful information. But what I most got out of his often very funny writing was how to take a harsh diagnosis and find ways to grow and learn through it. Definitely recommend.

[Michael Rieser · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like Gravel's positive attitude, and will certainly share Colonel Parkinson In Charge with anyone who has Parkinson’s. While Gravel’s advice is obviously directed toward people who are under that command, it rang a bell more generally for me, and I would imagine it would for anyone like me who are coming to terms with the idea that we can’t do everything we wish we could. He has a great sense of humor! And Shelley Pomerance's translation was great too.

[Frances · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a light-hearted attempt to deal with a heavy subject but proof that we need to keep our humour even in the hard circumstances of life.