Last Dance at the Savoy: Life, Love and Caring for Someone With Progressive Supranuclear Palsy

I never like to read books, but this is one exception. So well written. Makes you feel like you've been living Kathryn and her husband's life through a very horrific disease, Progressive Supranuclear Palsy. My wife also has this disease and is in the final stages. I can relate so much of what she went through with her husband. And it's fascinating to hear of their jet setting life with all of their travels around the world. I also used to be a big fan of Dark Shadows, a somewhat scary soap opera from back in the late 60's. In her book, she mentions that she was one of the early actors in the show. So cool.If you are a caregiver for someone with PSP, this book is definitely for you!

Kathryn Leigh Scott has written her most personal book so far, and I must say it took me into a world of romance, denial, frustration, compassion, fear, hope, love, pain, and ultimately, acceptance. Ms Scott's writing style perfectly pulled me into her "Last Dance.." and held me captivated until its shattering conclusion. I read the book in less than two days and it has stayed with me ever since. Working in the field of behavioral health, I've treated people diagnosed with neurological diseases (and counseled their care-givers) for years, so I am intimately familiar with the fear, frustration, second guessing, guilt and burn out experienced by all involved. Reading Ms Scott's work, I felt the pain of her husband's decline and the dread of the inevitability of his final outcome. And she took us through this journey without one false note or misstep. Nevertheless, the common thread running through the whole book was love, and how love can carry someone through the most excruciating and devastating of experiences. I know that last statement can sound maudlin and cliched, but its presence in this review is completely sincere. This important work will stay with you long after you've finished reading it and you will be profoundly moved by Ms Scott's resilience, vulnerability, and strength. Highly recommended!

I've never used the term "can't put it down" to describe a book before, but in the case of "Last Dance at the Savoy, it applies. This is a very personal and intimate memoir, detailing with how life changes when the author's husband is diagnosed with a rare, incurable and progressively debilitating neurological disease called PSP. Kathryn Leigh Scott gives a completely honest and up-close account of her husband Geoff's early signs of problems, his progressive deterioration, and the challenges of dealing with it, and of living with it. And despite the inevitability of the outcome, this is very much a story about living, and about refusing to let increasing difficulties stand in the way. If you've never had to deal with a close relative's debilitating condition, this will remind you to be very grateful. And if you ever do find yourself in such a situation, this book is like having a close friend to confide in, who understands what you're going through having been there herself, and who gives you the benefit of hard-won experience in what may best be described as a battle for dignity. (Incidentally, there’s a lot of discussion of food along the way, so don't be surprised if you find yourself craving oatmeal cookies or buckwheat pancakes now and then.)

We all know we are going to die; we just don’t know when. What do you do when you are one of the people who find out?First you face the facts: Progressive supranuclear palsy is a degenerative disease that leaves its victims increasingly unable to move their bodies or faces, and, because it affects the brain, it also presents with personality changes and dementia. It is frequently confused with the more common Parkinson’s disease. There are medications that slow its progress, and occupational and physical therapy to address problems with movement. Eventually muscle spasms will make swallowing difficult to impossible, and pneumonia is a frequent indirect cause of death. The average life expectancy is seven years.What do you do upon hearing that? If you are Geoff Miller, facing a long list of doctor’s appointments, you say, “Let’s go on a cruise. I’d love to see Rio.”And if you are Kathryn Leigh Scott, you take a deep breath and go with him, from South America to Britain to New York and the California coast. You take him everywhere from ship’s decks to the streets of London to doctor’s offices, emergency rooms, and hotel ballrooms, where you negotiate your way to a table and then cut his food. You buy whatever accommodations he needs, and supervise the new and old helping hands. You chronicle his day-to-day challenges, including his falls, confusion, and his repetitive speech. You seldom complain, and when you do, you acknowledge your error and your spouse, an experienced caregiver himself who tells you when your mother is dying and you’re overwhelmed, “This is her journey. Her death. Just be there for her.”This book is the story of Geoff’s journey, his last dance, his death, and the wife who was there for him. If you have a loved one who is facing a death sentence, take a deep breath, read this story, laugh and cry over this story, and be there for him.

In the powerful “Last Dance at the Savoy” actress author Kathryn Leigh Scott takes us on an emotional and excruciatingly painful journey as she and her vibrant husband, editor and publisher Geoff Miller, come to the slow, awful realization that Geoff is suffering from an incurable Parkinson-like disease. We fervently hope with her and we palpably feel the suffering as she compassionately chronicles their awful odyssey. There is lashings of denial and guilt, bravery and true grit as she and Geoff pound the medical pavements in search of relief from the inevitable. Full disclosure: For many years Geoff was my editor and friend—and what makes it harder to absorb is that my memories of him were always as a brilliant editor, a bon vivant with a razor sharp mind and wonderful wit. This is not an easy read—and I know it was an even more tortuous story to recreate on the page: An assignment that we would prefer to reject.

This book by actress and novelist Kathryn Leigh Scott is an eye-opener. Not only is it an intoxicating story of romance and marriage set against a backdrop of Hollywood, London and New York, but also a pioneering guide for dealing with the incurable (so far) disease Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP).This rarely publicised disease cruelly encroached and ultimately took the life of Kathryn's dear husband Geoff Miller. Geoff was the witty, vibrant, jazz-loving editor/publisher of LA Magazine, whose life was slowly diminished by what was at first undiagnosable debilitation. With an indomitable spirit, both Kathryn and Geoff embark on a journey into the medical unknown. But this is not a story about dry clinical visits and self-pity. The humour and adventurous spirit that punctuated their lives continues despite the kind of set-backs and frustrations that would floor most of us.Would that we could all be so brave and generous under such circumstances.This is a book full of love and is worth re-reading, several times, just to remind oneself how to be.

Deeply moving, beautifully written, “Last Dance at The Savoy” is an intimate memoir of a marriage surviving, with love and ferocious determination, the strains of a rare, devastating neurodegenerative disease. PSP (Progressive Supranuclear Palsy) took Los Angeles magazine founder Geoff Miller’s life in slow but steady stages, entering first “on little cat’s paws” as Kathryn describes – tiny steps at first more annoying than worrying, then moving forward firmly, irrevocably, deleting one by one all the small and big pleasures of life. But this is not simply a tale of illness and fortitude. It is a romantic, human and often funny love story about two dellghtful, courageous people on a journey none of us wishes to take. A must read.

Married and caring for a PSP victim I have only that one thing in common,different lifestyle different country base but she is my new sister Kathryn Leigh Scott.Sad reading but so true to real life.

An emotional read as my husband died of this devastating illness and there were many things I could relate to.

My husband has PSP so everything was so real to me

I admire the author for pouring her heart into this book. My father has PSP and we have had to figure this all out basically on our own. Hopefully this book can be used as a guide especially when a diagnosis has just been made. PSP is a very isolating disease for the patient and the caregiver and this book makes you realize that you can only do your best. Thank you to Kathryn Leigh Scott for sharing your story!