The Dance

The Dance is a memoir set during the COVID-19 pandemic. After a bout of alcohol withdrawal, the author, Frank J. Visosky Jr., is diagnosed with Central Pontine Myelinolysis (CPM). He ends up paralyzed and unable to communicate, locked inside his own body and facing severe physical and emotional challenges.

He writes frankly about his hospital stay, including the fear and isolation he felt and the vivid hallucinations that gave him a strange kind of escape. Humor surfaces too, most notably in his account of sharing a room with a loud Irish roommate who loved cocaine. Between those moments, he reflects on his darkest days.

The book also follows his slow recovery through demanding rehabilitation. He draws on his faith and his love for his son, and he holds on to one simple promise: that he will someday dance with the woman he loves. It is offered as a story of survival, resilience, hope and love.