Brief Essays on Genre, Part 9: On Alzheimer's as Muse

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On Alzheimer’s as Muse

 

When I was sixteen, my father contracted early-onset Alzheimer’s. A year later, he was no longer recognizably himself.

 

When I was sixteen, I knew I would be a scientist, though not what kind. A year later, I was determined to be a writer.

 

When I was twenty-nine, I sold my first story. I never became a scientist.

 

--Michael Swanwick