About the Author

Born in 1947, I was a scrappy troublemaker and budding college scientist before going to Johns Hopkins Medical School for an MD/PhD in 1969. I met and married fellow medical student, John (Jack) Penney Jr two years later. Completing the dual degree in 5 years, I then trained in clinical neurology at UCSF with Jack. We obtained positions at the University of Michigan where we examined the brain pathways controlling movement. Jack and I directed a Movement Disorders Clinic where we saw patients and taught trainees. In 1981, I joined neuropsychologist, Nancy Wexler, in her effort to find and characterize the gene for Huntington’s disease in Venezuela and other countries. The work continued for more than 22 years. In 1991, I was recruited to be Chair of Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital – the first woman department chair in the hospital’s history. Jack and I continued our research together until he died suddenly of a heart attack in 1999. I needed psychiatric help to survive my grief and diagnosis of bipolar disorder. I was elected president of the American Neurological Association and the Society for Neuroscience while continuing to chair the department. I stepped down as Chair in 2012 – 21 years as head – to devote my effort to fundraising for research. My memoir is very personal and should be of interest to a broad audience interested in medical adventure, surviving loss and mental health disorders.