The Dangers of Pimento Cheese: Surviving a Stroke South of the Mason-Dixon Line

At age forty-nine, successful advertising copywriter Andy Ellis suffered a right-hemispheric stroke landing him in a hospital in Richmond, Virginia, for more than two months. In The Dangers of Pimiento Cheese, Ellis shares his story as a stroke victim, patient, and survivor.

Offering a humorous approach to his life-threatening situation, he narrates the details of the event that left him semi-paralyzed on the left side of his body. He tells how he managed hospital life immediately following the stroke; he provides observations about returning to day-to-day life after being released from the hospital; he shares the events that have tripped him up along his ten-year road of recovery; and he gives an update on where he stands now.

In this memoir, Ellis discusses how a stroke, like other disabling medical events—from a heart attack to an amputation—is life changing. He tells how he dealt and continues to deal with it.