Publisher, Hachette Audio (October 2008)

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Cory Friedman woke up one morning when he was five years old with the uncontrollable urge to shake his head and his life was never the same again. From that day forward his life became a hell of uncontrollable tics, urges, and involuntary utterances. Eventually he is diagnosed with Tourette's Syndrome and Obsessive Compulsive disorder, and Cory embarks on an excruciating journey from specialist to specialist, enduring countless combinations of medications in wildly varying doses. Soon it becomes unclear what tics are symptoms of his disease and what are side effects of the drugs. The only certainty is that it kept getting worse. Despite his lack of control, Cory is aware of every embarrassing movement, and sensitive to every person's reaction to his often aggravating presence. Simply put: Cory Friedman's life is a living hell.

AGAINST MEDICAL ADVICE is the true story of Cory and his family's decades-long battle for survival in the face of extraordinary difficulties and a maddening medical establishment. It is a heart-rending story of struggle and triumph with a climax as dramatic as any James Patterson thriller.

About James Patterson: The subject of a recent Time magazine feature called, "The Man Who Can't Miss," James Patterson is the bestselling author of the past year, bar none, with more than 12 million books sold in North America alone. In total, James's books have sold an estimated 130 million copies worldwide. He is the first author to have #1 new titles simultaneously on The New York Times adult and children's lists and is the only author to have five new hardcover novels debut at #1 on the list in one year — a record-breaking feat he accomplished twice — in 2005 and 2006.

Patterson is a champion of reading and the founder of the $250,000 PageTurner awards that seek to spread the excitement and joy of books and reading in the United States. James's first foray into kid-accessible fiction, the critically acclaimed Maximum Ride series, debuted on the list at #1 and remained there for 12 straight weeks. The series has so far been on The New York Times bestsellers lists for more than 56 weeks, proving that kids love page turners, too.

Patterson is the creator of the #1 new detective series of the past dozen years, featuring "Alex Cross" and including the Hollywood-adapted "Along Came a Spider" and "Kiss the Girls," starring Academy Award-winning actor Morgan Freeman. He is also the creator of the #1 new detective series of the past five years, featuring Lindsay Boxer and the other members of the Women's Murder Club, for which the ABC drama series is named. He has authored books behind six films on the Hollywood fast-track, including the young adult series Maximum Ride, an adaptation of the celebrated illustrated children's book, SantaKid, the thrillers Honeymoon and Lifeguard, the Alex Cross series, and a stunning horror novel to be published in '07, You've Been Warned.

He is the author of novels — from The Thomas Berryman Number (1976) to Honeymoon (2005) — that have won awards including the Edgar, the BCA Mystery Guild's Thriller of the Year and the International Thriller of the Year award.

One of Forbes magazine's Celebrity 100, James appeared as a guest star on the popular FOX TV show "The Simpsons" in March, 2007.