Courage: one woman's dream and the mighty effort to conquer multiple sclerosis. (Highlight).

The National MS Society welcomes the publication of Courage, issued this October by Ivan R. Dee--a 320-page book that brings the remarkable career of Sylvia Lawry (1915-2001) vividly to life. This single-minded woman built the National Multiple Sclerosis Society "brick by brick, through dedication and pure grit," as Palmer Brown, Clifford H. Goldsmith, and George J. Gillespie, III, write in their foreword. These three venerated National Board members are among the legion who worked with Sylvia over the five momentous decades that followed her decision to take arms against the sea of trouble into which MS had plunged the Lawry-Friedman family.

No, MS is not cured--not yet. Yes, every week some 200 people in the U.S. hear the gut-twisting words: "You have multiple sclerosis." But the world they face is phenomenally different from what lay ahead for Bernard, Sylvia's beloved elder brother, at his diagnosis. The medical and scientific research community has come to grips with the reality of MS, knowledge is proliferating almost daily, research is in progress around the world, treatments are dramatically improved and improving, the general public is better informed, and a host of people with MS are managing to live productive lives.

Courage follows the birth and development of a worldwide movement to defeat MS, encompassing the National MS Society, the National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke--established after assiduous personal lobbying by Sylvia Lawry--and the development of other national MS organizations, linked together by the Multiple Sclerosis International Federation, also founded by the unstoppable Sylvia.

The book offers glimpses into fascinating personalities of the past half-century, from movie stars Shirley Temple Black and Joan Crawford to such business-world figures as Edward Bernays, the "father of public relations," Dan Haughton of Lockheed, and many more.

It also tells moving stories of volunteers, past and present, who followed Sylvia's lead and rejected the idea of losing hope. Today our 750,000 members continue the great, unfinished work she began.

The author, Richard Trubo, is an award-winning journalist who has written several books on health and medicine. There is an introduction by Sylvia Lawry, written before her health failed in 1999, an afterword by General Mike Dugan, the Society's CEO, and 12 historic photographs. Sylvia Lawry passed away in February 2001.

$27.50 hardback. ISBN 1-56663-414-8. To order, log on <www.ivanrdee.com> or call 800-462-6420. InsideMS readers will get a 5% discount when ordering from the publisher: mention code 9F1MSCOU.

The Sylvia Lawry Physician Fellowship Program honors Sylvia's memory by funding graduate training for the next generation of multiple sclerosis specialists. These gifts are deeply appreciated, and speak to the heart of our mission to end the devastating effects of MS. Please mail your gift to: The Sylvia Lawry Physician Fellowship Program, National MS Society, 733 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017.