Interweaving cutting-edge medical science with a poignant family chronicle, The Thousand Mile Stare is the true story of one family's discovery that it carries a unique gene for Early Onset Alzheimer's. When most members of the Reiswig family reach their 40's, something in their demeanor changes. A normally responsible father assigns a dangerous farm chore to a much-too-young son. A vigilant grandfather drives in front of an oncoming train. And they all develop what the author calls "the thousand mile stare" -- a blank, wistful gaze off into the distance, as though they are trying to locate some vital piece of themselves that has been lost. From the author's story of his ancestral roots in a small German town, to Dr. Alois Alzheimer's discovery of the disease, to the Reiswig's triumphs and tragedies on their Oklahoma farm, to a modern-day medical research lab, to a Congressional hearing room in Washington, D.C., this book offers profound insight into the devastating world of Alzheimer's, and hope for the development of a cure.