You’ve heard the clichés: You can’t judge a book by its cover. When the going gets tough, the tough get going. When life hands you lemons, make lemonade.
Tired and overworked phrases? Perhaps. But they become fresh, new – and very telling – when the subject is Nancy Davis and how she reclaimed her life after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis following a ski accident in Aspen 14 years ago, when she was 33. A tall blond with movie-star good looks, Davis responded to the shocking news by vowing that she wouldn’t let MS get the better of her. She would send it packing.
She established a star-studded fundraiser, the Race to Erase MS, and a national research collaborative, the Center Without Walls. She explored alternative treatments and medicines, remarried and had twin girls, earned a black belt in karate, started a jewelry design business and wrote a book.
“Lean on Me: 10 Powerful Steps to Moving Beyond Your Diagnosis and Taking Back Your Life” ($22.95, Fireside) hit bookstores late last month, and is being hailed as a valuable resource for others facing health challenges of their own.
Davis returned to her hometown recently for a book-signing at the Tattered Cover in Cherry Creek. Afterward, longtime friends Jimmy and Debbie Lustig had a dinner for her at Elway’s. Many of the guests had attended the signing, and weren’t surprised that the crowds were such that it ran well over its scheduled 90 minutes.
“She must have signed at least 200 books while I was there,” said Chrissy Lerner, executive director of the Children’s Diabetes Foundation at Denver. “And there were lots more people waiting in line when I left.”
It was 8 p.m. by the time Davis arrived at Elway’s (the signing had started at 5:30) and went table-to-table to do more greeting and signing before sampling a buffet that included sliced sirloin and filet mignon, mashed potatoes, grilled halibut and assorted veggies.
In keeping with the literary theme, the dinner tables had been decorated with exquisite Tiffany-style lamps made from rose petals and hydrangea. White chocolate “books” inscribed with the “Lean on Me” title and a reproduction of Davis’ book jacket photo were the party favors, along with pens and one of Davis’ favorite treats, caramel apples.
Pausing in her rounds, Davis recalled that when the doctor told her she had MS, “He told me to go home and go to bed … forever.” But after recovering from the initial shock, Davis decided life as an invalid was not for her.
“Today I feel lucky because it empowered me to do things I’d never have done otherwise,” she said.
Her grit and resolve can be traced to her childhood. The daughter of the late billionaire Marvin Davis was no stranger to chronic, incurable diseases. Her little sister, Dana, has diabetes and was the inspiration behind her parents’ effort to establish the world-class research and treatment facility, the Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes, in Denver. Nancy worked hand-in-hand with her mom on the center’s fabled fundraiser, the Carousel Ball, which was renamed Carousel of Hope following the Davis family’s move to Los Angeles in the 1980s.
Her Race to Erase MS also is a star-studded event, attracting celebrities for a sports-oriented event that began as a ski race in Colorado.
Among those at the signing and dinner were Debbie Lustig’s sisters, Cindy Farber and Shelly Sapkin, and their husbands, Steve and Rick; Dr. Adrienne Stewart; Nancy and Skip Miller; Bonnie Guzofsky; Faye and Wayne Gardenswartz; MJ Powers; Jody Epstein and Don Yale; Charles Goldstein; Judy and Dan Pepper; Paula Newberry Arnold and Jeff Wilson; and Jane and Don Friedman of International Villa.
Society editor Joanne Davidson can be reached at 303-809-1314 or jmdpost@aol.com.
