AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 27, 2025--
Award-winning ALS activist and author Mindy Uhrlaub today launched her new book, Last Nerve: A Memoir of Illness and the Endurance of Family (River Grove Books). While caring for a sick mother, a son with behavioral problems, and a husband going through cancer treatments, Mindy discovered that she carries a gene for the fatal neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Last Nerve walks readers through how Mindy navigated the new territory of having three close relatives with life-threatening situations, and had to come to terms with the fact that she may have passed the fatal gene on to her two sons.
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Not one to fold, Mindy faces her circumstances head-on, realizing that her race for the elusive cure for ALS is not only for herself but also for her kids, her cousins, and the thousands of other carriers of the fateful gene. Despite the incredible strain of all these challenges, Mindy manages them with amazing tenderness, persistence, and love. Far from a depressing story of misfortune, Last Nerve is as uplifting and witty as it is raw and real. It’s a testament to hope, the endurance of family, and the resilience of the human spirit.
Early reviews for Last Nerve praise the book as a “heart-warming memoir of motherhood, ALS, and never backing down” ( Publishers Weekly ), and as a “complex and thoughtful remembrance about how family members can help one another through the worst of times” ( Kirkus Reviews ). Foreword also described Last Nerve as “uplifting in tone despite its grim subject matter, the book focuses on hope and resilience.”
To learn more, please visit www.mindyuhrlaub.com or order Last Nerve at Amazon or Barnes & Noble.
Additional Praise for Last Nerve
“Mindy Uhrlaub’s powerful and inspiring memoir is a work of courageous transformation. She deepens her soul by turning her pain into power and ardently committing herself to the struggle against ALS for the legacy of her mother, for herself, and for all those suffering from the disease. We are grateful.” – V (FORMERLY EVE ENSLER), author of The Vagina Monologues and Reckoning
“The author’s bulldog spirit summarizes it all. This beautifully written memoir shines light on her unrelenting courage and resilience to fight for societal and personal causes that are dear to her. It serves as a reminder for medical professionals to treat every individual with compassion and respect, because behind every individual seen in research or clinic lies a complex tapestry of arduous battles fought daily, unwavering love, and importantly, hope.” –Suma Babu, MBBS, MPH, ALS neurologist at Massachusetts General Hospital
CONNECT WITH MINDY: Contact Bonnie Rice at Elevate Communications, brice@elevatecom.com
About Mindy Uhrlaub
Mindy Uhrlaub is a founding member of End the Legacy. Her debut novel, Unnatural Resources, won the 2021 NYC Big Book Award for Cultural Heritage. Mindy also received the 2025 Harvey and Bonny Gaffen Advancements in ALS Award from the Les Turner ALS Foundation. She lives in Northern California with her family.
Follow Mindy at https://mindyuhrlaub.com, on X @MindyUhrlaub, and on Instagram @Mindywrites1.
Author and ALS Activist Mindy Uhrlaub
Last Nerve: A Memoir of Illness and the Endurance of Family
Some celebrities donned anti-ICE pins at the Golden Globes on Sunday in tribute to Renee Good, who was shot and killed in her car by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer this week in Minneapolis.
The black-and-white pins displayed slogans like “BE GOOD” and “ICE OUT,” introducing a political angle into the awards show after last year’s relatively apolitical ceremony.
Mark Ruffalo, Wanda Sykes, Jean Smart and Natasha Lyonne wore the pins on the red carpet, and other celebrities were expected to have them on display as well.
Since the shooting Wednesday, protests have broken out across the country, calling for accountability for Good's death as well as a separate shooting in Portland where Border Patrol agents wounded two people. Some protests have resulted in clashes with law enforcement, especially in Minneapolis, where ICE is carrying out its largest immigration enforcement operation to date.
“We need every part of civil society, society to speak up,” said Nelini Stamp of Working Families Power, one of the organizers for the anti-ICE pins. “We need our artists. We need our entertainers. We need the folks who reflect society.”
Congressmembers have vowed an assertive response, and an FBI investigation into Good's killing is ongoing. The Trump administration has doubled down in defending the ICE officer's actions, maintaining that he was acting in self-defense and thought Good would hit him with her car.
Just a week before Good was killed, an off-duty ICE officer fatally shot and killed 43-year-old Keith Porter in Los Angeles. His death sparked protests in the Los Angeles area, calling for the officer responsible to be arrested.
The idea for the “ICE OUT” pins began with a late-night text exchange earlier this week between Stamp and Jess Morales Rocketto, the executive director of a Latino advocacy group called Maremoto.
They know that high-profile cultural moments can introduce millions of viewers to social issues. This is the third year of Golden Globes activism for Morales Rocketto, who has previously rallied Hollywood to protest the Trump administration’s family separation policies. Stamp said she always thinks of the 1973 Oscars, when Sacheen Littlefeather took Marlon Brando’s place and declined his award to protest American entertainment’s portrayal of Native Americans.
So, the two organizers began calling up the celebrities and influencers they knew, who in turn brought their campaign to the more prominent figures in their circles. That initial outreach included labor activist Ai-jen Poo, who walked the Golden Globes’ red carpet in 2018 with Meryl Streep to highlight the Time’s Up movement.
“There is a longstanding tradition of people who create art taking a stand for justice in moments,” Stamp said. “We’re going to continue that tradition.”
Allies of their movement have been attending the “fancy events” that take place in the days leading up to the Golden Globes, according to Stamp. They’re passing out the pins at parties and distributing them to neighbors who will be attending tonight’s ceremony.
“They put it in their purse and they’re like, ‘Hey would you wear this?’ It’s so grassroots,” Morales Rocketto said.
The organizers pledged to continue the campaign throughout awards season to ensure the public knows the names of Good and others killed by ICE agents in shootings.
For more coverage of the 2026 Golden Globes, visit https://apnews.com/hub/golden-globe-awards
Jean Smart poses in the press room with the award for best performance by a female actor in a television series – musical or comedy for "Hacks" during the 83rd Golden Globes on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Natasha Lyonne, left, and Clea DuVall arrive at the 83rd Golden Globes on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Wanda Sykes arrives at the 83rd Golden Globes on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Mark Ruffalo, left, and Sunrise Coigney arrive at the 83rd Golden Globes on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Mark Ruffalo, wearing a "Be Good" pin, arrives at the 83rd Golden Globes on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
