This is an excerpt from Robert Baittie's new memoir on Parkinson's disease and spirituality Tremors in the Universe.

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Spend some time alone on an island and you’ll quickly become keenly aware of that kind of harmonious relationship that exists throughout all of life and between all living things. One element affects another, and each benefits from the other as well.

Take for example the leaves of the palm tree and the wind. Without the wind caressing the leaves with its touch the leaves would never dance, and without the outstretched arms of the leaves to grasp at the breeze the wind would have no voice. The symphony of life is music to be enjoyed and it plays daily and for free all around us. But its how it all works in harmony that mesmerizes me. I’ve been keenly aware of those connections ever since I was a little boy. But as often happens when people grow older, they sometimes put the qualities of their youth away amongst their other memories and soon they forget how they used to see things. Wonder is replaced by reality, dreams by necessity, and desires by acceptance. I had truly lost that vision of my youth. I wasn’t seeing out of those eyes anymore. I had gone blind to a lot of the beauty that exists in life and a lot of the life that exists in me. And then I was given an island.

It’s only when we retreat to being alone with our thoughts and we are presented with the opportunity to turn inward for solace that we can rediscover the treasures we held onto as a child. I’ve been fortunate. I found my youthful vision again, my curiosity and my playful perspective on life and rediscovered my awe of all the wonder that surrounds me. I’ve reconnected to my spirit and my soul and I’ve regained the knowledge that the same connection between the wind and the leaves exists between myself and every other living piece of energy. On my island, I’m swimming with a dolphin. I’m reconnected and I’m fulfilled.

I found myself on this island shortly after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2012. I think to some degree everyone who receives a PD diagnosis or any chronic disease for that matter, receives an island of his or her own as well. The differences from one island to the next tend to be how the individual chooses to use it. For some, their island is a place to turn away from everyone, to maroon themselves in anger and bitterness while others use it as an oasis for growth.

I needed my island for introspection. I needed to have time alone with my thoughts to come to terms with what Parkinson’s was going to be in my life. I was determined from the beginning to take an active role in my disease, and how I felt about it was something I could control and Parkinson’s could not. I knew in my heart I was stronger than PD but I didn’t understand why. But I wanted to know. I needed to know.

So I decided to write.