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Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Waiting on Wednesday - Inside the O'Briens



This is a weekly event that highlights a book we can't wait to be published.  It's hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

The book I selected this week is one I've actually already read.  I read an e-galley of this book at the end of last year before I came back to blogging.  And sent the publisher my reactions.  If you haven't been living under a rock the last few months, you are aware that Lisa Genova is the author of the book Still Alice and that a movie was made about Alice.  It starred Julianne Moore, who was also awarded an Academy Award for her performance.  I have read Still Alice and also this author's second book, Left Neglected.  Both were so emotional, sad, touching and yet so full of intricate details about their respective neurological conditions.  This week's highlighted book is about yet another neurological disease, Huntington's.  I loved this book and recommend it highly.  My pick this week is:





Publication Date: April 7th

Joe O’Brien is a forty-four-year-old police officer from the Irish Catholic neighborhood of Charlestown, Massachusetts. A devoted husband, proud father of four children in their twenties, and respected officer, Joe begins experiencing bouts of disorganized thinking, uncharacteristic temper outbursts, and strange, involuntary movements. He initially attributes these episodes to the stress of his job, but as these symptoms worsen, he agrees to see a neurologist and is handed a diagnosis that will change his and his family’s lives forever: Huntington’s Disease.

Huntington’s is a lethal neurodegenerative disease with no treatment and no cure. Each of Joe’s four children has a 50 percent chance of inheriting their father’s disease, and a simple blood test can reveal their genetic fate. While watching her potential future in her father’s escalating symptoms, twenty-one-year-old daughter Katie struggles with the questions this test imposes on her young adult life. Does she want to know? What if she’s gene positive? Can she live with the constant anxiety of not knowing?

As Joe’s symptoms worsen and he’s eventually stripped of his badge and more, Joe struggles to maintain hope and a sense of purpose, while Katie and her siblings must find the courage to either live a life “at risk” or learn their fate.

29 comments:

  1. Kay, your header is lovely.

    Also looking forward to the new Genova book.

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    1. Thank you, Diane. Cactus blossom taken on a vacation in Arizona. We have the same cactus here, but somehow my blossoms aren't as pretty.

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  2. Can't remember the last time a book made me cry like Still Alice. Part of me wants to read this and part of me doesn't...

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    1. It has a little different feel, I think, since the main character is a man. Just family dynamics.

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  3. I've got this one on my wish list.

    My WoW: http://www.bookclublibrarian.com/2015/03/waiting-on-wednesday-new-anne-enright.html

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    1. I think a lot of people probably do, Thanks for coming by!

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  4. Looks like a real tear jerker. I love books like that.

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    1. Yes and no, Jill. At least for me. This author's books also educate a lot about the condition. Which is fascinating to me.

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  5. I have loved several books by this author, and this one is on my wish list. Thanks for sharing....and for visiting my blog.

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  6. I've got this one my TBR but I'm nervous. From the sounds of it this author can make you weep! Glad you've enjoyed all 3 books. I'm going to have summon my courage and give this one a try.

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    1. I don't think I wept with this book, but I did with Still Alice.

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  7. Oh this one is new to me but it's definitely intriguing!!

    Thanks for stopping by My WoW!

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  8. I wouldn't usually read this one, but I do hope you enjoy it :) Benish | Feminist Reflections

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  9. This book sounds really nice! And it's great that you've already read it. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for more reviews of Inside the O'Briens and then decide whether I'd like to read it myself. It does seem something different than what I normallyread, so I would love to give it a try. Thank you so much for stopping by my post earlier. Happy reading!

    Sarika @ The Readdicts

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  10. I got the ARC a little over a week ago and can't wait to dive in!! I've heard that it's just as good as Still Alice, which makes me happy. I loved that novel, as well as Left Neglected. Loving Anthony was good, but not as good as her first two books.

    Love to see your new headers!

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    1. Loving Anthony is the one I haven't read. I think that you told me it wasn't your favorite some time back. I'll likely get to it at some point. It's about autism, right?

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    2. Yes, it's about an autistic boy. I enjoyed the parts that showed how he viewed the world, but the adult relationships weren't as good as in Still Alice and Left Neglected. The book have somewhat of a chick-lit feel to it. However, I love Lisa's writing and can't wait to read this new one!

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  11. Hi Kay, I read this one several weeks ago and liked it. Review will post in a couple of weeks. Genova does such a great job with the subject matter. After finishing I bought Left Neglected because it's the only one of hers I haven't read. Looking forward to it.

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    1. I really liked Left Neglected. Such an odd condition. Takes a little getting used to and surely made me think what I would do. I'll be on the lookout for your review of this one.

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    2. I might have liked Left Neglected just a tiny bit more than Still Alice, if that's even possible! :)

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  12. I wonder what drives LG to her chosen topics. I find them so very interesting. I haven't read the second book, but I seem to remember it is not an inherited problem. An accident perhaps? And the third is autism, right? Anyhow, for Alzheimer's and Huntington's the thing is that there is a test. For a long time I've thought about the situation children are in. Do you have a test and live under its possible death warrant or do you go about your life in the best way you can? And what if there are children? These are unanswerable unless you are faced with them. You may know about Woody Guthrie. Arlo, his son was never tested. I found some articles you might want to read. I would think this would be a good choice for a book group since there are so many questions raised.

    http://curehd.blogspot.com/2014/04/woody-guthrie-huntingtons-disease-and.html

    http://curehd.blogspot.com/

    http://patch.com/california/piedmont/son-of-woody-guthrie-living-quietly-in-east-bay-looks7dd26c3b28

    http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20097056,00.html

    http://robertpaulwolff.blogspot.com/2012/04/huntingtons-disease.html

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    1. Thanks for the articles, Nan. I'm not sure I knew that Woody Guthrie had Huntington's. So sad. Yes, in Still Alice, with her early onset Alzheimer's, there was indeed a genetic test and there is with Huntington's as well. Both issues are in play in these books.

      I think any of Lisa Genova's books would be great for discussion. Although I will say that I've had trouble even getting people to read them, well, Still Alice anyway. Too sad, they'd say. The one book group discussion I attended about Alice was packed full of people. The little librarian (she was young) was completely overwhelmed. This was recently, after the movie was made. It was a good discussion.

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  13. Still Alice was such a moving book. I loved it. I haven't had a chance to watch the movie but would love to. This is another book for my list definitely!

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    1. It's a good one to put on your list, Iliana. Not quite as compelling for me as the Alice book, but I haven't experienced this situation and had a more personal connection to the Alzheimer's story.

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Thanks for stopping by! I am so happy to hear your thoughts and will respond as soon as I can. Happy Reading!