Overview:
From award-winning, New York Times bestselling author and neuroscientist Lisa Genova comes a powerful new novel that does for Huntington’s Disease what her debut Still Alice did for Alzheimer’s.
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.
Praised for writing that “explores the resilience of the human spirit” (The San Francisco Chronicle), Lisa Genova has once again delivered a novel as powerful and unforgettable as the human insights at its core.
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.
Praised for writing that “explores the resilience of the human spirit” (The San Francisco Chronicle), Lisa Genova has once again delivered a novel as powerful and unforgettable as the human insights at its core.
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Review:
Lisa Genova really gives Huntingdon's Disease a face, name, and family. I had no knowledge of this debilitating disease prior to reading Inside the O'Briens, and now feel compelled to learning more. Genova's descriptions are so authentic, for the first several chapters I had to remind myself it's a fiction book.
Inside the O'Briens reveals the heartbreak of a future outlined by tragedy, but the triumph of the human spirit, which cannot be contained. We follow husband and father, Joe O'Brien as he and his family learn about his diagnosis. The story is revealed through the eyes of Joe, who struggles to see life as living with Huntingdon's rather than dying from it, and daughter Katie. At 21 and the youngest of four, Katie struggles to live life without the dark cloud of Huntingdon's Disease. She must also decide if knowing her own gene status will help or hurt this process.
Genova has created a complex, and compelling family. Through moments of joy, pain, anger, and hope, I was rooting for the O'Briens. The story was raw and real. It described the many faces of terminal illness, and the many reactions to it. There was so much compassion for each of the family members as they worked through Joe's diagnosis, and its impact on them. A beautifully written novel.
*I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Lisa Genova really gives Huntingdon's Disease a face, name, and family. I had no knowledge of this debilitating disease prior to reading Inside the O'Briens, and now feel compelled to learning more. Genova's descriptions are so authentic, for the first several chapters I had to remind myself it's a fiction book.
Inside the O'Briens reveals the heartbreak of a future outlined by tragedy, but the triumph of the human spirit, which cannot be contained. We follow husband and father, Joe O'Brien as he and his family learn about his diagnosis. The story is revealed through the eyes of Joe, who struggles to see life as living with Huntingdon's rather than dying from it, and daughter Katie. At 21 and the youngest of four, Katie struggles to live life without the dark cloud of Huntingdon's Disease. She must also decide if knowing her own gene status will help or hurt this process.
Genova has created a complex, and compelling family. Through moments of joy, pain, anger, and hope, I was rooting for the O'Briens. The story was raw and real. It described the many faces of terminal illness, and the many reactions to it. There was so much compassion for each of the family members as they worked through Joe's diagnosis, and its impact on them. A beautifully written novel.
*I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
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