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Read advance reader review of Mercies in Disguise by Gina Kolata, page 6 of 6

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Mercies in Disguise by Gina Kolata

Mercies in Disguise

A Story of Hope, a Family's Genetic Destiny, and the Science That Rescued Them

by Gina Kolata
  • BookBrowse Review:
  • Critics' Consensus (4):
  • Readers' Rating (39):
  • First Published:
  • Mar 21, 2017, 272 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Apr 2018, 272 pages
  • Rate this book

About This Book

Reviews


Page 6 of 6
There are currently 38 member reviews
for Mercies in Disguise
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  • Anna R. (Oak Ridge, TN)
    Amazing
    Wow! How brave Amanda is!! And so is her husband. The choices she must make are life changing. She did give her children such a gift. I felt for Merle, the mother in this family. How horrible for her to not only see her husband have the degenerative illness, but some of her children.
    The medical part of this book were hard to get through, but the story of the family was riveting. I read this book in two days.
  • Paula J., Bath ME
    Would you want to know?
    "Mercies in Disguise" was very interesting and quick to read. I enjoy medical mysteries, and Kolata's writing kept me interested all the way though. What would make this book a '5' for me is deeper characterization of a few of the main characters. Kolata did a great job of explaining genetics and the family's illness; her writing is easy to understand and should be accessible to most.
  • Dorothy M. (Maynard, MA)
    A Story of Hope
    If you watched members of your family die from a terrible incurable hereditary disease and if there was a test to see if you carried the flawed gene that caused it - would you take that test? And if the result was positive, how would you live the rest of your life? These were not random questions for the Baxley family from a small town in South Carolina. As older members of the family began to display symptoms of an illness their doctors could not identify, it begins to be obvious that all the members of the family are at risk. Their story, interspersed with the work of the doctors and scientists who are attempting to identify and understand a disease that leaves previously healthy people unable to move or communicate, is a compelling read. Told from the point of view of Amanda, a young woman just beginning her life as a nurse with the man she plans to spend her life with, this is ultimately the story of the depth of the human spirit.

Beyond the Book:
  Genetic Testing

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