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There are currently 38 member reviews
for Mercies in Disguise
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Mark O. (Wenatchee, WA)
Fate and Courage
The best creative nonfiction books have the same elements as good fiction: memorable characters, a story arc that builds tension, deep backstory. This book is a balanced portfolio of science, history, and biography, assembled by a skilled writer. Gina Kolata's Mercies in Disguise is the story of the Baxley family, cursed by a disease of generational tenacity. The demon is a genetic malady, slow to be understood because, even now, the biology seems so improbable. There is great courage in this story, reminding us that raw fate can be endured and even overcome. There are loose ends at the book's finish. Fiction can be forced to closure but people have lives of their own.
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Kathleen W. (Appleton, WI)
Mercies in Disguise
This is one of the best books I've read in a long time. I finished the book over a week ago and can't stop thinking about it. The haunting question that this book raises is "if you had a 50/50 chance of carrying a gene that would result in your early death from a horrible disease that had no cure, would you take the test to find out?" The book reads like a novel in that it is easy to read, has memorable characters, and is, at times a page turner. Unlike a novel, the characters are real people and their horrifying story is all too real, which means the author cannot promise a happy ending nor even a satisfying one. I was totally fascinated by the unfolding of the medical discoveries and research that were occurring around the world. The author connected the pieces in a way that was both informative and understandable.
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Theresa B. (Coralville, IA)
Another great read from Gina Kolata
Mercies in Disguise beautifully blends the scientific with the personal in this story about a South Carolina family. The Baxley family, devout and learned, unravel the mystery of an illness that has afflicted family members for generations.
I was prepared to like this book because I so enjoyed reading Kolata's book Flu, and Mercies in Disguise did not disappoint. Kolata has a talent for explaining complicated scientific concepts for a general audience, all while providing a rich human story to accompany them.
I'd strongly recommend this book.
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Sharon J. (Raleigh, NC)
A Family's Generational Struggle
Mercies in Disguise, by Gina Kolata, is a story that weaves medicine and scientific discoveries with realistic issues that families face when confronted with a genetic life changing disease. The book starts slowly almost metaphorically like medical research, as the scientists work to identify the underlying causes of the disease,while families over multiple generations try to piece together the debilitating effects on extended family members. Ultimately the reader is drawn into the world of a very loving family, dealing with daily struggles to the ethical decisions that they must confront to stop the genetic transmission onto future family members. Overall, I found Mercies in Disguise to be an emotional, thought provoking and realistic story.
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Lea Ann M.
A real life mystery
What an exciting book. It read not like a dry, scholarly tome, but like a mystery that one wants to see solved. But, this mystery involves real people, one family in particular, who are dying of a creeping disease that moves from generation to generation in the family followed by this author. We see sorrow, great happiness, determination and always a desire to solve the mystery of this genetic condition and allow the family, and others who may be victims, to live life without the fear of this condition afflicting another generation. The writing was excellent; the story poignant. Even those of us, such as myself, who are not of a scientific bent, will enjoy and appreciate this book.
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Marybeth T. (Bellingham, WA)
Great Medical Read
I really liked this book. It was a great medical mystery type of book that didn't read like a text book. The author kept a page turning pace and it wasn't bogged down with information only a medical person could understand. I'm now interested in her book about the Flu pandemic of 1918.
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Anne G. (Austin, TX)
Mercies in Disguise by Gina Kolata
This was a fascinating explanation of a little known disease that is described as being somewhere between Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. The decisions to be genetically tested seemed agonizing and the consequences of living with the outcome of the testing even more so. Adding the Baxley's stories to the book made it so much more personal and human. Each and every person who stands to inherit the mutant gene for the debilitating and devastating GSS must make their own decisions and then live their lives accordingly as was reflected in the Baxley family. It was thrilling to learn that there may be some options for preventing this disease in future generations but I can only hope and pray that developments arise giving new hope to those already carrying and/or manifesting the GSS gene.
I found this book to be one of most easily understood medical/scientific portrayals I've ever read. It sounds cliche but it read like a mystery/thriller.
Thank you to BookBrowse for providing me with the ARC. This book was definitely right in my wheelhouse of interests.
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