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Critics' Opinion:
Readers' Opinion:
First Published:
May 2013, 298 pages
Paperback:
May 2013, 298 pages
Book Reviewed by:
BookBrowse First Impression Reviewers
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An exquisite tour de force, The Laws of Gravity is a testament to what it means to be a family, what it takes to save a life, and the lengths we will go to protect the ones we love.
Two families, bound by blood, hear terrible news. One decision holds the key to survival - but at a devastating cost.
Nicole, auburn-haired, airy, and beautiful, discovers her body is betraying her. She turns to cousin and childhood best friend Ari for the cord blood he's been banking for his own children. Ari stands firm, bringing them before the scales of justice. Solomon Richter, a state Supreme Court judge on the brink of retirement, is touched by this legal battle like no other. His blood case, he calls it. A case that calls into question the very things we live for: the enduring bonds of family, and the love that lasts a lifetime.
It's Nicole's last chance, Ari's last stand, and the judge's last case.
A novel of heartbreaking honesty, humor, and depth…an unforgettable story of finding love and finding family…The Laws of Gravity heralds Liz Rosenberg as a storytelling sensation.
October 2010
Halloween: I Told You I Was Sick
The Huntington School District had decided to hold its registration in the fall, instead of spring—so Nicole found herself registering her daughter, Daisy, for kindergarten on Halloween. As she signed the form, her coat sleeve slid back and the childhood scar on the inside of her wrist revealed itself.
The neighborhood was a riot of witches, goblins, and ghosts hanging from doorways. Front yards were converted to graveyards with cardboard headstones that read "Now I'll finally have some peace and quiet," "I told you I was sick."
"I want our pumpkin to look friendly," Daisy had said. "I want people to come to our door." Not many trick-or-treaters would show up, although Nicole had strung orange lanterns over the house and put out a smiling jack-o'-lantern and would keep the porch lights burning till nine. Potter's Lane was a narrow street up a small steep hill from town, and most kids would skip the incline.
Daisy ...
I recommend you run - not walk - to the nearest bookstore to purchase this book. Yes, it is a real tearjerker; but it has an important message. Cord blood is a new, technological advance that many of us are just becoming aware of. What do you do if someone could be saved by it and yet the intent was to save it for your own immediate family...as a just in case?..continued
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(Reviewed by BookBrowse First Impression Reviewers).
Ann Hood, author of The Red Thread and The Knitting Club
The Laws of Gravity is a heart wrenching and honest exploration of family love and betrayal. A real page turner right up to its beautiful last page. Chris Bohjalian, bestselling author of Midwives and The Sandcastle Girls
The Laws of Gravity is an unflinching portrayal of that place where fear and family collide. Part medical drama and part family saga, it reminds a reader of how easily the ties that bind can fray. Heartbreaking. National Book Award finalist Beth Kephart, author of Small Damages and Handling the Truth
Clear-eyed and compassionate, The Laws of Gravity wrangles with the complexity of choice…What do we owe one another? How can we forgive? How do we live with ourselves? Liz Rosenberg's details are riveting; they pierce. Her ideas about friendship triumph.At the heart of The Laws of Gravity is cord blood - full of potentially life-saving cells. But what is it exactly?
Cord blood is the blood left in the umbilical cord and the placenta after a baby is born and the umbilical cord is cut. Typically, this blood is discarded along with the cord and placenta. Cord blood, though, is full of stem cells, which are highly flexible cells that have the potential to become any specialized cell in the body. Because of this they can be used to treat various illnesses and genetic disorders, such as the leukemia that Nicole has in The Laws of Gravity. According to the March of Dimes, over 70 diseases and disorders have been treated with stem cells from cord blood. However, as the March of Dimes also ...
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