Goodreads: Weaving his own moving family story with a sweeping history of cancer research, Lawrence Ingrassia delivers an intimate, gripping tale that sits at the intersection of memoir and medical thriller Ingrassia lost his mother, two sisters, brother, and nephew to cancer—different cancers developing at different points throughout their lives. And while highly unusual, his family is not the only one to wonder whether their heartbreak is the result of unbelievable bad luck, or if there might be another explanation. Through meticulous research and riveting storytelling, Ingrassia takes us from the 1960s—when Dr. Frederick Pei Li and Dr. Joseph Fraumeni Jr. first met, not yet knowing that they would help make a groundbreaking discovery that would affect cancer patients for decades to come—to present day, as Ingrassia and countless others continue to unpack and build upon Li and Fraumeni’s initial discoveries, and to understand what this means for their families. In the face of seemingly unbearable loss, Ingrassia holds onto hope. He urges us to “fight like Charlie,” his nephew who battled cancer his entire life starting with a rare tumor in his cheek at the age of two—and to look toward the future, as gene sequencing, screening protocols, CRISPR gene editing, and other developing technologies may continue to extend lifespans and perhaps, one day, even offer cures.
Kritters Thoughts: I will always enjoy taking in non fiction via audio. This book accompanied me on many trips to the grocery store and hours cleaning my sweet home.
Lawrence Ingrassia is not only a journalist, but a subject matter in his book. He comes from a family that has been greatly impacted by cancer and through telling his family's story he is able to share how cancer research slowly came about to find that there is some hereditary nature and some testing for genes to predict if a patient is more prone to developing cancer then others.
There were so many moments when I was reading this book that I kept remembering that this research was happening during my lifetime and I was so disappointed at the many lives that were affected by the slow progress of research. AND those many people that didn't know about the preventative tests that could have given them information where they could have made different decisions with their lives. When we are in a time where information is swirling 24/7 at the highest speed, to know that there is medical information not getting into the hands that need it, was sad to read about.
After finishing this book, it made me want to look and find more non fiction medical books to dive into.
I read the audiobook version of this one and the narrator was great. He shared the story with feeling and compassion in providing very difficult stories of these families who have been so gravely impacted by cancer.
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