This book was not for me-I had not realized this was about the death of an infant before reading. Entirely my fault.

It's always terrible when a child is sick and it's horrifying when no cause can be found. It seemed, however, that most of the book was about the author's experiences which didn't have a lot to do with the situation as far as I could see. The meandering musings - for me - detracted from the story of the sick child and made the book less effective.

Penguin Press and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of The Tincture of Time. This is my honest opinion of the book.

As the daughter of a surgeon, Elizabeth Silver has always had an unquestioning belief in the power of medicine. When her six week old daughter is rushed to the hospital with sudden seizures due to a brain bleed, Elizabeth and her physician husband are thrown into a confusing world as the parents of a patient who is struggling for survival. The well meaning hospital personnel in the NICCU, as well as the many specialists called in to determine the underlying reason for the bleed, provide an intense level of uncertainty, but also a measure of hope that the problem will be solved.

With uncertainty comes suspicion, giving an already stressed out family more anxiety. The Tincture of Time is the story of faith, apprehension, hope, patience, and the unknown. It comes from a place where many have been: people waiting for their sick loved ones to be deemed well. The book is well balanced between the family story, the medical information, and the historical references. Due to those side references, the author loses a little of the emotional quality that should have been present, especially considering the subject matter. The Tincture of Time teaches readers how, sometimes, there are no concrete answers to be had. Accepting the miracle of survival can be enough.

Elizabeth L. Silver came to my attention with her first book, The Education of Noa P. Singleton, which I found fascinating. I liked this book as well, but I do hope Silver will write more fiction. Her writing talent is undeniable, and I really enjoy the turns of phrase she employs. However, (and this is an occupational hazard for attorneys) I felt she overthought this story, and virtually every aspect of it, way too much.

I understand why -- there's both an intellectual need when you're trained to solve problems, and certainly an emotional need when it's your child and you're looking for answers that trained medical professionals cannot readily provide. If I were a mother, I might connect to this story a little more closely, but as it was, I think it should be edited down a little to make it less of a meandering story, with interludes about medical history, and focused even more on the concepts of "the tincture of time," -- what it's like to have to patiently wait for time to work its restorative properties, and uncertainty -- what it means to live with a situation where certainty is impossible. (I have a friend's wife in a similar situation, with a rare but deadly cancer in remission, and he has explained the agony of that uncertainty and its impact on their life.)

But it was a very good book, and if you like medical mysteries (a la House) or the impact of a sick child on a family, you will most likely appreciate this book, even if it's not "enjoyable."

NOTE: I received a review copy for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.