Remedies for Sorrow
An Extraordinary Child, a Secret Kept from Pregnant Women, and a Mother's Pursuit of the Truth
by Megan Nix
Pub Date 18 Apr 2023
Doubleday Books, Doubleday
Biographies & Memoirs | Health, Mind & Body | Nonfiction (Adult)


Doubleday Books and Netgalley have provided me with a copy of Remedies for Sorrow for review:



Despite a seemingly uneventful pregnancy, Megan Nix's second child, Anna, was born very small and profoundly deaf. During Megan's pregnancy, she unwittingly contracted cytomegalovirus from her toddler, which may cause lifelong delays for Anna, due to an infection caused by a virus she had never heard of: cytomegalovirus, or CMV.



Astonished by this knowledge, Megan was electrified. While pregnant, she had been warned of the risks associated with saunas, sushi, unpasteurized cheese, a lack of folic acid, and an excess of kitty litter. It was clear to her that there were a number of genetic syndromes she could do little to prevent. However, she was not informed that CMV is contagious in the saliva of one out of every three toddlers, and can be spread through a kiss, a shared cup, or an unfinished bite of toast. She was not informed that the stakes were high, that congenital CMV causes more birth defects and childhood disabilities than any other infectious disease, including blindness, deafness, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and autism. Others may appear suddenly at age two or three and cannot be traced back to congenital CMV, while others are evident at birth.



In Remedies for Sorrow, Luke makes his living as a salmon fisherman in Sitka, Alaska. Despite the staggering cost of this silence to families and children like Anna, Megan struggles to meet Anna's needs and delves deeper into the mystery of why no one has mentioned CMV to her OBGYN or the pediatrician of her toddler. This rugged and beautiful place has given rise to a memoir about the boundless capacity of mothers, the extraordinary child that is Anna, and the lifesaving power of the truth.



I give Remedies For Sorrow five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

This is a very readable memoir and a searing description how the little known but highly common Cytomegalovirus (CMV), that can cause infant deafness and more can affect many, yet is accurate information on it is not widely disseminated. Nix's prose is lyrical, her work well-researched and she tells the story of her family, the birth of her daughter Anna, who was born with the virus and is deaf, and the battle with medical and public health practitioners and policy makers, as well as the stars in her support system. This is a very important book and should be widely read.

Well-researched and moving nonfiction about a mother who discovers her newborn daughter is deaf and has other health issues due to a virus in utero. I was surprised to learn about this virus, and how little it is talking about in the medical profession.

Memoirs, especially ones telling the story of an illness, are always difficult for me to rate. I want to give them all 5s for the sorrow they have suffered. This one was an important story to tell and most importantly the author has worked tirelessly to change laws that can have a substantial impact. That alone deserve a 5. However at times this book felt like too much of a cathartic exercise for the author (perhaps that’s true of all memoirs). I think this story could have been told in less pages.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an early release in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Amazing and very brave story to read! Thank you to NetGalley for the ARc. Five stars! The story is heartbreaking at times but I admire all that Nix does for herself and her family and ultimately the public. It was an inspiration to read.

I appreciate this book's close and careful look at our medical system as well as our culture's treatment of disability. And it's a wonderful representation of lived experience and raising a child with a disability as well as a close --and empowering--look at the role of activism and advocacy,