The Carriers

Solid writing and good storytelling, bringing together lots of elements at play in a complex genetic disorder. The author does a great job conveying the nuance and controversy of different doctors and scientists at work in the field of Fragile X. I think this book is for two groups of people: 1. Doctors/scientists who might not be as aware of new discoveries in Fragile X research. I am a pediatrician and certainly learned a LOT. 2. People outside the med community with relatives with Fragile X or new diagnoses of Fragile X in their family, who might seek to think through how this could affect their living and future offspring and families.

My one quibble with the author, and why I couldn't quite give this five stars, is that I felt occasionally her physical descriptions of people in her story were unnecessary, particularly of women, and did not add to her narrative significantly. It would be one thing if she was describing physical traits of the Fragile X disorder, but this wasn't the case. She describes the main doctor on whom her story rests as "the rugged bony daughter of a Norwegian sea captain." Another woman is described as " still [looking] too young to be the mother of a 12 year old." I found this odd for a storyteller who is clearly invested in making sure that the contributions of women to this story are honored--sometimes the physical traits were described first rather than more important attributes.

Looking forward to this book being published. I have spoken to so many people about it because I find it important and educational, we need to be talking more about the Fragile X gene and malformations of the X gene and how that can affect a carrier's life. This was a personal read for me and I wish I had this book before I became a mother. The importance of the medical community to know about this book is extremely important, I was not given genetic testing, and the questions I was asked to see whether I qualified or should take genetic questions did not even come close to the questions brought up in The Carriers. Anne Skomorowsky has given me peace of mind, and the tools to advocate for myself and the rest of my family, I am grateful I was able to read and review The Carriers.