Inside the O'Briens

I truly enjoyed reading Lisa Genova’s other 3 books and as expected, I enjoyed this one as well. Although she has a PhD in neuroscience, Ms. Genova has a way of educating you on a brain related issue without writing “above” you. She weaves the information into her stories naturally, without any kind of text book feel to it. It is truly an art.

With her latest upcoming novel, “Inside the O’Briens”, we are taken into the world of Huntington’s Disease- a genetic disease that creates mood swings and takes away muscle control, eventually leading to death. As the O’Brien children (early 20s) hear of their father’s diagnosis, they are also told that each of them has a 50% chance of having it as well. The story then follows the family’s lives for a year, watching the father’s symptoms grow, seeing how he and the entire family are dealing with his deterioration, and seeing how each child deals with the choices given to them as to whether or not to test for the gene and regardless, how to live their lives in the shadow of such a disease. It truly makes you think – what would I do?

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this wonderful book in exchange for an honest review.

The O'Briens are a typical Irish Catholic Boston family. Joe O'Brien is a Boston cop and with his wife Rosie a proud father of four grown children. They're a close family with their children all still living in their big three storied house; oldest son JJ and his wife living in a second floor apartment, daughters Katie and Meghan on the third floor and youngest son Patrick living with Joe and Rosie.

Joe starts experiencing odd symptoms in his 30s, becoming clumsy, forgetful and feeling sudden anger but otherwise all seems well and he's looking forward to another 20y on the force before he can retire with a full pension. However by the time he's in his early 40s, his clumsiness and fits of rage have got worse, he has trouble organising his thoughts and his body is making strange involuntary movements. Finally going to see a doctor, he is diagnosed with Huntingdon's Disease, a fatal neurodegenerative disease.

Not only is this a devastating blow to Joe and his family who realise they must watch him slowly deteriorate and die from a nasty disease that will rob him of all dignity, but there is a 50% chance his children have inherited the disease.

Lisa Genova does a great job in this book of not only explaining the cause, symptoms and prognosis of Huntington's to us but also of describing the impact of this horrible disease on his family. There is no hiding from the horror of the knowledge that they could have the same disease that is robbing their father of his future and that they could pass it on to their children. They deal with it in different ways, facing the dilemma of whether to be tested or to go ahead with life not knowing. It is particularly heart wrenching when you realise this is the very difficult decision that families of Huntington's patients must face every time a diagnosis is made.

Despite the tragic nature of this disease, there is much to enjoy in reading this book. The author has introduced us to a very real family who despite their faults and flaws hold together through their faith and love for each other. There is bravery and much hope in their decisions to do the best that they can in the face of adversity.

This review will appear on the link below approx 1st April

When forty four year old Police Office Joe O’Brien began having trouble forming thoughts to organise his reports at the end of his shifts; found himself losing his temper in a violent manner for no real reason; even found his limbs making jerky movements unexpectedly, he wasn’t too concerned. He blamed most of it on a bad knee that he’d injured in the line of duty some time before. But when Rosie, his devoted wife, asked him to see a doctor he agreed just to keep her happy. The immediate referral to a neurologist confused him, but the diagnosis of Huntington’s Disease shattered him.

A disease which was passed onto Joe through a family member, they discovered their four adult children all had a 50-50 chance of having the gene as well. JJ (Joe Junior) was married, while Patrick, Meghan and Katie were all single. They could all have a simple blood test to determine whether they each held the gene – but did they really want to know? As they watched their father deteriorate and their mother become a shadow of herself, each sibling had to make the decision. The knowledge that there was no cure for HD was devastating…

As Joe’s life changed, so too did each of the family member’s lives. Katie was the youngest and the anxiety of not knowing was affecting everything she did – the yoga business she owned, her relationship with her boyfriend; even her relationship with Meghan. What would she do? How would each of them cope with this soul destroying disease?

Inside the O’Briens is the third novel by author Lisa Genova where she writes about a disease which devastates families. The obvious research into each novel is meticulous, and this one is no different. I felt for Joe as he struggled to hold off the disease; to keep the family he loved from worrying about him and what the future held for them all. The heart wrenching story, though fiction, is made to feel so real, because it can and does happen in just the way Genova has described. I have no hesitation in highly recommending Inside the O’Briens.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy to read and review.