Camille is the daughter of one of Australia's first female transplant surgeons and has herself forged a career as a nurse, working with the families of potential organ donors. Besides that, she is the mother of two young girls, one who is in desperate need of a liver transplant.
Poignant and compelling, this book explores an uncomfortable reality of organ donation - when those waiting for an organ essentially have to hope for the death of another so they might live. Beautifully written with lyrical, flowing prose you cannot help but feel Camille's despair as she watches her daughter grow sicker while trying to nurture her other child and deal with a less than loving marriage.
Interwoven into the medical storyline is a subplot where Camille has been invited to oversee an exhibition of her late father's sculptures. Reading her mother's diaries, Camille comes to learn more of her parents who both died when she was young. Some of the truths revealed in the pages are honest and shocking, leaving Camille with more things to grapple with in her already complex and stressful existence.
On a separate note, I thought the medical information within this story was accurately presented with great skill. It is never easy to include a lot of technical information within a story, but the author has folded it in seamlessly without detracting from the emotional content of the book.
Haunting and honest, If I Should Lose You is a thought provoking novel that explores multiple themes and challenges many ideas on life, death and parenthood.
I saw a review of this in last Sunday's paper and immediately added it to my wish list. It sounds like a great read about a complex subject.
ReplyDeleteShellleyrae @ Book'd Out
Yes definitely thought provoking....but the writing itself is beautiful, so lyrical and flowing. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.
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