SLP Book Club: Inside the O'Brien's: A Novel

Okay - wow!  This past week I finished reading Lisa Genova's newest book, Inside the O'Brien's.  It is the first book selection for a Goodreads SLP book club that I joined.  [Affiliate link]

Lisa Genova has written three other books, including Still Alice, but this is the first one that I have read.  I have heard many good things about her other books so I had expectations that this one would be great. 

I have to start with the ending.  I was totally unprepared for it.  But then I realized that it was the perfect ending.  In this book, Genova tackles Huntington's Disease (HD).  Such a devastating, incurable disease.  I remember learning about it in graduate school, but as a pediatric speech-language pathologist I have since started to mix up symptoms from Huntington's, Parkinson's, and other neurological diseases/disorders.  I will not soon forget the symptoms and impact of HD after having read this book. 

Did you know that Genova has a PhD in neuroscience?  The book is divided into three parts.  At the beginning of each section, Genova includes a brief synopsis of science/facts related to the upcoming part of the story.  Being a science geek, I appreciated the inclusion of this info within a novel.  She of course also weaves pertinent HD information into the story.  The story is that of an Irish-Catholic family living in Boston.  The main character is Joe - a Boston police officer, devoted husband, and proud father of four.  Personally, I found the set-up a bit too cliche, but it did provide the perfect vehicle to explore the various aspects of HD as it runs its course.  While she touches on all six family members, the focus of the story alternates between Joe and his youngest child, Katie. I think my favorite part is that Joe chooses to have special T-shirts made up to wear to increase awareness of HD ("This is Huntingon's  Learn more at HDSA.org or ask me").  As HD progresses, it becomes a very visible disease.

In the end, I was emotionally drawn into the story.  I am looking forward to our group discussion about the book.  It feels odd to say a book about such a heart-breaking story was "good", but she does a good job of balancing the realities of HD with hope and the idea of living for today.  Overall, I found it to be a good read and recommend it.

Disclosure: I purchased the book and received no compensation for this post.  The opinions are all mine.  This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.