Inside the O’Briens by Lisa Genova

Title: Inside the O’Briens

Author: Lisa Genova

Publisher: Gallery, Threshold, Pocket Books

Published: April 7th, 2015

Rating: 5/5

This is an amazing book, totally unexpected to me and I am so grateful to the author, publishers and NetGalley, too, for letting me read an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Joe O’Brien is a police officer who starts to suffer from uncharacteristic behaviour and emotional outbursts. When he eventually agrees to see a neurologist the results have severe impacts on his life and that of his family….he has Huntington’s Disease (HD). As they (and the reader) learn more about the disease, the 50% risk that his offspring will also develop it and the consequences of having it has on both life expectancy and quality.

The author explores the emotions of all the characters and their different reactions in such a powerful manner that I was enthralled with it all. It is so easy to empathise with them all because of the skilled portrayal and clearly very well researched knowledge of the author. This isn’t a quick escape into a chicklit, this is a very moving and inspiring story, one that continues to live with the reader long after they’ve finished reading. I have no hesitation in highly recommending it!

This book is available from a variety of sources including
amazon.co.uk    amazon.com     barnes and noble