Dec 18, 2008

Against Medical Advice by James Patterson

James Patterson and Hal Friedman's Against Medical Advice is the first book my mom, Pat, will be reviewing here on Savvy Verse & Wit.

According to Amazon.com's Product Description:

Cory Friedman woke up one morning when he was five years old with the uncontrollable urge to twitch his neck. From that day forward his life became a hell of irrepressible tics and involuntary utterances, and Cory embarked on an excruciating journey from specialist to specialist to discover the cause of his disease. Soon it became unclear what tics were symptoms of his disease and what were side effects of the countless combinations of drugs. The only certainty is that it kept getting worse. Simply put: Cory Friedman's life was a living hell.

Against Medical Advice is the true story of Cory and his family's decades-long battle for survival in the face of extraordinary difficulties and a maddening medical establishment.

Without further ado, here's mom:

Patterson usually writes fiction, but this non-fiction work is well written. Patterson and Hal Friedman met at an advertising agency and both are writers. They took four years to write this true story about Hal's son, Cory, who has Tourettes Syndrome. One symptom of the ailment is body ticks. After a variety of medical treatments and medications, symptoms were not alleviated and lead to Cory's over-eating and weight gain.

Cory, an athlete in school, eventually gets into trouble with the "wrong" crowd. Alcohol consumption exacerbates Cory's medical problems and things spiraled out of control for him. After a number of treatment facilities, Cory is sent to a wilderness camp to help him cope with his ailment.

This is a story of one family's struggles with a disease that is hard to treat and deal with, and about how this struggle impacted them. I would recommend this book to James Patterson fans and would consider this among his best books. I consider this as a 5-star book.

Thanks mom for your review of James Patterson's Against Medical Advice.

Pat is an avid James Patterson reader and loves to follow his latest novels. I even thanked James Patterson in person for getting my mom to read. She didn't read much when I was growing up, at least from what I can remember. Now, if we could only get dad to start reading.

***Don't forget my giveaway for an inscribed copy of Matrimony by Joshua Henkin. Deadline is Dec. 21 and the contest is international.**

***Check out the winner of the Green Beauty Guide and an announcement about First Book.***

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have not read any of the James Patterson thrillers yet. I have read 2 of his books, both of which were romantic.

I certainly didn't know that he had a novel based on a true story. I love thrillers and I love books based on true stories. This would be perfect for me. I'll look for this in bookstores here. thanks for the review.

Serena said...

Violet: Thanks for stopping by and checking out the book. This is Patterson's first nonfiction work. My mom was impressed. I have not read it yet, but I'll probably review it as well.

Anonymous said...

Welcome, Pat! I agree that this is a great book. I thought Cory was very brave to share his personal story.

Serena said...

Bermudaonion: Thanks for stopping by my mom's first review.

Toni said...

Good Job on your first review and Welcome!!! I have been wanting to read this one for awhile since I read a review on Jenn's Bookshelf. I had forgotten about it. Thanks for the review.

Serena said...

Toni: Thanks for the welcome. I will pass it along to mom. I'm glad we could remind you of this book.

Darlene said...

Welcome Pat- thanks for a great review. I'm a fan of James Patterson's stand alone books and this is definitely one on my list of books I need to read next year.

On another note, Serena thanks for posting my giveaway. I'm just going to put Martrimony up for you on my blog too.

Serena said...

Dar: Thanks for posting my Matrimony Giveaway. I haven't gotten that many entries. LOL But that tilts the odds in favor of those who have entered. :)

Darlene said...

I didn't either Serena. It's just because there's so many giveaways right now. YOu're right though-it makes the odds better for those who did enter.

Jeannie said...

Thank you, "Mom". You've convinced me to hurry up and get this book for my mom (a nurse who loves James Patterson) this book for Christmas. :)

Serena said...

Jeannie: Thanks for stopping by my mom's guest review! She is having fun with these with only minor prompting from me.

Anna said...

Great review, Mom! I hope you stop by here more often.

This sounds like an interesting book.

--Anna
Diary of an Eccentric

Serena said...

Anna: She will have a cross country review soon.

Joanne ♦ The Book Zombie said...

Great review, this looks like a very interesting read. I know very little about Tourettes syndrome, so this seems like a really good way to learn more about this condition.

Anonymous said...

This is so sad@! And I much appreciate the fat that this is a true story!

Serena said...

Joanne: This would be a great way to learn about the disorder.

Veens: I like reading true stories.

J.L. Danger said...

Hey! I have a James Patterson book up for grabs right now on my page. You should enter.

Shana said...

I've never read Patterson, but this sounds interesting. I love books based on real situations. Great review, Serena's Mom!

Shana
Literarily