In one word: Authentic
Cannonball Read Bingo: Pandemic
Full disclosure, TJ is a new acquaintance of mine and I was so excited to support her debut book! I of course was also a little nervous about reading it, what if I didn’t like it, how would I review it honestly? But no worries there, this book is (somehow) a refreshing and fun look at how both she and her husband survived her husband’s liver transplant, with their humor and marriage still intact. As a human being, she is a force to be reckoned with, sharp, fun, funny, and really real and this is who she is as an author as well. Her narrative voice is witty and will keep you turning the pages, even when the times get bleak.
Condon uses Facebook posts she shared during her husband’s transplant journey as fixed points on the timeline and adds in color commentary along the way. Each chapter marks the passage of time, almost like reading a movie script. It’s a raw look at their experiences, from his diagnosis to the harrowing time spent on the transplant list.
And yet, it is laugh-out-loud funny. From her antics chatting up strangers in the hospital, her attempts to stay calm and collected when emergency room visits go awry, to fighting with her very-ill, but also in one instance kind of asking for it husband, there is no topic off-limits. Condon clearly isn’t interested in sharing a shiny happy social media look at this journey. This is a no-holds-barred glimpse behind the curtain of a painful experience and she is sharing it with us both for laughs, and just in case it might help someone else. As I thankfully am not having to support someone with a critical medical issue I wouldn’t have been looking for this book, but I’m so glad I found it! I think it would be a great read for anyone looking for a bit of authentic human connection and to have perspective and insight into something that luckily most of us only have to worry about in the hypothetical.