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A review by winecellarlibrary
Saving Meghan by D.J. Palmer
5.0
I received a free print ARC of this novel from Goodreads Giveaways. Below is my honest review.
What an incredibly intriguing premise: a mother, fighting earnestly for her teenaged daughter's health despite a lack of diagnosis for her debilitating illness, Becky is accused of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy. In essence, she is accused of inflicting these severe symptoms on her own daughter due to a psychological disease she harbors. Frustrated with never-ending hospital visits that lead to no hope of a diagnosis, even her husband Carl begins to believe she is culpable for her daughter's sickness.
The narrators alternate between Becky, her daughter Meghan, and Zach (a doctor). Zach's own young boy died of mitochondrial disease, so when he suspects Meghan may also have the disease, his coworkers suspect he is too emotionally invested to be impartial.
This book is a page-turner. Is Becky a desperate mother who will do anything to save her daughter, or is she a product of her upbringing? Are Meghan's symptoms real or psychosomatic? Does Zach hold the cure to Meghan's disease, or has he been blinded by his own grief?
Although I was able to predict the main element of the conclusion, the ending was still surprising. I struggled to decide whether this book was really worthy of five stars after reading the ending (as thriller writers are wont to do, the ending is overly climactic to the point of absurdity). However, as I have already been recommending this book to friends and family, and since I was impressed by the level of detail in the medical and legal discussion, I have decided to bestow a solid five-star rating.
What an incredibly intriguing premise: a mother, fighting earnestly for her teenaged daughter's health despite a lack of diagnosis for her debilitating illness, Becky is accused of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy. In essence, she is accused of inflicting these severe symptoms on her own daughter due to a psychological disease she harbors. Frustrated with never-ending hospital visits that lead to no hope of a diagnosis, even her husband Carl begins to believe she is culpable for her daughter's sickness.
The narrators alternate between Becky, her daughter Meghan, and Zach (a doctor). Zach's own young boy died of mitochondrial disease, so when he suspects Meghan may also have the disease, his coworkers suspect he is too emotionally invested to be impartial.
This book is a page-turner. Is Becky a desperate mother who will do anything to save her daughter, or is she a product of her upbringing? Are Meghan's symptoms real or psychosomatic? Does Zach hold the cure to Meghan's disease, or has he been blinded by his own grief?
Although I was able to predict the main element of the conclusion, the ending was still surprising. I struggled to decide whether this book was really worthy of five stars after reading the ending (as thriller writers are wont to do, the ending is overly climactic to the point of absurdity). However, as I have already been recommending this book to friends and family, and since I was impressed by the level of detail in the medical and legal discussion, I have decided to bestow a solid five-star rating.