shopping cart
Save up to 30% on our Staff Picks
Call us:  800-878-7323 HELP
McAfee SECURE helps keep you safe from identity theft, credit card fraud, spyware, spam, viruses and online scams.
Original Essays | December 12, 2009

Alexander McCall Smith: IMG The Courage of Others



I have recently written a novel about life in England during the Second World War. I felt some concern before I tackled this theme — the War... Continue »
  1. $16.76 Sale Hardcover add to wish list

    La's Orchestra Saves the World

    Alexander McCall Smith

Ships free on qualified orders.
Add to Cart
$9.50
List price: $14.00
Used Trade Paper
Ships in 1 to 3 days
Add to Wishlist
Qty Store Section
2 Beaverton Health and Medicine- Medical Biographies
2 Burnside Health and Medicine- Heart Care and Stroke
1 Hawthorne Health and Medicine- Heart Care and Stroke
1 Local Warehouse Health and Medicine- Heart Care and Stroke

Sick Girl

by Amy Silverstein

Sick Girl Cover

ISBN13: 9780802143877
ISBN10: 0802143873
Condition: Standard
All Product Details

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

An incredible journey into the life of a young heart transplant patient, Sick Girl is extraordinary both for its gripping story of a medical miracle and for its unique and forceful narrator, Amy Silverstein. At just twenty-four, Amy Silverstein was your typical type-A law student: smart, driven, and highly competitive. With a budding romance and a heavy academic schedule, Amy did not have time for illness--especially not one that caused her heart to pound violently and erratically in her chest, for her to black out, lose her breath, and even suffer temporary blindness. When her family doctor suggested that her symptoms were due to stress and diet, she was more than happy to drop a few classes, think calm thoughts, and eat fistfuls of salt. At such a young age, how could she have guessed that her heart was about to give out? With a grace and force reminiscent of Lucy Grealy's Autobiography of a Face or Susanna Kaysen's Girl, Interrupted, Amy Silverstein--a surprisingly irreverent narrator--chronicles her harrowing medical journey from the first misdiagnosis to her astonishing and ongoing recovery. Her memoir is made all the more dramatic by the deliriously romantic bedside courtship with her devoted boyfriend, Scott (now her husband), and her uncompromising desire to become a mother. Distrustful of her doctors and insistent in her refusal to be the grateful heart patient she is expected to be, Amy presents a patient's perspective that is truly eye-opening and sometimes controversial. Amy's shocking honesty and storytelling skills allow the reader to live her nightmare from the inside--an unforgettable experience that is both painfully disturbing and utterly compelling.

Synopsis:

The hardcover publication of Sick Girl garnered tremendous attention, generated impressive sales, and ignited controversy. Both inspiring and provocative, reactions to the book ranged from inflammatory posts on a U.S. News & World Report blog, to hundreds of letters from readers, to a full-page review in People. Amy’s force, candor, and her refusal to be the thankful patient from whom we expect undiluted gratitude for the medical treatments that have extended her life, have put her at the center of a debate on patient rights and the omnipotent power of doctors.  At twenty-four, Amy was a typical type-A law student: smart, driven, and highly competitive. With a full course load and a budding romance, it seemed nothing could slow her down. Until her heart began to fail. Amy chronicles her harrowing medical journey from the first misdiagnosis to her astonishing recovery, which is made all the more dramatic by the romantic bedside courtship with her future husband, and her uncompromising desire to become a mother.  In her remarkable book she presents a patient’s perspective with shocking honesty that allows the reader to live her nightmare from the inside—an unforgettable experience that is both disturbing and utterly compelling.

What Our Readers Are Saying

Add a comment for a chance to win!
Average customer rating based on 2 comments:
Cedate, February 3, 2009 (view all comments by Cedate)
Sick Girl is an amazingly candid and brutally honest account of Amy Silverstein's journey through chronic illness. Her narrative is both gripping and disturbing in its honesty and detail and I found it difficult to put down. Thank you Amy for your bravery in sharing your life with us.
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
(3 of 4 readers found this comment helpful)
Anne Payne, November 27, 2008 (view all comments by Anne Payne)
An excellent memoir, creating a vivid picture of what it's like to be a heart transplant recipient, and to be a young woman who makes a transition from apparent health to having a debilitating chronic condition. A good balance between emotion and information.
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
(3 of 4 readers found this comment helpful)
View all 2 comments

Product Details

ISBN:
9780802143877
Author:
Silverstein, Amy
Publisher:
Grove Press
Subject:
Medical - General
Subject:
Personal Memoirs
Subject:
BIO026000
Subject:
Diseases - Heart
Publication Date:
October 2008
Binding:
Paperback
Language:
English
Pages:
304
Dimensions:
8.26x5.48x.86 in. .63 lbs.

Other books you might like

  1. $10.50 Used Trade Paper add to wish list
  2. $61.75 New Hardcover add to wish list

Related Aisles

  • back to top

Powell's City of Books is an independent bookstore in Portland, Oregon, that fills a whole city block with more than a million new, used, and out of print books. Shop those shelves — plus literally millions more books, DVDs, and eBooks — here at Powells.com.