Book Review: Bedside Manners

TITLE: BEDSIDE MANNERS

AUTHOR: Heather Frimmer

PUBLISHER: Spark Press

PUB DATE: 10/16/2018

THOUGHTS:

Bedside Manner is a beautiful and emotional mother daughter story about life and its delicate moments. Just when things are moving along well, the unexpected happens in the most unlikely time and situation.

Marnie is completing her medical school and have a bright future to look forward to - a surgical internship, a wonderful fiancée, and her mother Joyce takes time off work to help with the wedding plans. Just when you think everything is going as planned on the surface, underneath are the realities of the human struggles we all have to contend with. Marnie soon realizes her inadequacies and her role as a doctor when her young patient dies. She is faced with  the reality that as a doctor, she cannot save every patient and sometimes her patients do not want to be saved. As the wedding plans are finalized, she sees that her relationship with her fiancée and his family may not be as perfect as she once thought. Then her mother discovering a lump in her breast throws everything off balance.

The best parts of the book for me was seeing how Joyce navigates the healthcare system as she goes through what happens when you discover a lump in your breast. There is just the right amount of medical and funny moments. Joyce's point of view as a non-medical person is brilliantly written by Frimmer. She got it right! From the emotions to the support groups and the doctors. It had me turning the pages and enjoying this heartfelt and emotional read.

Bedside Manner is from a debut author and physician, Heather Frimmer. This book's release is timely in that October is Breast Cancer awareness month and this story will truly touch your heart, especially if you or someone you know has gone through breast cancer or any cancer diagnosis. This is a brilliant read for me and one that I highly recommend.

I voluntarily received a copy of this book from the author. All opinions expressed are mine.

SYNOPSIS: As Joyce Novak’s daughter, Marnie, completes medical school and looks ahead to a surgical internship, her wedding, and a future filled with promise, a breast cancer diagnosis throws Joyce’s own future into doubt. Always the caregiver, Joyce feels uncomfortable in the patient role, especially with her husband and daughter. As she progresses through a daunting treatment regimen including a biopsy, lumpectomy, and radiation, she distracts herself by planning Marnie’s wedding.

When the sudden death of a young heroin addict in Marnie’s care forces Marnie to come face-to-face with mortality and her professional inadequacies, she also realizes she must strike a new balance between her identity as a doctor and her role as a supportive daughter. At the same time, she struggles with the stark differences between her fiancé’s family background and her own and comes to understand the importance of being with someone who shares her values and experiences.

Amid this profound soul-searching, both Joyce and Marnie’s futures change in ways they never would have expected.

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT:

From Heather Frimmer's Website:

I’m a book addict who is not even considering recovery. Funding my book habit as a radiologist by day, I read over 100 books per year, especially enjoying women’s fiction, psychological suspense, historical fiction and family stories. A reviewer for Books, INK, I also post the occasional review of my own right here on my website.

For my day job, I am a physician—a radiologist specializing in breast imaging. When I’m not interpreting mammograms and x-rays in a dark room, or reading/reviewing books, you’ll find me writing. Bedside Manners (SparkPress, October 2018), my debut novel, is a tale of unbreakable maternal love and triumphant survival, offering a fictional window into the world of medicine.

Aside from books, reading, writing, books, and more books, I’m an enthusiastic foodie. Travel is another top hobby since it opens up doors to new food and restaurants. A lifetime member of Hadassah, I’m also a supporter of Pink Aid, an organization helping underserved breast cancer patients.

Suburban Connecticut is my home, where I live with my husband, Benjamin, a trained actor and now middle school theater teacher, and our two sons. The boys all have the acting “bug” and I serve as their most loyal and supportive audience member.

Tentatively titled, “Where the Blame Lies”, my second novel will again focus on the medical field, weaving a complex tale of addiction, love and survival on the operating table.