The Family Gene: A Mission to Turn My Deadly Inheritance Into a Hopeful Future

by Joselin Linder Narrated by Khristine Hvam

Overview

When Joselin Linder was in her twenties, her legs started to swell. She thought little of it, until her health problems started to compound in ways that baffled her doctors. Diagnosed with extreme liver blockage and dangerous levels of lymph fluid, Joselin turned to the most similar case she could think of-her father's.

Joselin compared the medical chart of her father-who had died of an undiagnosed disease, ten years prior--with that of an uncle who had died under similarly strange circumstances. Delving further into the past, she discovered her that her great grandmother had symptoms like hers, and she recognized that she was dealing with something more than a fluke. Whatever had killed her father, uncle, and great-grandmother was likely genetic, and the clock was ticking for the family members of her own generation.

Setting out to build a more complete picture of the disease that haunted her family, she approached Dr. Christine “Kricket” Seidman, the head of a group of world-class genetic researchers at Harvard Medical School and a colleague of her late father's, for help. Dr. Seidman has been attempting the map the faulty gene for seventeen years and has confirmed not only that Joselin's symptoms are genetic, but that Joselin's family is this disease's founder population-a group of people experiencing the baffling symptoms of a brand new mutation. Here, Joselin she tells the story of their gene: the lives it claimed and the future of genetics it foretells.

Digging into family records and medical history, interviews with family and friends and her own experiences with Harvard doctors, Joselin pieces together the story of a deadly gene to write a gripping and unforgettable exploration of family, history, love, and mortality. A compelling story of survival and perseverance, THE FAMILY GENE is an important story of a young woman reckoning with her father's death, her own mortality, and her ethical obligations to herself, family, and society.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

★ 01/09/2017
Linder (New York Post and Morning Edition) delivers a moving and deft account of her journey to unearth a diagnosis of the mysterious family gene that caused her father’s and six other relatives’ untimely deaths. In this fascinating journey, she seamlessly moves from instructing on complicated genomic science to revealing the relatable follies of her 20s, never shedding wit or humor. She eloquently tells the story of her father’s protracted battle with a mystery illness that led to his painful and courageous search for medical answers. Once Linder starts to develop similar symptoms she continues his quest. She consults medical experts and genomic specialists who revel in the wonders, intricacies, and unsolved mysteries of genetic science. She is able to write deftly about medicine with the same casualness and verve she devotes to stories of aimless romance and the ennui of her mid-20s. With compassion and a keen eye, she digs into her family history, medical history, and contemporary genetic science. Lessons on DNA and the significance of X chromosomes in passing genes are woven into Linder’s intimate look at her ongoing struggle to stay alive. She expertly balances the serious and often tragic with an indefatigable charm and warmth. This book is a wonderful blend of reflections on coming of age, medicine, and what it means to live against all odds. (Mar.)

Rachel Fershleiser

This unique book is at once a compelling mystery, a moving personal story, and a fascinating exploration of cutting-edge science. Scary and hopeful, perceptive and empathetic, it will give you new perspective on your own life choices and those of the people you love.

Bob Greene

Three of the most powerful forces in life are family, love and science. Joselin Linder, through a combination of the fates, found herself in a position to tell a first-person tale of how those forces can intersect.

Andrew Blum

The Family Gene is both a riveting medical mystery and a heart-wrenching family memoir. With compassion and humor, Joselin Linder keeps us turning the pages until we fully share her stunning insight: that genetics is equal parts science and love.

Abby Sher

Linder’s writing is magnetic. She weaves this deeply personal story with fascinating scientific discoveries—somehow leaving us hopeful, heartbroken, and inspired all in the same breath.

Jennifer Gilmore

A riveting story of a family, a disease, genetics, and the eternal path of living and dying we all walk. Intimate and instructive, immeasurably wise, Linder’s big-hearted and intelligent story of her tenacious search for answers to her family’s singular disease will leave you breathless.

Susannah Cahalan

The science is enthralling, the narrative’s race-against-the-clock tension is nail-biting, but at its core, this book is about the remarkable bond of family—and curse and gift of inheritance.

Library Journal

11/01/2016
After years of enduring mysterious symptoms similar to those suffered by her father and uncle, already deceased, Linder learned that 14 of her relatives made up a founder population exhibiting the symptoms of a new genetic mutation. With a 50,000-copy first printing.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170175031
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	03/14/2017
Edition description:	Unabridged

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