A Keeper of a Book
My Sister's Keeper
by Jodi Picoult
What is my purpose in life? Often we ask ourselves this sort of question. Who am I? Why am I here? What do I give back? In many ways our answers to these questions shape our identities. These are the type of questions that Jodi Picoult poses in her recent novel My Sister's Keeper.
I am a big fan of Picoult's novels. I just finished reading her newest, My Sister's Keeper, and while it's not my favorite of her works (that honor goes to her last book Second Glance) I thoroughly enjoyed it and highly recommend it. It's not a book that will thrill readers with great action and adventure, steamy love scenes, or epic histories; but it is a quiet, gentle novel that will pose questions, invite introspection, and explore the concepts of identity, responsibility, and love.
Thirteen year old Anna Fitzgerald doesn't ask herself what her purpose is in life. She has always known. Anna Fitzgerald was genetically engineered to be a perfect donor match for her sister Kate who suffers from a rare form of leukemia. After her birth, Anna's stem cells were used to help save Kate, then two years old. The procedure was painless and effective. Kate went into remission, and Brian and Sara Fitzgerald were blessed with three healthy kids; Jesse, Kate and Anna.
Several years later, though, Kate's leukemia returned, and Anna donated blood, plasma and bone marrow to help keep Kate healthy. These procedures were more invasive and painful to Anna, but they did help to ebb the tide of Kate's disease. Now, at age thirteen, Anna is again being asked to again donate for her sister. All of Kate's treatments have damaged her kidneys, and without a transplant, Kate will die of kidney failure. Anna, being the perfect donor match is asked to provide her sister with one of her healthy kidneys. This procedure will be invasive and painful. If successful, both girls will have one healthy kidney, and Kate will have the chance to regain her health, but there are no guarantees.
With the aid of Attorney Campbell Alexander, Anna sues her parents for medical emancipation and for the right to choose for herself what procedures she will undergo. If she does not donate her kidney, Kate will probably die. If she does donate, Anna herself will undergo painful surgery and subject herself to possible future health worries. What thirteen year old child can make such a decision?
Julia Romano is appointed by the court as Anna's guardian ad litem. It is her job to speak with the family members and determine if Anna is able to make these decisions for herself. What ensues is a heart wrenching exploration of one family's struggle to make the "right" decisions in a situation that offers no clear cut answers.
Picoult tells her story in multiple first person narration with each chapter told from the voice of Anna, Sara, Brian, Jesse, Campbell or Julia. As a result, we as readers are able to witness each character's struggle. At times each is sympathetic; at times each seems unlikable and selfish. In the end, we are struck by the deep tragedy that the Fitzgerald family faces, and are left to draw our own conclusions about what is "right" and what is "wrong". Picoult does a wonderful job of highlighting the moral and emotional dilemmas of each character, but stops short of making any judgments each character's actions or any determination about what the "right" course of action should be.
I won't share any more of the events in this novel, or how things end up for the Fitzgerald family. What the reader takes away from the novel is not so much the outcome for the Fitzgerald's, but the thought process that the reader goes through and what he/she learns about him/herself and about our relationship as individuals with our family, friends and society.
Praise to Jodi Picoult for writing such a sensitive novel about such an emotional topic. She forces us to address difficult questions and has the grace to allow us to formulate our own answers. My Sister's Keeper is a book that should be read and discussed by all.
--D. Igo
