Reviews for The Book of Kehls

The average rating for The Book of Kehls based on 2 reviews is 5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2020-02-28 00:00:00 Trent I I was not excited about reading this book. I did not have high expectations and thought it would read like an ABC special featuring crip porn. I was instantly sucked in by her form of writing and how beautifully she wrote about such a heart wrenching experience. The book chronicles 6 generations of family, the authors family, that had boys with Duchenne, Muscular Dystrophy. It was so fascinating to read her descriptions about how the older generations cared for these boys and what their lives were like before we had the technology of electric wheelchairs, ramps and basic rights for people with disabilities. I was struck with the authors ability to describe the weakness and the deficits of her grandparents, parents and even herself and her husband with such a survivalist and strength based perspective. Her ability to show an overpowering empathy for her family members and describe reasons why they made the choices they did inspired me to understand others in the same empathetic lense. The author is by far hardest on herself and bares her guilt like an open wound. The only criticism I have of the book is that I found myself wanting her to put away this guilt and move on with her life as it was, which she finally does and I think by the end of the book forgives herself. It was also fascinating to read about the authors perspective on how each of these mothers coped with caring for these boys and ultimately the deaths of their sons. The author is a sister of Richie and the mother of Jamie, both of whom had Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. I was utterly amazed and awed by the authors ability to describe her own experiences in such a raw, open way. She really reveals her heart and soul in this book and the intense feelings of guilt she has as a sibling survivor and a mother that passes this disease onto her own son. Her intimate descriptions of all the physical hardships and barriers these boys went through, resonated with me on such a personal level, having a brother with SMA Dystrophy and myself having SMA Dystrophy, I felt like she was personal describing all the times I fell down and scraped my own knees trying to scale curb cuts, or dodge the bumps and pushes of other children and just trying to stay standing on my weak, wobbling legs. Even though it has been 37 years since I walked, her descriptions brought the memories of those struggles back to me like it was yesterday. Oh, and the utter, life-changing freedom that came with my first electric wheelchair! There were times when I was reading this book, that I literally thought how does she understand and describe my own experiences so well. I have never read anything like it that has resonated with me and my own experiences. This book literally tore me apart with some of her descriptions in their sheer power to bring forth of feelings of my childhood and the extreme sorrow of having lost my own brother and so many friends with Muscular Dystrophy. Finally, I also found a quote in the book that I love, "It is no small thing to come home at night to a hot meal, and someone who loves you."

Review # 2 was written on 2015-09-29 00:00:00 Richard Frank This beautifully-written memoir brings us into the family of men and women who carry DMD, Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. I read this book a number of years ago and re-read it this week. Not often do I feel myself at the brink of tears when reading, not often do I smile at the tender successes. I loved this memoir. Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a genetic disease that is passed from mother to son, is usually diagnosed in young boys and usually leaves them wheel-chair bound before they are ten. And that is only the sad beginning of their decline. Although there has been some progress with something called an exon - skipping gene therapy that helps with some forms of the disease, there is still no cure. Christine Kehl O'Hagan lost her brother and her son to the disease and brings the reader into the journey with great tenderness, with great rawness but with a stalwart and pitiless honesty. Nothing has touched me quite this deeply in ages.