What Storylines Keep You Interested?
Does a Book with a Medical Storyline Intrigue You?
Recently I sat in a radiology office for a chest x-ray ordered by my doctor. And as I do a lot in public places, I searched the faces of those around me and studied their body language while we waited. Some were accompanied by family members, who sat hunched over and bent toward their relatives as if they were trying to protect them. The waiting room filled with people there for work-related problems and others with medical issues like me. Almost everyone was on their phone, the blessing and scrourge of the world. My x-ray turned out fine, so hopefully I’m done with that “storyline” for a while.
All this started me thinking about the books I’ve read that centered around medical events or had important medical information key to their stories. My first manuscript started that way. The storyline follows two sisters, who are left behind when their father unexpectedly dies, which starts a whole family fiasco that engulfs them. I described the father’s passing-the machines beeping, the doctors speaking softly behind their masks, the waiting, the prayers whispered to save him, and finally the letting-go. These details were the hard and the easy part of a chapter, as I’d gone through this myself when my own father left me almost fourteen years ago now. I wanted to show that side of my protagnist and antagonist at that crucial start of their journey.
My current manuscript deals with the effects of Alzheimer’s on one of the main characters, a grandmother, while her granddaughter searches for answers to a family mystery. Medical terms are key to the storyline. It’s not a medical drama, but we see how the grandmother’s disease stymies the search for answers. There’s also romance and mystery. This story’s in it’s third draft officially. I call it ‘officially’ because it’s probably in it’s one hundredth. But if you also read my Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/pattywwarren/) you know I’m giving it as many drafts as it needs. It will be finished when it’s finished. Hopefully in my lifetime. (Ha! Ha!)
The story is a concoction of multiple genres-Women’s Fiction, Mystery, Romance, and Book Club Fiction. Mixing up genres is my jam and of course, I threw in dual timelines just to make it challenging. I ask myself everyday, “What were you thinking?” I try not to “preach” the disease, only show the affects with details which I’m well aware of. As I wrote in another Substack post, my mother-in-law suffered from Alzheimer’s. It’s a terrible disease, robbing all of us of her memories. At some point, she didn’t really know what was going on, but we did. Not sure which part was the worse, but she knew us, her immediate family, until the end and that was a miracle we were lucky to have.
I’m reading The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams for the second time. It’s such a sweet and interesting tale of motherless girl who grew up in a land of words and how that affected her. In it, we see pregnancy, malnutrition, the effects of being a bondservant, and other medical happenings. But the story centers around Esme and her father. If you have time and even if you don’t, add this book to your TBR!
I also finished an upcoming thriller by Julie Clark called The Ghostwriter. It publishes on June 3, 2025. Julie Clark really knows how to tie family drama with a thrilling plot making the reader the beneficiary of her writing talent. You can check out my book review below or on GoodReads. One of her characters has Lewy Body Dementia and we the reader struggle to know what’s real or an hallucination. This is the same disease that took the life of the great comic Robin Williams.
As you can tell, I seem to have a wave of mother-centered writing and reading lately. Do you find yourself falling into themes when you read without realizing it? Have you read a good book lately that includes important medical terms or diseases that effect the story? Let me hear those recommendations from you!
BOOK REVIEW:
The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark
The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark was one rollercoaster ride of a book. Just when you get to know and like Olivia, she’s thrown into a no-win situation with her father. Her strong sense of right-and-wrong has put her back against a financial wall at the risk of losing the love of her life and her home. Olivia is forced to ghostwrite her father’s last book to salvage her own life. From the start, she begins to see a father she never knew. As Olivia pieces together the events leading up to the murder of her father’s brother and sister, she discovers more and more information, forcing her to confront her own past. Olivia will discover as much about herself as she does about her father and missing mother. The Ghostwriter’s tight tension and family dynamics kept me reading to the end. A Mysterious 5 Stars!
(Thank you to Sourcebooks and NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.)
These 23 Stories of everyday women making brave choices which change their lives will make you cry, laugh and turn the page. We are heading into the One Year Anniversary of the publication of this terrific anthology that could. Keep you eyes posted for information on Women’s Fiction Day on June 8th and how to win a free copy! You can also purchase a copy of the book on Amazon, BookBub, Kobo, and Barnes&Nobles.
Patty if you need a beta reader at some point, I'd be glad to read your novel. Two of mine have medical storylines, too.
Thanks for sharing this post, Patty.
I love books that feature or explore health or medical themes. I think this is because illness has figured so large in my own life.