Just Destiny by Theresa Rizzo – a Review
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DESCRIPTION
What would you do if your whole world fell apart?
Jenny Harrison made some poor choices in the past, but marrying Gabe was the best thing she’d ever done. They had the perfect marriage, until a tragic accident leaves Gabe brain dead and her world in ruins.
Devastated by grief, she decides to preserve the best of their love by conceiving his child, but Gabe’s family is adamantly opposed, even willing to chance exposing long-held family secrets to stop her. Caught in a web of twisted motives and contentious legal issues, Jenny turns to best friend and attorney, Steve Grant. Steve wants to help Jenny, but he has reservations and secrets of his own.
When something so private and simple turns public and complicated, will Jenny relent?
What is Steve willing to sacrifice to help Jenny?
REVIEW
5 out of 5 for this reader folks!
OH MY HEART STRINGS .. man they weren’t just pulled .. they were yanked!
I remember you Theresa Rizzo. The last book I reviewed for you left me an absolute wreck and ball of mush, and WHAMO .. you just did it again! You can tell a great story and captivate a reader, but what I love the most .. I felt this story could be real. No imaginary world, imaginary place but a collection of words about a situation that surely is controversial and that someone somewhere has faced! I really enjoy that aspect of this book.
So without many spoilers …..
Jenny Harrison is living a happy life married to a great man and then just like that *SNAPS* everything changes. Her husband Gabe was in a horrific accident and is now classified “brain dead”. Jenny faces the decision to pull the plug. Another topic surfaces as well … donation of organs. Devastated, Jenny grieves hard and although it was decided earlier by the married couple to not have children, Jenny wishes to retrieve her husbands sperm and have a piece of him with her always. Does she have the right to this?? Clearly, Gabe cannot give his consent nor did he fill out any paperwork that identified his opinion on donation of organs. Does this decision then go to Jenny as his spouse? Before we know it Jenny is thrown into the fight of her life as Gabe’s family members oppose her wishes and will do all they can to prevent Jenny from conceiving his child.
Steve Grant is Jenny’s best friend and an attorney. He agrees to help her any way he can with this fight despite his own feelings on the topic. He also has secretly been in love with Jenny (she doesn’t know this) since they became neighbours but respected her marital status. Now Steve faces his own uncertainty of his future and how to, if to progress with Jenny.
This story flourishes and blooms in the court room. Theresa must of done some serious research on this topic, because all the views, be it moral, ethics, law, emotion etc.. were well represented. So much so in fact that I found myself feeling like a tennis ball being exchanged from side to side. Never once did I feel I had a stern opinion on one particular side but more of an understanding of how both sides perhaps felt. Some characters were blatant ^%%(*)_(* and the methods/threats used to try and sway the other were cruel. Jenny herself annoyed me at times as well.
Truely an incredible story that came to life and knocked me on my rear end. There was no clear cut solution and after reading this I still feel undecided on how I felt on the topic. I do know however, that I now have an empty tissue pack that was almost full when I started this book.
Well done Theresa Rizzo, you cut deep and to the quick and because of that, you are memorable!
HAPPY READING! 🙂
Reviewed by Rachel
Copy provided by author
Fabulous review, Rachel. This does sound like very emotional read.
Wonderful review, Rachel. Sounds like an awesome book.
a great review. i want to read this book.
Hi Rachel, thanks for the lovely review! I’m so pleased you enjoyed it and your reaction was exactly what I was hoping for–it’s not my place to tell anybody how they should behave in that difficult situation (I couldn’t be that presumptuous ), but I just wanted readers to understand exactly how tough a decision it is. I’m constantly surprised by life events/things that seem so simple and then when I really look into it . . . it’s NOT simple at all!
Iraida and Mari, thanks for stopping in and I hope you enjoy Just Destiny!
Please enter me in this giveaway. The interview was out of sight, and the book sounds fantastic.
I do like you all on Facebook i get your notifications and I also like on twitter
I really want to read this book so thanks for the chance to win it
puddinp1e@msn.com
Wonderful review Rachel. I studied Thanatology as well as Medical Ethics in university and to ‘pull the plug’ as they call it comes with some very blurry lines-especially when there is always the possibility that what the MDs consider brain dead-doesn’t necessarily mean the patient can’t hear, feel or understand what is going on
Hi Sandy,
it’s pretty interesting stuff, eh? I’m so blessed that I’ve not been in that situation. It’s got to be terribly hard–especially when the patient doesn’t look as if he is in pain or suffering. My heart goes out to those facing that decision and my deepest admiration for those who are brave and selfless enough to donate their loved-ones organs and save others’ lives.
Great review and obviously some things to consider for ‘end of life’ decisions.
Wonderful review and such a controversial topic with end of life. Organ donation is always a necessity but I recently saw a TV show where many organ procurements can jump the gun before the ‘patient’ is actually ‘dead’.
Hi Alexis, That’s a frightening thought–jumping the gun. In MI at least, the criteria for determining brain death is quite specific so that shouldn’t be a realistic problem. But it stunned me how many people believe in organ donation, but fail to sign up for the program or make that choice on their driver’s license. Sad when hundreds of thousands of people die each year when they could have been saved via an organ transplant…
Great review, Rachel. Looks like this is going to be a great and yet emotional book to read.
Thanks for the review Rachel. Sounds like quite a tear jerker.
Great review. I am going to read this book.
Great review. Looks like a different type of book for me, but I want to read this.
WOW Rachel, what a great review. Sounds like a very interesting and heart breaking subject. I think I’ll have to read this one myself!