Bedside Manners by Heather Frimmer
Yet another book being brought to you by the AMAZINGLY WONDERFUL Suzy Approved Book Tours. There’s just nobody better.
About the book:
As Joyce Novak’s daughter, Marnie, completes medical school and looks ahead to a surgical internship, her wedding, and a future filled with promise, a breast cancer diagnosis throws Joyce’s own future into doubt. Always the caregiver, Joyce feels uncomfortable in the patient role, especially with her husband and daughter. As she progresses through a daunting treatment regimen including a biopsy, lumpectomy, and radiation, she distracts herself by planning Marnie’s wedding.
When the sudden death of a young heroin addict in Marnie’s care forces Marnie to come face-to-face with mortality and her professional inadequacies, she also realizes she must strike a new balance between her identity as a doctor and her role as a supportive daughter. At the same time, she struggles with the stark differences between her fiancé’s family background and her own and comes to understand the importance of being with someone who shares her values and experiences.
Amid this profound soul-searching, both Joyce and Marnie’s futures change in ways they never would have expected.
Book Blurbs
“Drawing from her experience as a radiologist, Frimmer’s poignant debut examines a beautifully authentic mother-daughter relationship and the challenges inherent in a breast cancer diagnosis. Her writing is both heartfelt and astute―this book will stick with you long after you’ve finished reading it.” ―Emily Liebert, USA Today bestselling author
“This book captures the anxiety and fear I see in all of my patients with breast cancer. The alternating storyline highlights the struggles of medical training and learning to be a good doctor. I didn’t want this book to end.”―Dr. Richard Zelkowitz, dedicated breast oncologist at Norwalk Hospital
“Gripping, tender, and insightful, Bedside Manners is a testament to the intensity of a career in medicine and the transcendent bonds of family … my absolute favorite kind of book.”―Kimmery Martin, author of The Queen of Hearts
“In this wonderful debut, Heather Frimmer channels her experience as a physician to humanize the stories about breast cancer presented in the media. Bedside Manners is a medical story, a mother-daughter tale, and a coming of age narrative, all rolled up into one absorbing story. Joyce and Marnie are both touchingly real and relatable. I rooted for them both up to the very last page.” ―Alisyn Camerota, author of Amanda Wakes Up and co-host of CNN’s morning show “New Day”
“A warm and insightful glimpse from both sides of the examining table. Frimmer merges the experiences of doctor and patient as this mother-daughter relationship faces a frightening diagnosis.”― Leah DeCesare, award-winning author of Forks, Knives, and Spoons
My review
If you’ve read some of my past reviews you know that one of the things I love besides romcoms and Christmas is a good medical drama. My many years as a CTICU nurse are so strongly ingrained into every aspect of my being that sometimes I wonder if I could ever do anything else. So when I saw Suzy was doing a tour for Heather Frimmer’s Bedside Manners, I couldn’t email her fast enough to see if I could get on board. (Yes, that same Suzy, the one from Suzy Approved Book Tours that always represents the most amazing books, not kidding, see previous posts).
This story really revolves around two people, Marnie Novak who is a medical student in NYC and her mother Joyce. Marnie is just about to graduate from her last year of medical school, and at the same time is planning her wedding coming up in the summer. She is trying to maintain her sanity as she tries to deal with both becoming a doctor and becoming a new wife. Joyce has just recently been diagnosed with breast cancer and is struggling with the “right time” to tell Marnie about her diagnosis. She is determined not to let it effect her daughters wedding and graduation, her husbands dental practice where she works, and plans to face her upcoming therapy alone without support.
What we end up having is an amazing tale of courage, strength and family and what it is like to deal with the struggles of every day life. Then we see what happens to those struggles when we add a daunting medical diagnosis. There is an emotional aspect to this book that you won’t find anywhere else, and please don’t think that it’s all sad, because it absolutely is not. Heather Frimmer writes this from a point of view that most people don’t get to see or hear about, and she interprets it quite well. The authenticity of the perspectives of the main characters was penned brilliantly. I personally enjoyed the medical aspect of the book, because that’s the type of thing I devour, and Ms. Frimmer did not disappoint in that area either. (Though some of you really squeamish ones may not enjoy it as much as I did).
I have to say this one was extremely well put together and read like an excellent drama you didn’t want to put down. I understand Heather Frimmer is currently working on her second novel which is also focused on the medical field, and I can’t wait go get my grubby little hands on it too. My rating: an easy 4 Stars.
I just would like to thank Heather Frimmer, Suzanne Leopold of Suzy Approved Book Tours and She Writes Press (#partner) for the copy of this book for my unbiased and honest opinion for review.
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About the Author
Heather Frimmer is a physician by day, specializing in diagnostic radiology and breast imaging, and an avid reader and writer at all other times. A published book reviewer across multiple websites, including Books, Ink and Booktrib, and a member of the Westport Writers’ Workshop, she lives in Connecticut with her husband and two sons. https://www.heatherfrimmer.com/
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