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Friday, September 19, 2014
Comfort or Cold-Blooded Murder: What Really Happened at Memorial During Katrina's Aftermath?
1:00 AM
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
As Hurricane Katrina barreled toward New Orleans in late August 2005, residents braced for impact. Many headed for Memorial Medical Center, a sprawling hospital in the heart of the city that had, for generations, provided sturdy shelter through violent storms. When the hurricane hit, around 2,000 people—including patients, doctors, nurses, other hospital employees, and their friends/family members (many of whom brought along pets)—sought safety inside its walls. Although the hospital suffered some damage from the storm's initial battering, it continued to operate, surviving as it always had.
When floodwater began to rise, swamping the city and causing widespread panic both within the hospital and without, the staff at Memorial started to realize they may not be as safe as they had previously thought. With complete power failure becoming increasingly likely, the evacuation of Memorial's nearly 200 patients become necessary. Stranded people all over the area were in dire need of rescue. With few vehicles available, hospital staff had to make some tough decisions: Which patients should be evacuated first? The tiny babies in the NICU? The sickest adults? The patients who were healthiest? A decision that seemed simple at the time, but later became critical, was made: patients with Do Not Resuscitate orders would be taken out of the hospital last.
Those in charge at Memorial believed the hospital would be emptied completely within a matter of hours. This did not happen—and would not happen until September 11th, when coroners removed 45 corpses from Memorial's chapel. What occurred to the more than 100 patients who remained after the hospital's initial evacuation during the five harrowing days between August 28, when the storm hit, and September 1, when all living patients were rescued from Memorial? Why did so many people, more than at any other medical facility of comparable size, perish? As the power died, causing the failure of lights, air conditioners, and life-saving medical equipment, conditions inside the hospital became unbearable, not just for patients but for the doctors and nurses who were rapidly losing hope in the promise of rescue. With no end to anyone's misery in sight, those in charge at Memorial made a critical choice—to make suffering patients "comfortable." Were those decisions merciful acts or cold-blooded murder?
Five Days at Memorial, an epic work of investigative journalism by Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Sheri Fink, presents the chilling facts, allowing the reader to come to his/her own conclusions about what really happened at the hospital. Well-balanced and exhaustively researched, it's a haunting account that asks important questions about disaster preparedness; medical ethics; end-of-life care; and the responsibility of doctors toward their patients, especially when under extreme stress with their own lives in danger. At just under 600 pages, Five Days at Memorial looks intimidating, but it's actually very readable. It didn't bore me in the least. Eye-opening and thought-provoking, the book is an intense, compelling piece of non-fiction that should not be missed.
For a shorter, but just as riveting account of the situation recounted in the book, click here to read "The Deadly Choices at Memorial," an article Fink published in The New York Times Magazine on August 25, 2007.
(Readalikes: Although Five Days at Memorial is different than anything else I've read about Hurricane Katrina, it does remind me of fictional accounts of the storm, like Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes and Upside Down in the Middle of Nowhere by Julie T. Lamana)
Grade:
If this were a movie, it would be rated:
for strong language, violence, and intense scenes/situations
To the FTC, with love: Another library fine find
Thursday, September 18, 2014
In Spite of Triple Digit Temperatures, Fall Is On My Mind ...
10:33 AM
Even though we don't start getting Fall weather here in the Phoenix area until oh, around December, I still love this time of year. It reminds me of autumn in the beautiful Columbia River Gorge (Washington/Oregon), where I grew up—I loved the crispness in the air, the golden colors of the changing leaves, the smell of ripening apples, and the feel of soft sweaters and flannel against my skin. None of those things are happening around me at the moment, but here's one sign of the season that remains the same no matter where I live: the start of the R.I.P. (Readers Imbibing Peril) Challenge over at Stainless Steel Droppings. I get excited about this reading challenge every year, even though I haven't participated in awhile. Things have been a little slow around old BBB lately, so I thought, why not liven things up with a little challenge? This one, which is in its ninth year (wow!), celebrates things that go bump in the night, particularly horror stories, dark fantasy, mystery, suspense, supernatural, gothic, etc. I'm a little late to the party this time around, but I'm going to go for broke and sign on for Peril the First which requires me to read four books that fit in with the RIP Challenge genres. Here's what I'm planning to read:
1. Contaminated by Em Garner -- This YA novel about rehabilitating zombies sounds like ... fun?
2. Her Dark Curiosity by Megan Shepherd -- The second book in a YA series starring 16-year-old Juliet Moreau, daughter of H.G. Wells' famous mad scientist.
3. Needful Things by Stephen King -- I think I read this waaayyyy back in high school. What better time for a re-read?
4. Sweet Unrest by Lisa Maxwell -- This book, which comes out in a couple of weeks, involves a teen girl who's trying to solve the mystery of the troubling dreams she's had all her life, which are becoming even more strange since her family moved into an old Louisiana plantation house.
What do you think? Can I handle it? We shall see, we shall see ... What about you? Are you brave enough to imbibe? Want to join the challenge with me? Click here for all the details. Also, don't forget to show some love to the talented Abigail Larson, who designed the challenge banners.
Happy
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Sequel Disappointing After Archetype Build-up
1:00 AM
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
(Note: Although this review will not contain spoilers for Prototype, it may inadvertently reveal plot surprises from its predecessor, Archetype. As always, I recommend reading books in a series in order.)
Having narrowly escaped the possessive clutches of Declan Burke—the man who claims to be her adoring husband—Emma is on the run. Desperate to find the parents she never knew, she's spent the last year searching the globe for any sign of them, but to no avail. While questioning a promising source in far-off Mexico, she receives shocking news. Declan, whom she believed to be dead is, in fact, alive. Not only that, but he wants her back. And has promised to make the person who can produce his missing wife a very, very wealthy individual.
With a target on her back, Emma has little choice but to go underground. Although the Resistance leaders allow her to hide with them, no one—least of all Noah Tucker—can quite trust the clone who wears the face of their dead friend. Emma doesn't want to intrude on the life Noah has made for himself with another woman, even if that woman is now helping him raise their daughter. Still, she can't help feeling envious. Still unsure of what she actually is, Emma can't help questioning what she wants and where she really belongs. Should she reconcile herself to being Declan's dutiful wife or should she fight for what was Emma Wade's—even if she's not exactly Emma Wade? As Declan's forces close in on her, Emma must chose her fate, once and for all.
After the thrill ride that was M.D. Waters' Archetype, I couldn't wait to delve into its sequel, Prototype. I expected the same kind of taut, twisty plotline; intriguing world-building; and psychological suspense that kept me so riveted in the first book. Did I find it in Prototype? Not so much. The plot suffers because of Emma's weak story goal, dissolving into a generic dystopian cat-and-mouse adventure with an irritating love triangle at its center. There are a few psychological thrills thrown in to make Prototype interesting, but not quite enough to make it as enjoyable as Archetype. All in all, I did find this one entertaining, just a little disappointing after the build-up of the first book.
(Readalikes: Archetype by M.D. Waters)
Grade:
If this were a movie, it would be rated:
for strong language, violence, and sexual content
To the FTC, with love: I received an ARC of Prototype from the generous folks at Penguin. Thank you!
Monday, September 15, 2014
Archetype a Taut, Twisty Genre Mash-up
1:43 PM
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
When 26-year-old Emma Burke awakes in a hospital with only the foggiest of memories to keep her company, her doctor explains that she's been in a horrible accident. Because of her injuries, she can't remember the most mundane things—like her husband. Declan tells her stories about how they met, fell in love, and lived happily ever after, but they might as well be fairy tales. These beloved memories should feel familiar, but they don't. Not at all. The strange dreams that fill her nights seem more real. But, they project impossible images, false memories of violence, a camp where young girls are trained to be perfect wives, and her love for a man who is not Declan. Emma can't make any sense of anything. She should be able to confide in her husband as well as her doctor, Declan's trusted friend—if it weren't for the warning voice screaming in her head, maybe she would.
Meeting Noah Tucker, the head of a security company engaged by Declan, changes everything for Emma. She's almost positive he's the man in her dreams—the one who makes every nerve ending in her body tingle with joy—so why is he trying to kill her?
More confused than ever, Emma must decide who to believe—her husband or the man who haunts her dreams. The story Noah tells her feels nearly as false as the one Declan has spun. Which version of her life is the true one? Both? Neither? Who is Emma Burke, really? The more she learns about herself, the more horrified she becomes ...
It's tough to describe Archetype, a debut novel by M.D. Waters, without throwing spoilers all over the place. Suffice it to say, the story's a taut, twisty genre mash-up (sci fi/psychological thriller; romance; dystopian-ish) that will keep you guessing. Or maybe you'll have it all figured out by the second chapter. Even then, I dare say, you'll keep reading. Because, whatever else Archetype may be, it's an edge-of-your-seat, mind-bending adventure that will leave you clamoring for a sequel (good news: Prototype came out in July).
Grade:
If this were a movie, it would be rated:
for strong language, violence, and sexual content
To the FTC, with love: I received a finished copy of Archetype from the generous folks at Penguin/Dutton. Thank you!
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