Title: Spared: A Memoir of Risk and Resolve
Author: Lori Jones
Publisher: Independently published on 7/13/2024
Language: English
Format(s): Hardcover, Softcover, e-book and audiobook, 400 pages
Genre: Memoir
ISBN/ASIN: 979-8-9907984-0-3
Reviewed by: Rachael Fealy-Layer
A deeply affecting memoir sheds light on Huntington’s Disease
In Spared, Lori Jones recounts her experience growing up in a family haunted by the specter of Huntington’s Disease, a degenerative neurological illness with no known cure. The memoir begins with her childhood growing up with her difficult, HD-affected father and goes on to show how those experiences rippled throughout her adulthood. Jones also discusses the difficult decisions faced by someone with HD in the family, including whether or not to get tested for the HD-causing gene.
I’ll admit that I knew little about HD before reading this book and I came away with a new understanding of an overlooked disease. Jones’ conversational writing style draws readers into a family’s quiet struggles as they navigate a difficult situation with no apparent solution. Spared educates readers while taking them on a personal journey, revealing both what a person can endure and the good that can emerge from those experiences. A highly recommended read.
