I had to give myself a second to process this book before writing a review. Mainly because I cried myself to sleep after finishing this book. I understand the topics approached in this book are not ones that everyone would want to read or be able to relate to, and that's okay. This story is extremely bold, cutting, heart wrenching, sad, yet loving and inspiring all at the same time. It's struggling to make decisions and sacrifices for the best of your family to the best of your ability. Some of these decisions and sacrifices readers can relate to, understand or empathize with, some even agree with. And here comes the controversy with this book, on the same spectrum some readers are very angry with or morally disagree with some of those decisions and sacrifices.

While I don't have Hunington's disease, I do have an incurable neurological debilitating disease that makes my body betray itself and lose function. As a mother, I could relate to Mara in being scared that I can't be the mother my son deserves or the wife my husband deserves because of my disease. And that I embarrass my son and family when my body betrays me (especially in public). I felt a kindred connection to Mara's dilemma and I appreciated how the author handled these topics in a raw yet sensitive manner.

The other storyline in this book deals with adoption. I read a lot of the criticisms on this book, and here are the issues I have. Unless you have walked a mile in our shoes on either the disease end or adoption end (whether you were adopted, had to make the decision to place you child up for adoption, involved in the foster care system or have adopted a child), I don't feel you really have the right to criticize the decisions and actions of the storylines. I wasn't reading people having issues with the author's writing ability or the flow with the book. Most of it had to do with people not agreeing or liking decisions either storyline did or did not make. And that's the beauty of goodreads and our country - you have a right to your opinion. I will go back to my statement above - walk a mile in our shoes before passing judgements.

Having said all of that, this was a magnificently beautiful book to me. Have a box of tissue with you when you read.

3 1/2⭐️

Loved this book! Such an interesting concept of a woman - and her family - suffering from little-known Huntington’s disease. Mara didn’t know she had the disease because she was adopted, and didn’t know her birth parents’ medical history. Thankfully her own daughter is also adopted, and they know from her medical records that Laks doesn’t have a disorder. On a forum for nontraditional families, Mara talks about being an adoptive parent, and befriends a man who is fostering an eight-year-old boy, even though his pregnant wife isn’t thrilled with the situation. The concept of “five days left” builds a lot of suspense, and the ending couldn’t be any more satisfying. I look forward to reading more from Julie Lawson Timmer! This book reminded me of Lisa Genova, so if you like her you’ll like this, or if you liked this book, check out Genova’s as well!

Maudlin, sentimental, predictable and repetitive - and yet I had to finish it because it was somehow also compelling in a weird way.

A heart wrenching roller coaster that I couldn’t put down. The connection between the 2 stories was weak, but each story was complex and interesting enough on their own it didn’t bother me much.

Life is full of tough choices. I love a book that challenges my thinking and gets me to see through another's eyes. I'll be thinking about this novel for a while!

Have a box of tissues handy!

I won an advanced reader copy of this book from Goodreads. This was a great effort from a first time novelist. It is actually two stories - the story of Mara, a 42 year old mom and lawyer who has Huntington's Disease and wants to spare her family the difficult road she knows lies ahead and the story of Scott, a teacher and father to be who has 5 days left with the young boy he and his wife have been fostering for the past year. They are connected through an online forum they both participate in. This is a great book club selection - it would definitely spark a lot of interesting discussions.

Best book I have read this year :) Just kidding - but seriously, best book I have read in quite some time. I couldn't put it down. Feel asleep with it in my face last night trying to finish. This is a debut novel and I can't wait to see what else this author comes up with. I cried, I laughed, I cried some more...highly recommend!!!!

It took me awhile to finish this book. I started it in the summer and didn't pick it up for awhile. It's about sickness and dying. Not my favorite subject. But I picked it up again recently and finished it in a weekend. It was good. Three stars because I didn't love some of the choices the characters made and didn't feel they were fitting. I didn't love the book but it really did describe how I would imagine a family would be turned upside down with someone getting a fatal illness. It left me with lots of thoughts and feelings.