Inside the O'Briens Audiobook By Lisa Genova cover art

Inside the O'Briens

A Novel

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Inside the O'Briens

By: Lisa Genova
Narrated by: Skipp Sudduth
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About this listen

From award-winning, New York Times best-selling author Lisa Genova comes a powerful new novel that does for Huntington's disease what her debut Still Alice did for Alzheimer's.

Joe O'Brien is a 44-year-old Boston police officer from the Irish Catholic neighborhood of Charlestown, Massachusetts. A devoted husband, a proud father of four children in their 20s, and a respected, seasoned law enforcement officer, Joe begins experiencing bouts of disorganized thinking, uncharacteristic temper outbursts, and strange, involuntary movements. He initially attributes these episodes to aging and the cumulative physical and psychological stress of his job, but as these symptoms worsen, he agrees to see a neurologist and is handed a diagnosis that will change his and his family's lives forever: Huntington's disease.

Huntington's is a lethal neurodegenerative disease with no treatment and no cure. And it is genetic. Each of Joe's four children has a 50 percent chance of inheriting their father's disease, and a simple blood test can reveal their genetic fate. While watching their potential futures in their father's escalating symptoms, the children struggle with the questions this test imposes on their young adult lives, including his youngest, 21-year-old Katie. Does she want to know? What if she's gene positive? Can she live with the constant anxiety of not knowing?

As Joe's symptoms worsen, and he's eventually stripped of his badge and more, he struggles to maintain his identity and sense of purpose. How can he find hope in a situation that feels hopeless? How can he find courage without any armor or weapons? What else might he be able to pass down to his children other than a fatal disease? Where is the honor in living and dying with Huntington's?

©2015 Lisa Genova (P)2015 Simon & Schuster
Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Medical Women's Fiction Genetics Heartfelt Tearjerking Thought-Provoking
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Critic reviews

"Skipp Sudduth's performance of Genova's exploration of Huntington's disease makes the science of this inherited, incurable, degenerative nerve disease very personal.... Sudduth's no-nonsense delivery and unemotional handling of this highly emotional subject are exactly right.... Clear-eyed and heartrending, this is top-notch listening." ( AudioFile)
Informative Story • Heartwarming Family Tale • Excellent Narration • Insightful Disease Depiction • Authentic Voice
Highly rated for:
All stars
Most relevant
Even though it can be sad it was uplifting and informative
I absolutely recommend it

Learned A Lot

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The characters are all fully developed and interesting. They're people I can relate to. Many points in the story that brought tears and many that made me laugh out loud.
Highly recommended.

Educational and entertaining

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The indecision of one character was maddening, and I didn't agree with the ethical decisions by some of the characters.
Overall, it was engaging, though, just a few hiccups through the indecision phase. The ending wasn't awesome (or at least according to me, some might like it, apparently the author did).

pretty good overall...but

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I enjoyed this book and completely gave you a better at clinical understanding of Huntington's disease but I do not like how the author ended the book and anticipation for what's next I don't know if Katie has it or if she didn't I would like to know more

Great but then left questioning

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Every book she writes educates you, but it also makes you more human when confronted with or by anyone who is going through this. However, since this one covers multiple generations, it was a real tearjerker for me.

Lisa Genova heartbreaker

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Absolutely loved the family dynamics and also learning about such a horrible disease. Very well done

Heartbreaking and Heartwarming

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I really liked the book. However, I did not approve of the author's ending.

I thought it needed to carry the individual stories further along.

Good but

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Another amazing book by Genova! love the medical combination with a great story! very well written!

Amazing!

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Loved the performance, it bought a surprising warmth and immediacy to Lisa Genova s fascinating tale of how different family members deal with learning about their hereditary and fatal condition

Engaging story, fabulous performance

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Great story, loved the narrator. Wish it had gone on longer, since I got so attached to the characters.

Couldn't stop listening

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