Mercies in Disguise
A Story of Hope, a Family's Genetic Destiny, and the Science That Rescued Them
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Narrated by:
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Andrea Gallo
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By:
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Gina Kolata
About this listen
New York Times science reporter Gina Kolata follows a family through genetic illness and one courageous daughter who decides her fate shall no longer be decided by a genetic flaw.
The phone rings; the doctor has the results. "Are you ready, Amanda?"
The two people Amanda Baxley loves the most had begged her not to be tested. But she had to find out. If your family carried a mutated gene that foretold brutal illness and you could find out if you inherited it, would you do it? Would you confront it, accepting whatever answer came? Or ignore it while you could?
In Mercies in Disguise, acclaimed New York Times reporter and best-selling author Gina Kolata tells the story of the Baxleys, an upstanding family in small-town South Carolina. Many of them were doctors, but still, they are struck down by an inscrutable illness. Finally they discover the cause of the disease after a remarkable sequence of providential events.
Meanwhile science, progressing for 50 years along a parallel track, handed the Baxleys a question - not a cure but a blood test that would reveal who had the gene for the disease. Science offered another dilemma - fertility specialists had created a way to spare the children.
A work of narrative nonfiction in the tradition of the The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Mercies in Disguise tells the story of a family that took matters into its own hands when medicine could not help. It's a story of a family dealing with unspeakable tragedy without being driven apart. It is the story of a young woman - Amanda Baxley - who faced the future, determined to find a way to disrupt her destiny.
©2017 Gina Kolata (P)2017 Recorded BooksListeners also enjoyed...
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Story
One day in 2002 the 50-year old body of former Pittsburgh Steeler and hall of famer Mike Webster was laid on a cold table in front of pathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu. Webster's body looked to Omalu like the body of a much older man, and the circumstances of his behavior prior to his death were clouded in mystery. But when Omalu cut into Webster's brain, it appeared to be normal. Something didn't add up.
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Truly Enlightening
- By Marie on 01-31-20
By: Dr. Bennet Omalu, and others
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Knocking on Heaven's Door
- The Path to a Better Way of Death
- By: Katy Butler
- Narrated by: Katy Butler
- Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Like so many of us, award-winning writer Katy Butler always assumed her aging parents would experience healthy, active retirements before dying peacefully at home. Then her father suffered a stroke that left him incapable of easily finishing a sentence or showering without assistance. Her mother was thrust into full-time caregiving, and Katy became one of the 24 million Americans who help care for aging parents. In an effort to correct a minor and non - life threatening heart arrhythmia, doctors outfitted her father with a pacemaker.
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A better way to narrate a book about death?
- By MAUREEN on 10-21-13
By: Katy Butler
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Brainstorm
- Detective Stories from the World of Neurology
- By: Suzanne O'Sullivan
- Narrated by: Christine Williams
- Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Brainstorm follows the stories of people whose medical diagnoses are so strange even their doctor struggles to know how to solve them. A man who sees cartoon characters running across the room; a girl whose world suddenly seems completely distorted, as though she were Alice in Wonderland; another who transforms into a ragdoll whenever she even thinks about moving. The brain is the most complex structure in the universe. Neurologists must puzzle out life-changing diagnoses from the tiniest of clues, the ultimate medical detective work.
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Not As Compelling...
- By Douglas on 11-08-18
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Appointments with Heaven
- The True Story of a Country Doctor's Healing Encounters with the Hereafter
- By: Dr. Reggie Anderson, Jennifer Schuchmann
- Narrated by: Eric G. Dove
- Length: 9 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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When a patient first asked Dr. Reggie Anderson to sit at her bedside as she passed from this life, something miraculous happened. As he held her hand, the veil between this world and the next parted…and he received an astonishing glimpse of what awaits us in heaven. Little did he know this was just a foretaste of what was to come - a lifetime of God-given "appointments with heaven." Join Reggie as he shares remarkable stories from his life and practice, including the personal tragedy that nearly drove him away from faith forever.
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More about Christianity than the Hereafter
- By Karen on 11-25-14
By: Dr. Reggie Anderson, and others
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Inconceivable
- A Medical Mistake, the Baby We Couldn't Keep, and Our Choice to Deliver the Ultimate Gift
- By: Carolyn Savage, Sean Savage
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell, Danny Campbell
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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A medical mistake during an IVF procedure.An unthinkable situation....you're pregnant with the wrong baby. You can terminate, but you can't keep him. What choice would you make?
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"Misconception" and "Inconceivable"
- By Simone on 12-17-12
By: Carolyn Savage, and others
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Forever Ours
- Real Stories of Immortality and Living from a Forensic Pathologist
- By: Janis Amatuzio
- Narrated by: Janis Amatuzio
- Length: 3 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Forensic pathologist Janis Amatuzio first began recording the stories told to her by patients, police officers, and other doctors because she felt that no one spoke for the dead. She believed the real experience of death, namely the spiritual and otherworldly experiences of those near death and their loved ones, was ignored by the medical professionals, who thought of death as simply the cessation of breath. She knew there was more.
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Forever Ours
- By Londa on 01-04-06
By: Janis Amatuzio
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The Center Cannot Hold
- By: Elyn R. Saks
- Narrated by: Alma Cuervo
- Length: 12 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Professor of psychiatry Elyn R. Saks writes about her struggle with schizophrenia in this unflinching account of her mental illness. In The Center Cannot Hold, Saks draws readers into a nightmare world of medications, a misguided health-care system, and social stigmas. But she would not be defeated. With a strength and force of will that most can only imagine, Saks reclaimed her life and went on to achieve great success.
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Schizophrenia Inside Out
- By Pamela Harvey on 07-23-09
By: Elyn R. Saks
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Identical Strangers
- A Memoir of Twins Separated and Reunited
- By: Elyse Schein, Paula Bernstein
- Narrated by: Alma Cuervo, Effie Johnson
- Length: 9 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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This is the astonishing true story of Elyse Schein and Paula Bernstein, who shared a personal history for more than three decades - and didn't know it. In her mid-30s, Schein finally decided to call an adoption agency to learn about her biological mother. Not expecting much, she instead got the surprise of her life. Her identical twin sister, Bernstein, lived just minutes away.
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What if you are a twin and don't know it?
- By Joanne on 07-15-08
By: Elyse Schein, and others
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Brotherhood
- Dharma, Destiny, and the American Dream
- By: Sanjiv Chopra, Deepak Chopra
- Narrated by: Deepak Chopra, Sanjiv Chopra
- Length: 12 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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The Chopra brothers were among the most eager and ambitious of the new generation. In the 1970s, they each emigrated to the United States to make a new life. Both faced tough obstacles: while Deepak encountered resistance from Western-trained doctors over what he called the mind-body connection, Sanjiv struggled to reconcile the beliefs of his birthplace with those of his new home. Eventually, each brother became convinced that America was the right place to build a life, and the Chopras went on to great achievements.
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How to Toot Your Horn
- By Kenneth on 07-01-13
By: Sanjiv Chopra, and others
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Real Life, Real Miracles
- True Stories That Will Help You Believe
- By: James L. Garlow, Keith Wall
- Narrated by: Jon Gauger
- Length: 6 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Is God still doing miracles today? Absolutely! These real-life, credible stories of miraculous experiences, gathered by the authors of Miracles Are for Real, reveal that God is still very active in the world. Each gripping story is sure to encourage and inspire, offering hope and a sense of wonder. When Steve rolled his car, he should have been killed. Why didn’t he die that day? Caleb and Penny moved to a poor part of town to serve their community. But when one group of neighbors makes and sells drugs, will God’s angels protect them?
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that miracles happen everyday.
- By Amazon Customer on 03-31-24
By: James L. Garlow, and others
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Changing the Way We Die
- Compassionate End-of-Life Care and the Hospice Movement
- By: Sheila Himmel, Fran Smith
- Narrated by: Coleen Marlo
- Length: 6 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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There’s a quiet revolution happening in the way we die. More than 1.5 million Americans a year die in hospice care - nearly 44 percent of all deaths - and a vast industry has sprung up to meet the growing demand. Once viewed as a New Age indulgence, hospice is now a $14 billion business and one of the most successful segments in health care. Changing the Way We Die, by award-winning journalists Fran Smith and Sheila Himmel, is the first book to take a broad, penetrating look at the hospice landscape.
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Sadly, not very engaging.
- By Debra S. Long on 06-16-18
By: Sheila Himmel, and others
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Chicken Soup for the Soul: Stories of Faith
- Inspirational Stories of Hope, Devotion, Faith, and Miracles
- By: Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Amy Newmark - editor
- Narrated by: Sandra Burr, Tom Parks
- Length: 10 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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This is the first Chicken Soup audiobook to focus specifically on stories of faith, including 101 of the best stories from Chicken Soup’s library on faith, hope, miracles, and devotion. These true stories written by regular people tell of prayers answered miraculously, amazing coincidences, rediscovered faith, and the serenity that comes from believing in a greater power, appealing to Christians and those of other faiths, and everyone who seeks enlightenment and inspiration through a good story.
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good read
- By Amazon Customer on 07-29-16
By: Jack Canfield, and others
What listeners say about Mercies in Disguise
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- KarenLee
- 05-12-17
True Medical Mystery
Fascinating true story of a lovely SC family cursed with a rare and terrible genetic disease that manifests itself in middle age. Well told, kept my interest to the end. I was very anxious to hear the outcome of the screening tests that some of the family members sought and how they are trying to put an end to this tragic legacy.
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- Amazon Customer
- 11-10-22
Sappy
Every adjective in Roger’s Thesaurus was commandeered to pad out this otherwise remarkable story. Trying to add tension with suspense came out as stilted.
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- CrystalSC
- 01-14-20
An amazing story
Well written and read! I could listen to this again. I recommended this to ALL my friends and family. The book/story makes you feel as if you are a part of the journey this family endured.
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- Autodidact
- 05-21-21
Not Mad Cow
This heart rending story of a families struggles and triumphs was fascinating and informative. Hand clapping for Gina Kolat's research and writing (as usual) I have three hopes after reading this book. 1. Amanda and family stay happy. 2. People's ideas of what 'God' thinks will cool their hubris 3. CRISPR will fix prion diseases forever!
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Overall
- A Customer
- 04-13-17
Could Not Finish
I enjoy science-related books and am fond of medical "mysteries," but I found this book exceedingly slow in developing. The characters weren't as fleshed out, but at the same time I was not interested in the aside that a Kuru researcher was--much later in his career-- jailed for what I read between the lines as paedophilia. I increased the speed and managed to finish 25% of the book. At this point I'm not interested or invested in finding out what the mystery disease is.
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