Overview

"This ""compulsively readable memoir...brings to light an issue that has been too long ignored...An immensely important book"" (Emily Oster, New York Times bestselling author of Expecting Better and Cribsheet). A story of a mother’s fierce love for her exceptional child and her courageous journey to break the silence about a hidden risk to pregnant women: ""both a beautiful family story and an urgent call to action… [A] moving, potentially life-altering book"" (Robert Kolker, author of #1 New York Times bestseller Hidden Valley Road). After a seemingly uneventful pregnancy, Megan Nix’s second daughter, Anna, was born very small and profoundly deaf. Megan and her husband, Luke, learned that Anna could have lifelong delays due to an infection from a virus they had never heard of: cytomegalovirus, or CMV, which Megan had unwittingly contracted from her toddler during pregnancy. Megan was electrified by this knowledge. She had been warned, while pregnant, about the risks of saunas, sushi, and unpasteurized cheese, a lack of folic acid, and an excess of kitty litter. She knew to fear a slew of genetic syndromes she could do little to prevent. But she had not been told that CMV is contagious in the saliva of one out of three toddlers, spread through a kiss, a shared cup, a bite of unfinished toast. She had not been told that the stakes were high, that congenital CMV causes more birth defects and childhood disabilities—including blindness, deafness, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and autism—than any infectious disease. Or that some of these disabilities are evident at birth, but others appear suddenly at age two or three and are never traced back to congenital CMV. Remedies for Sorrow unfolds across the dramatic landscape of Sitka, Alaska, where Luke makes his living as a salmon fisherman. There, Megan struggles to meet Anna’s needs and dives deeper into the mystery of why no one—not her OBGYN, not her toddler’s pediatrician—had mentioned CMV, despite the staggering cost of this silence to families and children like Anna. From this rugged and beautiful place comes a memoir about the boundless capacity of mothers, the extraordinary child that is Anna, and the lifesaving power of truth."

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9780385548595

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Reviews

In her compulsively readable memoir, Megan Nix brings to light an issue that has been too long ignored. Remedies for Sorrow is an immensely important book. -Emily Oster, author of Cribsheet

This is so much more than a book about medicine; it is a fierce, tender, intimate, beautifully written meditation on motherhood. The harsh beauty of Alaska and the intricate grace of her faith weave through Megan's story like silver and gold threads, invitations to sink deeply into the story of a life that is alternately heart-breaking and heart-healing-and that very much needs to be told. -Cara Wall, author of The Dearly Beloved, a Read with Jenna pick

Author Information

MEGAN NIX's writing has appeared in The New York Times; The Washington Post; Brain, Child magazine; and elsewhere. A graduate of the University of Alaska Anchorage Master of Fine Arts program in nonfiction, Megan divides her time between Colorado and Alaska with her husband and young children.

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