Recommended by the Reviewers Club

Breath, by Carly-Jay Metcalfe

Cover of Breath, by Carly-Jay Metcalfe.

I read this book because the theme of lung transplant surgery has very personal connotations to this reviewer.

It is a challenging and disturbing book in its vivid description of complicated operations – the book pulls no punches: the author has lost 18 young friends to Cystic Fibrosis although she has been fortunate in receiving donor lungs at the age of 12, 27 years ago. Tragically, Carly contracted a rare and painful cancer a few years after the treatment (a relatively common occurrence with transplants as a result of the anti-rejection drugs and suppression of the immune system), but has come through victoriously.

The author is a very bubbly personality and this shines through in her writing and her relationships with her many friends and supporters. Coincidentally, she has also recently been recorded on Conversations describing her journey which kept very close to the book.

4.3/5 Stars