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Confessions of a Kidney Transplant Recipient
Mary Wu, an ABC (American-Born Chinese), was diagnosed with renal agenesis at the tender age of 3-years-old and in the 1980's when organ donation and transplantation was still in medical research development and lacking public awareness. Her parents, who were immigrants from China, were told that kidney transplantation was the only option to save her life. Mary Wu's life experiences and the many people along the way who guided her throughout her journey are told with candid information and inspiration to enlighten and engage readers for years to come.
564 pages, Paperback
First published May 3, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 10, 2017
Having followed this author, Mary Wu, for more than two years now as she shared monthly on-line drafts of each of her twenty-nine chapters of this amazing book, I have been challenged over and over again to find words to describe my ever growing positive reactions in reading each chapter. I feel no less challenged now as I offer a summary review as she has finally finished it and now looks to have it published.
Mary tells an inspiring life story of challenges as she lives through two kidney transplants, first at age five, another at age twelve, dealing with the many issues that entails as a little girl, as a teenager filled with new emotions and freedom, then as a young adult finding her way in the working world, to her current age of 29. With each chapter I was amazed at her gifted storytelling, seeming to get better with each new chapter release, sharing not only the facts of her life, but communicating her emotions in a way few authors are capable of doing. Her writing reveals a command of the language that captures deep dimensions of her everyday life, drawing the reader “up close and personal” through the gifted writing often reserved for more senior or experienced writers. As just one example, I felt I knew her father personally through that reading, a very wise and supportive father, and was later to have the opportunity to meet him in person, confirming Mary’s accuracy in his portrayal in her stories.
Even months after reading these chapters when details often fail in my memory, I can still feel my connecting with her fears and then growing strength in dealing with a change in her doctors from a pediatric environment to an adult program, a chapter I strongly recommend to readers as another fine example of her gifted skill in capturing a young girl’s inner feelings facing such growth and change. Whether its sharing the thrill of riding the Donate Life float in the Rose Parade in Pasadena, or revealing the intimate thoughts of a child and later young lady facing life, this is a unique and captivating read for patients, caregiving family and friends and especially transplant medical professionals who would benefit from such a revealing insider view of youth dealing with life post-transplant.
In summary, Mary offers her very unique style of inspiration in this book, showing how it really isn’t the things that happen to each of us in life, but rather how we face and grow with our life challenges that define us. As she shares in her closing words: “Life was a combined balancing act force of fate throwing unexpected curveballs at us, but also taking what was given to us and soaring above and beyond with our very own choices and actions.”
(Note: the red book cover shown in this review is only a first draft of several concepts she is considering, so don’t look for that design in your book stores just yet. But you don’t have to wait since the author shares her book draft on-line at http://kidneyconfessions.blogspot.com
see this and more than a hundred other organ donation/transplant related books - many with my personal reviews - at http://www.trioweb.org/resources/book...
Mary tells an inspiring life story of challenges as she lives through two kidney transplants, first at age five, another at age twelve, dealing with the many issues that entails as a little girl, as a teenager filled with new emotions and freedom, then as a young adult finding her way in the working world, to her current age of 29. With each chapter I was amazed at her gifted storytelling, seeming to get better with each new chapter release, sharing not only the facts of her life, but communicating her emotions in a way few authors are capable of doing. Her writing reveals a command of the language that captures deep dimensions of her everyday life, drawing the reader “up close and personal” through the gifted writing often reserved for more senior or experienced writers. As just one example, I felt I knew her father personally through that reading, a very wise and supportive father, and was later to have the opportunity to meet him in person, confirming Mary’s accuracy in his portrayal in her stories.
Even months after reading these chapters when details often fail in my memory, I can still feel my connecting with her fears and then growing strength in dealing with a change in her doctors from a pediatric environment to an adult program, a chapter I strongly recommend to readers as another fine example of her gifted skill in capturing a young girl’s inner feelings facing such growth and change. Whether its sharing the thrill of riding the Donate Life float in the Rose Parade in Pasadena, or revealing the intimate thoughts of a child and later young lady facing life, this is a unique and captivating read for patients, caregiving family and friends and especially transplant medical professionals who would benefit from such a revealing insider view of youth dealing with life post-transplant.
In summary, Mary offers her very unique style of inspiration in this book, showing how it really isn’t the things that happen to each of us in life, but rather how we face and grow with our life challenges that define us. As she shares in her closing words: “Life was a combined balancing act force of fate throwing unexpected curveballs at us, but also taking what was given to us and soaring above and beyond with our very own choices and actions.”
(Note: the red book cover shown in this review is only a first draft of several concepts she is considering, so don’t look for that design in your book stores just yet. But you don’t have to wait since the author shares her book draft on-line at http://kidneyconfessions.blogspot.com
see this and more than a hundred other organ donation/transplant related books - many with my personal reviews - at http://www.trioweb.org/resources/book...
May 9, 2016
As the mother of a transplant recipient I respect Mary's candid cataloging of her life. She overcame major obstacles to become a very strong young women. Her story is not done. This is only her beginning. Look forward to hearing more of her bright future.
August 2, 2015
Mary H Wu is a fantastic writer and an unbelievable person. I loved her book, she is a blessing, a God sent
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews