What do you think?
Rate this book
In This Faulty Machine: A Memoir of Loss and Transformation
An exquisite memoir of the author’s life since being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease—informative, funny, and moving all at once.
Acclaimed novelist Kathy Page had just completed a promotional tour for her award-winning book Dear Evelyn when a fall during a hike injured her wrist. That relatively minor accident seemed to set in motion a waterfall of other seemingly unrelated physical issues. Many months of appointments, and of waiting for appointments (including during the COVID lockdown) ensued, until the day that pulled everything together in a single, frightening Parkinson's disease.
In This Faulty Machine is an eye-opening, often lyrical and very funny report from that "other kingdom" of illness, from an observant, wise, and honest involuntary resident. The author's acute yet welcoming voice draws us into the erratic, intimate, and troubling effects of the disease and its impact on her relationships alongside the pleasures of family, friends, reading, writing, and the natural world.
This one-of-a-kind memoir offers a thoughtful exploration of the complex and evolving science of this debilitating disease, a gripping account of the various ways that it impacts both PWP (People with Parkinson's) and their families. The book is also a unique look into the creative process of a life-long novelist who finds that she can no longer create in the way she has for decades.
Wise and warm, the book makes an important contribution to the understanding of Parkinson's disease but is also a rich and heartfelt memoir of creativity and a life being well-lived, even as the challenges mount. It is a story of vital interest to us all as we face our own fragility, and indeed, mortality.
Acclaimed novelist Kathy Page had just completed a promotional tour for her award-winning book Dear Evelyn when a fall during a hike injured her wrist. That relatively minor accident seemed to set in motion a waterfall of other seemingly unrelated physical issues. Many months of appointments, and of waiting for appointments (including during the COVID lockdown) ensued, until the day that pulled everything together in a single, frightening Parkinson's disease.
In This Faulty Machine is an eye-opening, often lyrical and very funny report from that "other kingdom" of illness, from an observant, wise, and honest involuntary resident. The author's acute yet welcoming voice draws us into the erratic, intimate, and troubling effects of the disease and its impact on her relationships alongside the pleasures of family, friends, reading, writing, and the natural world.
This one-of-a-kind memoir offers a thoughtful exploration of the complex and evolving science of this debilitating disease, a gripping account of the various ways that it impacts both PWP (People with Parkinson's) and their families. The book is also a unique look into the creative process of a life-long novelist who finds that she can no longer create in the way she has for decades.
Wise and warm, the book makes an important contribution to the understanding of Parkinson's disease but is also a rich and heartfelt memoir of creativity and a life being well-lived, even as the challenges mount. It is a story of vital interest to us all as we face our own fragility, and indeed, mortality.
304 pages, Hardcover
Published September 9, 2025
27 people want to read
About the author
Kathy Page
23 books46 followersShe has her BA from York (England) and her MA in writing from the University of East Anglia. A novelist and widely anthologised short-story writer, she has also written for television and radio. Her themes are loss, survival, and transformation: the magic by which a bad hand becomes a good chance. Her fifth novel, The Story of My Face, was long-listed for the Orange Prize in 2002, and is optioned for a feature film. The sixth, Alphabet, was nominated for a Governor General's award in 2005. Her latest title, The Find, 2010, is her first novel set in Canada: a story about discovery, inheritance and fate, and a moving exploration of the possibilities that hide within a seemingly impossible relationship.
Kathy Page has taught fiction writing at Universities in England, Finland and Estonia, and held residencies in schools and a variety of other institutions/communities, including a fishing village and a men’s prison.
She now lives in British Columbia, Canada.
Kathy Page has taught fiction writing at Universities in England, Finland and Estonia, and held residencies in schools and a variety of other institutions/communities, including a fishing village and a men’s prison.
She now lives in British Columbia, Canada.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
October 12, 2025
I thoroughly enjoyed this read… There are times where it gets into the weeds a little - and she risked losing me - but she reined herself in and got back to the real narrative. There are also some moments where it starts to feel a little “self-help-ish” but it really is just all part of her journey.
I really liked the way that she conceptualised her onset of Parkinson’s as having been given a third passport - this one to the kingdom of the sick, the kingdom of illness.
She holds nothing back - leaves nothing out (besides her kids, rightfully so). She addresses: the reality of staring down a fundamentally altered future; the impact on her relationships (especially her husband); her changed relationship with language; her attitude towards life, and death; and, her changed sense of purpose in life. She deconstructs the concept of “the journey.” She critiques that the primary pharmacological choice for treating Parkinson’s has not changed since first licensed in 1970.
This reminds me very much of Dancing in Small Spaces: One Couple’s Journey with Parkinson’s Disease and Lewy Body Dementia which was a lovely lovely book.
Highly recommended read.
4.5 rounded up to 5
I really liked the way that she conceptualised her onset of Parkinson’s as having been given a third passport - this one to the kingdom of the sick, the kingdom of illness.
She holds nothing back - leaves nothing out (besides her kids, rightfully so). She addresses: the reality of staring down a fundamentally altered future; the impact on her relationships (especially her husband); her changed relationship with language; her attitude towards life, and death; and, her changed sense of purpose in life. She deconstructs the concept of “the journey.” She critiques that the primary pharmacological choice for treating Parkinson’s has not changed since first licensed in 1970.
This reminds me very much of Dancing in Small Spaces: One Couple’s Journey with Parkinson’s Disease and Lewy Body Dementia which was a lovely lovely book.
Highly recommended read.
4.5 rounded up to 5
Displaying 1 of 1 review