Chasing Victory

by Joshua Shifrin

Chasing Victory is the story of William Victory, a young man struggling with a severe learning disability who forms a relationship with a brilliant psychiatrist named Julia Perlman. When Dr. Perlman makes a pharmacological breakthrough that can potentially change William’s life, as well of the lives of the countless individuals suffering with learning disabilities around the world, she is initially euphoric. Yet when you combine a desperate patient with a lack of FDA approval, the unthinkable can, and does occur.

248 pages, Paperback

First published March 11, 2011

Reviews

[Lee Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chasing Victory by Joshua Shifrin, PhD is the cautionary tale of what can happen when an experimental drug gets used prematurely, even with the most noble of intentions. William Victory is a high school student with a learning disability so severe it seems miraculous he even made it to his Senior year. Dr. Julia Pearlman is a medical professional who teaches at Yale. She’s been developing a new drug, which has shown promise in its ability to enhance the comprehension capabilities of those with normal enough intelligence but with a brain imbalance inhibiting memory retention. William’s personality is sweet enough to merit sympathy from one of his teachers (how lucky and rare is that?), who recommends him to Julia. A bond forms between Julia and William. While serving as her patient, William becomes close with Julia’s Down Syndrome-stricken brother. Julia, in turn, grows close to William’s wife Maria.

Therein lies the tragedy. Julia comes to care about her patient and his family and to think of them as friends, which is perfectly natural. She’s a human being. But when William’s disability keeps him from holding down a job and providing for Maria and their new baby, Julia is too tempted to try the new drug on him, despite not having attained FDA approval. The results of this decision are beyond disastrous. For everyone.

I want to so badly to give this book 5 stars, but it simply lacks enough fleshed-out scenes. Too much of the story is told rather than shown. Too many powerful moments are handled in a cursory way. In places, the novel even reads like a screenplay. People are talking and walking, but we’re rarely given enough details to put us there in the room with them. The story is approached too clinically (as if written by a doctor. Imagine that.) The novel is so moving and impactful that I even teared up during a couple parts. It’s genuinely impossible not to feel William’s frustrations. With more 3-dimensional scenes, this novel could truly be epic, even on level with Awakenings by Oliver Sacks.

[Liza Cordero · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author’s writing style was different than what I’m used to. It was a bumpy start for me. But I chased after the story that kept re-engaging me with its plot twist. I rarely get blind-sided by an ending, but this one completely surprised me.

I would recommend this to anyone who likes psychological thrillers.

[Victor Hess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Each character makes this story work. Julia works hard to care for her brother and carry on the dreams of her dad. When given the chance to help a young man with learning disabilities everything goes sideways. And suddenly you become engaged with this page turner.

[Mary Tatar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chasing Victory is the story of a young man struggling to make it. William has a severe learning disability. Everyone in his life thinks he is just lazy but he has been working so hard to even barely make passing grades in school. In walks Julia a Psychiatrist who has a soft spot for William and wants to see him with a better future. All William has ever dreamed of was to live a normal life. When Julia offers him a possible future he will do anything to make it work.

Not only is William the kind of character you root for but he is also very kind and compassionate. With everything he has suffered he still has a ray of hope. This is a very inspirational story that has some ups and downs and a few twists and turns that will keep you on the edge of your seat. If your like me your heart will break for William and Julia's journey together. The maternal love that Julia felt for William was beautiful and felt like they were meant to find and help one another.

I would recommend this book to anyone who has ever had a dream. Nothing is ever given easily without hard work and faith.

[Joseph D'Aquisto · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Hell of a Story
At first I thought this story was going to turn into a modern day Lawnmower Man tale, but it had its own direction. I was very impressed with the ending. I felt so bad for William the whole time. The plot and originality of the story is 5-star quality.

The only reason that prompted me to give this book 4 stars were due to editing errors, and also time continuity issues. In the beginning it was hard to figure out how much time had passed from when William was in high school. It seemed as if he was suddenly 20 years old. Also how old was William during his senior year? When I was a senior I was 17 after I graduated, but in this book William drops out of school and immediately moves in with his girlfriend. Were they both 18 years old?

Also, Julia asks William if he filed for unemployment. I couldn't tell if that was during high school or after high school. A high school student wouldn't be able to collect unemployment would they? Can a high school senior file for unemployment? I'm not sure.


Typos:
Page 55
...you all did not come here today to here an old fogy like me speak, (here --> hear)

Page 154
Julia was poised, professional and convincing, and even a veteran like Brian was impressed with how well she had preformed. (preformed --> performed)

The book could use some editing as well, the below sentence is a bit odd.

Page 78
As the weeks progressed and winter turned to spring things, unfortunately, didn’t change much.

I believe if this story was cleaned up and edited, this book would easily become a top-notch seller. I encourage anyone to read this title. I have had to suffer with ADHD my whole life and I totally related with William's learning disability. This is a very touching and heart-felt story.

[Alexis Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book

This was an interesting twist of a doctor who wanted to help a young man feel important in the world. Unfortunately, everything was turned upside down with tragic ending.