Mapping Fate - by Alice Wexler (Paperback)

About the Book

Wexler tells the story of a family at risk for Huntington's disease, a hereditary, incurable, fatal disorder from which her own mother died. This graceful and eloquent account goes beyond the specifics of the disease to explore the dynamics of family secrets, of living at risk, and the drama and limits of biomedical research. Photos.

Book Synopsis

In Mapping Fate, Alice Wexler tells the story of a family at risk for a hereditary, incurable, fatal disorder: Huntington's disease, once called Huntington's chorea. That her mother died of the disease, that her own chance of inheriting it was fifty-fifty, that her sister and father directed much of the extraordinary biomedical research to find the gene and a cure, make Wexler's story both astonishingly intimate and scientifically compelling.

Alice Wexler's graceful and eloquent account goes beyond the specifics of Huntington's disease to explore the dynamics of family secrets, of living at risk, and the drama and limits of biomedical research. Mapping Fate will be a touchstone for anyone with questions about genetic illness and the possibilites and perils of genetic testing.

From the Back Cover

A fabulous read. . . . a book about love, scientific research, family fights, duplicity, compassion, courage and pain. It is brilliantly written by one of the principal characters in this real-life drama. You'll be riveted.--Ann Landers

Review Quotes

"["Mapping Fate] deserves a wide audience. Readers interested in the psychological dimensions of illness, especially inherited illness, will find it riveting. . . . [It] is excellent as an introduction to human genetics. . . . I cannot think of another book that contains information about family dynamics, clinical genetics, and bench research in such a readable form."--Roger L. Albin, M. D., "Journal of the American Medical Association

About the Author

Alice Wexler is affiliated with the Center for the Study of Women at University of California, Los Angeles. She is the author of Emma Goldman in America (1984) and Emma Goldman in Exile (1989).