BOOK REVIEW: The Antidote for Everything by Kimmery Martin @kimmerym @BerkleyPub #theantidoteforeverything

One of the best parts about Berkley as a book publisher is that they consistently surprise me with diverse books and topics that many shy away from. I am delighted that I had the opportunity to read and review Kimmery Martin’s The Antidote for Everything which covers timely, relevant, and sometimes polarizing topics with grace, heart, and a bit of humor.

About the Book

In this whip-smart and timely novel from acclaimed author Kimmery Martin, two doctors travel a surprising path when they must choose between treating their patients and keeping their jobs.

Georgia Brown’s profession as a urologist requires her to interact with plenty of naked men, but her romantic prospects have fizzled. The most important person in her life is her friend Jonah Tsukada, a funny, empathetic family medicine doctor who works at the same hospital in Charleston, South Carolina and who has become as close as family to her.

Just after Georgia leaves the country for a medical conference, Jonah shares startling news. The hospital is instructing doctors to stop providing medical care for transgender patients. Jonah, a gay man, is the first to be fired when he refuses to abandon his patients. Stunned by the predicament of her closest friend, Georgia’s natural instinct is to fight alongside him. But when her attempts to address the situation result in incalculable harm, both Georgia and Jonah find themselves facing the loss of much more than their careers.

Reflection

The main character Georgia is fantastic! I may be biased because she’s a fellow redhead, but I find her to just be pretty awesome all around. She’s a rare female urologist in the south (seeing plenty of naked men but with few romantic prospects), working for a hospital founded by a fundamental church. So of course, you can see where some of the issues she faces are going to arise. Progressive values have no place in the institution Georgia works for. But overall, Georgia likes her coworkers, her patients, and her life.

The central relationship of the novel is really between Georgia and her best friend Jonah. When Jonah came out to his family at 18, he was turned away. Now, Georgia has become his family. Their friendship is completely heartwarming and filled with snappy banter and heartfelt moments.

When Georgia is on her way to a medical conference in the Netherlands, a medical emergency onboard the aircraft calls her into service, and ultimately leads her to meet the other leading character, Mark. After she saves Mark, he wants to buy her a drink, a train ticket, and get to know her. And of course he is tall and hot! I liked the relationship between Mark and Georgia, but if I’m honest I was more interested in the friendship between Jonah and Georgia.

So that brings us to what I would consider the main tension of the story. Georgia is at her conference and beginning her blossoming connection with Mark, while Jonah is back in Charleston worried about his job. Patients who are transgender have been notified that the hospital won’t treat them, and they’ll need to find alternate medical treatment. When Jonah refuses to abide by the hospital’s “morality” policy and turn away patients, he is fired. And it doesn’t end there. My heart went out to Jonah as he suffered character attacks. Friends and former colleagues circulate rumors that he stole medications from the hospital.

Seeing the depth of Georgia’s friendship with Jonah was truly a shining part of this novel. Georgia goes to great lengths to help Jonah, including bringing Martin in. The situation in this book was one that is so timely, and is happening all around our country as political and social tensions escalate. Many feel the need to hold on even more tightly to their own moral code, and the fall out of policies such as this are devastating. Through Martin’s story, we see not only the impact on the patients, but also on the employees at the hospital. When a group has majority control, the options to stand up against something you disagree with disappear.

Martin actually had a number of personal experiences to draw from as she crafted this book, which is probably why it resonates so powerfully. For instance, she is a physician herself, and she knew a physician fired for similar reasons to those in this book.

This book manages to be both deeply thought-provoking and serious, while also being humorous and heart-warming at times. A really great book and one that I applaud for tackling tough issues that many shy away from.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing for my copy. Opinions are my own.