Handle With Care by Jodi Picoult

If you have read Jodi Picoult novels, you are aware how she draws all the characters into our hearts . We know, not just about them, but how they feel, think and react to the situations they face. We begin to view these circumstances from their eyes. Their conflicts with each other are so carefully created, we can empathize with all of their pain, frustration, and mental anguish. What could be construed as right or wrong becomes blurred, as we experience compassion for all those involved.

In her previous book, Not My Sister’s Keeper, the story is told through the thoughts and emotions of a family dealing with a child who develops a life-threatening disease. Again, in Handle with Care, we are presented journal-type entries allowing us to appreciate how the birth of a handicapped child affects the lives of all family members in different ways.

Willow, age five when we get to know her, was born with Osteogenesis Imperfecta . This tragic disease begins while the fetus develops, and causes bones to abnormally form. Tiny limbs or ribs start to fracture even before birth, and if the infant lives through delivery, continue to break throughout their lifetime. Any small incident can cause these breaks, as innocent as rolling over in bed or bumping into furniture. By the time she enters kindergarten, Willow had broken dozens of bones. Each necessitates, of course, medical treatment. A splint, more often than not, is part of her wardrobe.

Willow’s mother, Charlotte, can no longer continue her career as a pastry chef. Willow’s condition needs constant monitoring, as it is too dangerous to leave her with untrained help. Charlotte relies heavily on her friendship with Piper, who also is the obstetrician present at Willow’s delivery.

A highly anticipated vacation to Disney World becomes a nightmare. Willow slips and falls shortly after their arrival, breaking her leg. After hospital x-rays show numerous healing fractures, father Sean is arrested, and older daughter Amelia is taken by Child Services. The situation is eventually explained satisfactorily, but the family is traumatized and returns home without enjoying Disney World.

Sean, frustrated and angry, consults an attorney. He wants to sue all those involved with their ruined vacation; the hospital, police, child services and even Disney World. The attorney advises Sean that he sees no valid case. However, after reviewing Willow’s medical history, the attorney sees another possible lawsuit, that of Wrongful Birth.

A Wrongful Birth suit, they are told , can be brought when parents do not know about fetal complications until the pregnancy is too far along to abort.. In Willow’s case there was some indication of an abnormality in an early untrasound. However since no diagnosis was made, they were not aware of the problem until a much later untrasound showed multiple fractures. The premise of such a law suit infers that had they known the enormous stress and financial expense of raising such a child, they would have terminated the pregnancy. Bluntly speaking, Charlotte and Sean would be announcing to the legal world they wish Willow had never been born. It also means they would be suing Piper, Charlotte’s best friend.

Charlotte ultimately goes forward with the law suit alone, alienating almost everyone close to her. Her emotional battle and that of her family make for heart-wrenching reading.

In the area of best-selling fiction, Handle With Care rates high on my list. The characters are finely drawn and their actions understandable. This is not a fairy tale with a happily ever after ending, but certainly a poignant tale of normal people faced with an abnormal situation. For those with sensitive souls, I find nothing in the way of sordid sex, vulgar language, or violence to offend.

On my scale of 1 to 10, I rate this an 8 ½.