Sickened (Sickened - Julie Gregory)

Member Name: louby24

Product:	Sickened - Julie Gregory
Date:	19/05/09 (111 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Interesting subject, told with lots of feeling, a good read

Disadvantages: Could have had a better ending, more detail of the aftermath

This is a very powerful book that tackles a very hidden illness called Munchausen by Proxy.
It is about a girl called Juile Gregory who from as early as she can remember spent her life in and out of hospitals, being put through all sorts of tests, having x-rays done and having numerous amounts of medication given to her.
To most people it would sound like Julie is very sick. However, it is Julies Mother that is the one that is ill. Her mother puts her through all of this pain and suffering at the hands of Doctors because she has Munchausens by Proxy which is a condition where a mother will inflict or make up that their child has something wrong with them so in turn putting the child through something that they do not need to make them feel better about themselves and to give them a lot of attention.
It is a very unheard of illness that is only starting to surface nowadays.

I think this is a very powerful and gripping book. You gets to understand what Julie goes through and how it affects her later in her life. What makes this more shocking is that it is a true story. I found some parts hard to read as i find it very difficult to understand why a mother could hurt their child.

You get a really good feel for what the mother is like and how she uses being a foster mum and a carer for old people toget extra money is beyond belief.

It is a very interesting book, however, i would i was disappointed by the ending. All the way through it was a very good read, but at the end i feel like it kinda just ends at a critical point and i would love to know what happens next.

Overall i really enjoyed this book and have read it many times. To me it is a good book and it has a very strong positive message as it is informing us of this terrible condition.

Summary: A book that gets you thinking