{"product_id":"2940170836529","title":"Mercies in Disguise: A Story of Hope, a Family's Genetic Destiny, and the Science That Rescued Them","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e science reporter Gina Kolata follows a family through genetic illness and one courageous daughter who decides her fate shall no longer be decided by a genetic flaw. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe phone rings; the doctor has the results. \"Are you ready Amanda?\" \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe two people Amanda Baxley loves the most had begged her not to be tested. But she had to find out. If your family carried a mutated gene that foretold brutal illness and you could find out if you inherited it, would you do it? Would you confront it, accepting whatever answer came? Or ignore it while you could? \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eMercies in Disguise\u003c\/i\u003e, acclaimed \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e reporter and bestselling author Gina Kolata tells the story of the Baxleys, an upstanding family in small town South Carolina. Many of them were doctors, but still, they are struck down by an inscrutable illness. Finally, they discover the cause of the disease after a remarkable sequence of providential events. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMeanwhile, science, progressing for 50 years along a parallel track, handed the Baxleys a question - not a cure, but a blood test that would reveal who had the gene for the disease. Science offered another dilemma - fertility specialists had created a way to spare the children. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA work of narrative nonfiction in the tradition of the \u003ci\u003eThe Immortal Life\u003c\/i\u003e of Henrietta Lacks, \u003ci\u003eMercies in Disguise\u003c\/i\u003e tells the story of a family that took matters into its own hands when medicine could not help. It's a story of a family dealing with unspeakable tragedy without being driven apart. It is the story of a young woman - Amanda Baxley - who faced the future, determined to find a way to disrupt her destiny.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Recorded Books, LLC","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47105192100080,"sku":"2940170836529","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940170836529_p0.jpg?v=1763719083","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940170836529","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}