In the times in which we live, life can change in a matter of minutes. One minute you can be at the top of your game, and the next, wiped out and starting over from scratch.
For Addison Boehning, a cancer research biochemist, and his wife Claire, circumstances that seemed beyond their control have caused their castle to come crumbling down. Losing their comfortable palatial home in Seattle, Claire and her teenaged daughter Jory are forced to move to their small ranch in Eastern Washington while Addison scrambles to resurrect his shattered career and reputation. While Addison continues to try and find backers to help refinance and restart the drug trials for his possible cure for cancer, Claire and Jory struggle with the challenges of surviving in a way they are not accustomed to.
With money being tight, Claire attempts to restart her medical career, a life she left behind fourteen years previously to stay at home with her prematurely born daughter. After being turned away from every hospital and clinic in the small town of Hallum
In her novel, “Healer,” author Carol Cassella draws upon her own medical background to lend credence to the fast-paced, emotionally moving story of family relationships and sacrifices. It is easy to admire Cassella’s depiction of the strength of her characters Claire and Miquela, both mothers trying to do their best for their families, while it is equally easy to be disgusted by the actions and selfishness of Addison and Jory, who seem only concerned with getting their worldly possessions back. Cassella’s creative storytelling makes “Healer” a novel that is a pleasure to read.
About the Author:
Carol Cassella is a practicing anesthesiologist and novelist. She was a closet writer for years before blending medicine and fiction in her first novel, Oxygen, (Simon & Schuster, July, 2008), the story of an anesthesiologist tangled in the aftermath of an operating room catastrophe. Oxygen was an Indie Best Pick for July 2008, and selected as one of the best first novels of 2008 by The Library Journal.
Carol grew up in Dallas, Texas and graduated from Duke University with a degree in English Literature. After working in publishing for several years, Carol decided to pursue her fascination with all the weird and wonderful ways humans behave and misbehave by studying medicine. She initially intended to become a psychiatrist, but when she couldn’t separate the body and the soul she veered into internal medicine and then, six years later, into anesthesiology. She is board certified in both internal medicine and anesthesiology. Prior to writing fiction, Carol wrote about global public health issues in the developing world for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Carol now lives on Bainbridge Island, WA with her husband Steve and their two sets of twins. She enjoys hiking and cross country skiing in the North Cascades, and is currently working on her next novel.
Visit her website at http://www.carolcassella.com/
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