Based on real events from the life and family history of the bestselling author of “Away From Here: A Young Adult Novel”, comes a semi-autobiographical story of three generations of family, and the bond forged in the struggle to break the grip of mental illness.Synopsis:“The bullet let loose on July 22nd, 1939, destroyed a house full of children who went to sleep normal, but awoke forever … awoke forever deformed. The bullet ricocheted, lodging itself so deep inside each of them that none realized they’d been hit until years later. There were no survivors that day, even though there were many.”
So begins the latest work from bestselling novelist Nathan Dunbar, as he chronicles the dark secret that forever altered the trajectory of his family. As he struggles to complete that book, he realizes that another story begs to be written—the story of his own teenaged years, a time he spent asking questions about the origin of his parent’s mental illnesses, and forging a bond with the best friends he’s ever know.
As he writes memories flood back—of summer days spent playing basketball, of surviving his household with his twin sister, Clover, and the way he felt when Serafina moved in to the neighborhood. That summer he experienced something he only told her, something he’s never allowed himself to express until now, and when he does it will force a confrontation between the future he wants and the past he struggles to reconcile with.
Welcome to the Sick Parents Club.
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I really enjoyed this book. To me, it had a flow unlike anything I’ve read by this author. I think this was a story he really needed to tell. I loved reading the adventures of Nate and Clover and their friends and it brought back memories of my childhood. I don’t think any family is perfect. We just get through it the best we can. This book is definitely worth reading.
A deeply moving portrayal of how one moment in a family’s history could impact family members generations later. This story is based on a real event that occurred in 1939 in New York City, and the author used it to weave a tale that left me questioning if one moment in my own family’s history could have the same long reaching effects. It left me wondering if the life and events of my family’s actions or inactions have helped turn me into the person I am today.
We’re allowed to live in the lives of Nate and Clover, twins growing up in a house filled with depression and other mental illnesses. We see and feel the struggle for composure and control. We see the good and the bad, all through the eyes of teens having to also deal with bullies and abusers. The story is well paced, the characters are real, flawed and easy to connect with, and the world building rich and vibrant. This is definitely a must-read story for everyone, teens and up. This book can be a little uncomfortable, but that’s part of the beauty. It’s dealing with real life uncomfortable topics. Something we still don’t speak about freely in 2019. I had to take time to process after I finished this story, I had to figure out how I felt, what I wanted to put in words, and to hope that I could accurately describe the world that Christopher Harlan created with this story. This will definitely be a top pick book for me this year and I’m not even sure the story will ever leave my subconscious. Thank you, Mr. Harlen, for putting pen to paper and writing such a compelling story. I received an ARC of this book and this is my honest and voluntary review.
A very thought-provoking book. I could relate to several of the characters. Nate, Clover, their mother, & even Serafina in a sense. I could feel the raw emotion, their pain, happiness, confusion, & the feeling of being lost. The part about the ricochet bullet hit me hard. It made so much sense. It took me a minute to write my review because I had to sit back & reflect on the book & what I had just read. It made me think of my own life, & want to seek more knowledge of my past. I think that every human should read this book, even if it isn’t their normal genre. It puts a lot of perspective on “The Sick Parents Club.” A club that I am ending with myself in hopes that my children will not have to deal with the things that I have dealt with. Bravo, Christopher Harlan! 5-stars from me! Brilliant writing! I couldn’t put it down!
This book was just amazing. Well written and brought out all the emotions. I loved the characters and their story. Will be recommending this book to all my friends.
A great blend of fiction and non-fiction. I enjoy stories that make me questions what is real and what isn’t. The flow of the story, development of the characters and the entire layout made this story extremely enjoyable. I think we all have issues in our families that we fail to recognize and this story brings so much of that to light.
Have you ever read a book that made you sit back and think about how it correlates so well with your own life? Maybe some of the issues and concerns are slightly less or more than your experience but you can still feel everything the characters do!?! Well for me, THIS book did that.
I can so vividly feel so many of the things that Nathan talks about and at many points I had to put the book down and let it sit for a while to think things through. This brought a lot of things to the forefront of my mind that I never really realized had an affect on me from the past.
Do yourself a favour and READ THIS BOOK! Share it with your friends and family! Bring it to the teens you know and have them read it! There is something in this book that will hit home with everyone and it is so well worth the read!
I LOVED IT!
To say that this book was emotionally deep is an understatement. This book makes you sit back and truly think about the significant events in your family history and the effects that have carries through the generations. I took my time and savored every word. Well done!
This book, I hope people are ready for it. The story is amazing. Just that, amazing. Ups and downs of the lives and history of Nathan and Clover. Add in family and friends along the way, going back in history and staying current.
Honestly, I got about half way through the book and needed to take a break. As a person who has been touched by Cancer in family members, suicides, mental health problems and a host of other items that could be part of the Club, I needed to step back and think about everything before continuing on. I just needed to step away and process what was all going on with the story. I knew I was going to finish it, the story was just too good not to finish and stepping back gave me some clarity to be sure I could continue with an open mind.
I am so glad I was able to finish the book and the story involved. Sometimes life throughs you fast balls and curve balls but you continue on. I think the story of Nathan, Clover, Fina, and all the others was a story that needed to be written and shared. It was beautiful.
Seriously, you need to read it, who ever is reading reviews. It is well worth it.
Wow! Just wow! Christopher has written another fantastic book!
Sick Parents Club is a very well written, thought provoking, emotional story. It makes you wonder how much your families history molds your own life.
I was so caught up in it I didn’t want to stop reading! This is one of my favorite reads! Everyone needs to read this book! You won’t be disappointed!
I was absolutely drawn in to The Sick Parents Club. I haven’t read any book like it and I couldn’t stop reading until I was done. It was emotional, real, and raw. I really just have no words to describe what I am feeling. If I could rate this more than 5 stars I definitely would!!!
It is rare to find a book to touch both your mind and heart as deeply as Christopher Harlan’s The Sick Parents Club has. It touches on topics that people are often embarrassed to admit or just don’t know how to admit. It is started with a gruesome and emotional story but he managed to make it into something positive that many can appreciate.
Favorite Quote: “Even if you come from bad men, you can be the first good one…”
This book was just Wow!
It’s so relatable and thought provoking. Christopher writes good no matter what, but books that have a bit of his life weaved in are just next level to me!
Definitely recommend this one!
Such a well written book!! Christopher has done it again. I thoroughly believe that anyone who reads this will be glad that they did . I am so glad Christopher put this story out into the world as I feel it was extremely necessary to be written.
This book grabbed my attention from the very beginning and didn’t let go. The writing was absolutely amazing! You could tell this was a story very important to the author. He put a lot of heart and soul into this story and it shows.
“No fate but what we choose’
This book will make you take a look at yourself in a totally different way. It will make you think about how you became you and if there were influences that are way beyond your DNA make up. The phrase “Victim of a Victim” really stuck with me through this book; it made me look at the characters in a different light. Maybe you were born to be one thing but circumstances in your life lead you down the opposite path and you may not have even noticed until it was too late.
Can you break the cycle of your own family tree or are you destined to repeat the mistakes of the past. This is one of my top reads of this year!! You will not regret one clicking this one!!
Christopher Harlan delivers an intricately woven tale of a family that spans generations. From the past to the present, an event that rocked a family to the core and created “victims of victims”. This story is based in truth and real events dating back to 1939.
The Sick Parents Club takes a hard look at depression, anxiety, pain and life long suffering. The albatross around the necks of so many families. Where parents hide their pain from their children in the hopes that they aren’t effected by the darkness that overwhelms them.
This book made me think very deeply about events in my own family and how they ultimately changed us. This is not just novel it is journey of perception, truth and understanding.
Christopher Harlan eloquently writes a story that grabs you from the start and enthralls you until the end.
Christopher Harlan stepped outside the box when her wrote this book. It was a very different read than what I’m used to but one that I enjoyed nonetheless. TSPC is a thought provoking story that makes you ponder the generations that came before you and how they may have had an influence on your life. While bringing attention to mental illness and the effects it has on families, Christopher Harlan weaved a tale of a group of friends going through the trials and tribulations of having dysfunctional families and coming out stronger on the other side. Having dealt with depression personally (myself and close family members), I felt like I understood what the characters were going through. I definitely recommend this book.
Truly thought provoking story. This is where Christoper Harlan excels. His storytelling is beyond compare. I was completely drawn in, not only because you know the story is rooted in truth but also because he takes you on this journey that for most would be difficult to confront. He opens your eyes to not only his families pain, past and truths, but also makes you see your own truths through different eyes. I’m sure I have more to say, but truthfully, everyone needs to read this story. It is part true crime, part history, part therapy and fully enlightening! Thank you Christopher for letting us in and teaching us that while you may have generations of pain and victimization born into your DNA, it doesn’t have to continue to be revisited on future generations.
This book is something so completely out of my “normal” reading choices. That being said, it was very well written and I enjoyed it a great deal. One of my favorite lines is from the very end:
“Fortitude is inherited. It lives in the genes, in the hear, in the eyes that look upon this world.”
This says so much and really gives you what I have taken away from the entire book. We are all products of our backgrounds, our upbringings and our relatives. But we can also grow so much more beyond that to become something totally different.
Our past informs our future.
“There was no bus ticket you could buy to escape the demons that lived inside. They would always catch you.”
Nathan Dunbar’s family has a secret. A family tragedy that became the Voldemort of the Dunbar name – that which shall not be named. Nathan has decided to write about it for all the world to see. In this story we follow Nathan and his sister Clover back in time to their childhood, their parents, their friends, and we learn that a damaged past doesn’t have form damaged people. It is such an emotional story and takes you on a roller coaster of feels.
As time dilutes the genetics of those who came before us, each newly formed branch of our family tree can sprout its own leaves, it’s own offshoots-stronger, greener, healthier. Sure, our past can have a role in forming who we are, but it is ultimately possible to break the chain – the chain that holds us to believing that we are who we come from, that what plagued the past generations is somehow so ingrained in our own DNA that it is inescapable.
As I was reading this, I realized how little I know of my parents’ relationships with their parents and their grandparents, and so on. I know some facts, but not the emotional side. Were they close? What kind of people were they? I know what MY relationship was with my grandparents and the one I had with my great-grandmother for the short time I had her in my life. I’ve seen pictures of generations past, but I know next to nothing about them. I’d like to change that.
I absolutely adore this author. He can make you swoon with hot cops in romantic thrillers, bring you back to your younger, awkward teenage years with his Young Adult books (which trust me are really for everyone), and make you feel like you are one of the inner circle of authors in his Wordsmith series. His writing style is one of elegance and intellect, and he has the capability of drawing you in to the story so you feel like you are sitting across a table from him at Starbucks as he simply just…..talks to you.
This is brilliant book. Hands down one of the best I’ve read. Ever. Please go grab it. You won’t be sorry!