What Disturbs Our Blood
A Son's Quest to Redeem the Past
FitzGerald, James, 1950-
A rich, unmined piece of Canadian history, an intense psychological drama, a mystery to be solved… and a hardwon escape from a family curse
Like his friends Banting and Best, Dr. John Fitzgerald was a Canadian hero. He founded Connaught Labs, saved untold lives with his vaccines and transformed the idea of public health in Canada and the world. What so darkened his reputation that his memory has been all but erased?
A sensitive, withdrawn boy is born into the gothic house of his long dead grandfather, a brilliant yet tormented pathologist of Irish blood and epic accomplishment whose memory has been mysteriously erased from public consciousness. As the boy watches his own father - also an eminent doctor - plunge into a suicidal psychosis, he intuits, as the psychiatrists do not, some unspeakable secret buried like a tumour deep in the multi-generational layers of the family unconscious. Growing into manhood, he knows in his bones that he must stalk an ancient curse before it stalks him. To set himself free, he must break the silence and put words to the page. His future lies in the past.
Publisher: Toronto : Random House Canada, c2010
Branch Call Number: 616. 07092 FIT 2019-02
Read more reviews of What Disturbs Our Blood at iDreamBooks.com
ownedbydoxies Aug 28, 2018
An interesting family history by a journalist whose family history echoes through the years with recurring bouts of depression and intense medical careers in the case of the author's father, grandfather, etc. While it's a good biography, the book could have definitely, in my opinion, used a more stringent edit; cutting out some of the rather florid use of adjectives (by about 25%) would have made for a much better and tighter read.
patter123 Oct 19, 2012
Recommended this book to numerous friends.
A snapshot of an dynamic period in Canada's past.
Yes, could have cut back on the angst with his father a bit.
I loved the descriptions of the neighbourhoods in Toronto.
doeraymee May 10, 2012
Unfocussed. Just tell me two or three stories in depth. Don't tell me 147 anecdotes.
Also the whining "Daddy didn't love me" got boring after Chapter 1.
Cryjon Mar 04, 2012
SUPERB book. I wish I could articulate how captivating a read it is.
debwalker Nov 07, 2010
Winner of 2010 Writers' Trust Non-Fiction Prize.
FitzGerald, J. G. 1882-1940 — Mental Health
FitzGerald, James, 1950- — Family
Connaught Laboratories — Officials and Employees — Biography
Pathologists — Canada — Biography
Grandfathers — Canada — Biography