Review of First Survivor

[Tasha Smith 13]

[Following is a volunteer review of "First Survivor" by Mark Unger.]

---

4 out of 5 stars

---

Share This Review

---

This book is highly informative and more of a help or guide to parents of children who have been, unfortunately, diagnosed with neuroblastoma. It takes you through a series of Mark and Mary Ellen’s day-to-day struggles with dealing with their son’s diagnosis, as well as their unrelenting fight to help their child survive this disease. Mark wrote this book in such a way that you feel like you are right there with them going through the different obstacles they had to face in helping Louis. There is no end to what a parent will do when faced with the life or death of their child. Mark and Mary Ellen proved that in this book and took us through the journey with them.

The remarkable way Mark kept notes and was able to document this journey is admirable. His doing his research and finding out more about neuroblastoma beyond what he was given or told by doctors was admirable. It was heartbreaking in some parts of the book regarding the ups and downs of emotions with which they all were faced. If you have never heard of neuroblastoma or know someone facing this disease, this is the book for you. Mark provides all kinds of terminology, contacts, and different sites and support groups that one can go to for help or to simply read about this cancer.

The only things that may be difficult to comprehend or negative in this book are the terminology and procedures with the medical terms. A lot of the abbreviations are for people in the medical field versus those who are not. Mark does pretty well and breaks down these terms so that anyone picking up this book can understand to the best of his ability. Louis' journey was groundbreaking in helping the fight against neuroblastoma.

Borderline profanity used on page 731 when Mark stated: “I am getting really pissed off!”. Also, on page 998, there is a part in the book when Mark says “It hurt like hell, but it was a classic...” when he was referring to sticking himself with a needle practicing how to administer medication to Louis. In another instance on page 2,890, Harry said “but I’ll be damned if I’m going to let…” when he was talking about Louis feeling down on himself about all his struggles and him as the older brother being protective of him. The rating for this book is four (4) out of five (5) stars because it is well-written without any grammatical or spelling errors and can help someone who has neuroblastoma.

******
First Survivor
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon