Someone Else's Life, Katie Dale

Watching a loved one suffer and die of a fatal disease is something, I think, that's too hard to bear. But Rosie was brave enough to witness it all - her mom's deteriorating health as the Huntington's disease slowly zapped the life out of her.

 

Someone Else's Life is just one of the many novels that have struck me with such intensity that made me wonder if the truth shall be exposed, no matter how painful and destructive it could be, or just let everyone enjoy the bliss of ignorance. I don't think Rosie has envisaged the many casualties of her finding the truth about her origin when she learned that her mom wasn't hers by blood, and the possibility of her inheriting the disease was absolute zero.

Meanwhile, I found Holly's situation far more disconcerting compared to the others who are involved in the bombarding truth that Rosie has discovered. Her world has fallen apart in just one day because of the revelation - that her dad wasn't really hers, and she might suffer Huntington's, if not now, then years after. The pain of discovering that her whole life had been a lie and the fear of dying in the most insufferable way was just unimaginable yet almost palpable.

I should say that Rosie was brave enough to unravel the truth about her origins, knowing that her biological mom actually left her when she was still too incapable of surviving on her own. But then, if I would be to sum everything up, the character's actions were all being given proper justifications - Kitty abandoned her baby because she was too young to be a mom and she was scared she couldn't give the baby a life she deserves, Jack's lies that Holly's mom died when she was born to protect Holly's feelings, Sarah's immediate decision eighteen years ago that changed their lives forever because she just cared too much about Trudie. If that happens in real life, then one would just think that everybody's selfish and the world is so cruel and life is so unfair.

So I guess, in conclusion, this book has a lot to offer. It makes the reader think of what might be the consequences of their actions. "Truth is a very beautiful thing, and therefore, should be treated with great caution," says Albus Dumbledore. I agree with him, because the truth, more often than not, is far more painful than lies.

truth is sometimes more painful than all lies