Book Reviews

As soon as I started reading The Reluctant Donor I knew I had found a special book that would restore my faith in my belief about the goodness of everyday people. This book is a 60-year long epic journey of triumphs and tragedies of a beautiful and inspiring family. Even more than that, though, it is a story of unbridled love one sister had for another, and how that love was tested. If you want to be inspired, simply turn the page.

Sanjay Gupta, MD
CNN Chief Medical Correspondent
Author of the New York Times bestseller Chasing Life And Cheating Death

Suzanne Ruff may have given one of her kidneys to her sister, but she’s poured her heart and soul into this book. It’s a compelling story of the struggle between fear and faith, with love casting the deciding vote.

John Dedakis
CNN Senior Copy Editor, The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer
Author, Fast Track

The Reluctant Donor is the story of a ticking time bomb in one family’s DNA, a generations- long battle with kidney disease. With heart and humor, Suzanne shares her family’s trials and triumphs, and challenges us all to think deeply about what is most important in our lives. This wonderful book is a testament to the gift of organ donation and its power to transform the donor as well as the recipient.

Richert
Volunteer Coordinator
Lifesource

 

By Mary Ann Grossmann , St Paul Pioneer Press
Updated: 06/24/2010 03:38:18 PM CDT
MEMOIR
'The Reluctant Donor' by Suzanne F. Ruff (Beaver's Pond Press, $14.95): What would you do if you had to face the thing that terrified you the most? Suzanne Ruff found that you come out stronger when she donated a kidney to her sister. 
Ruff, who lives in Minneapolis, tells the story in this beautifully written, gut-wrenching memoir. Ruff's family was devastated by polycystic kidney disease (PKD) for generations. "The people I have loved most had kidneys that failed," she writes. "My mother had the disease. Her mother, my grandmother, had the disease. My two uncles. My two aunts. All are deceased, as are two of my cousins who had the disease ... now both of my sisters have the disease." 
Ruff did not inherit PKD and knew she had to donate a kidney to one sister, with whom she had had some arguments. But she didn't make her decision without anguish and fear. She wept, raged at her husband, prayed, whined. But she did it with the help of her family, including her patient husband, who kept saying, "Just for today you aren't going to donate a kidney" in the weeks leading up to the surgery. 
Ruff effortlessly weaves together her emotions and family background with just enough information about PKD to make clear its seriousness without overwhelming the reader with biology. Ruff is a member of the National Kidney Foundation's Living Donor Council Executive Committee, and her book is sure to make readers do some soul-searching about whether to be organ donors.

 

'The Reluctant Donor' by Suzanne F. Ruff (Beaver's Pond Press, $14.95): What would you do if you had to face the thing that terrified you the most? Suzanne Ruff found that you come out stronger when she donated a kidney to her sister. 

Ruff, who lives in Minneapolis, tells the story in this beautifully written, gut-wrenching memoir. Ruff's family was devastated by polycystic kidney disease (PKD) for generations. "The people I have loved most had kidneys that failed," she writes. "My mother had the disease. Her mother, my grandmother, had the disease. My two uncles. My two aunts. All are deceased, as are two of my cousins who had the disease ... now both of my sisters have the disease." 

Ruff did not inherit PKD and knew she had to donate a kidney to one sister, with whom she had had some arguments. But she didn't make her decision without anguish and fear. She wept, raged at her husband, prayed, whined. But she did it with the help of her family, including her patient husband, who kept saying, "Just for today you aren't going to donate a kidney" in the weeks leading up to the surgery. 

Ruff effortlessly weaves together her emotions and family background with just enough information about PKD to make clear its seriousness without overwhelming the reader with biology. Ruff is a member of the National Kidney Foundation's Living Donor Council Executive Committee, and her book is sure to make readers do some soul-searching about whether to be organ donors.

 

Mary Ann Grossmann
St Paul Pioneer Press

 

 

Suzanne’s story is all too common among families with polycystic kidney disease (PKD).  This genetic disease takes its toll on multiple generations with heart breaking and devastating effects.  The Reluctant Donor powerfully outlines the physical and emotional challenges of PKD.  Yet, it also is the story of hope and advancement in the field of PKD Research, dialysis and kidney transplantation for those afflicted with PKD.

Dave Switzer Director Marketing and Communications PKD Foundation (800) PKD-CURE www.pkdcure.org