María Juana’s Gift Book Giveaway

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Author and educator T. Lloyd Winetsky explores the frustration and heartbreak of medical malpractice, a hot button issue which some call the “dirty little secret” of American health care.  He takes a look back to the Bicentennial year when “preventable human medical error” was a festering problem and parents had little power over the medical and emergency care of their children.

María Juana’s Gift tells the story of Jake and Tina, a young couple fighting for the survival of their infant daughter born in a town on the Arizona-Mexico border.   The baby appears healthy to Jake and the unconcerned staff at the small hospital, but Tina and a custodian/nurse’s helper from Mexico named María believe the child is ill.  María’s lowly status and lack of English cause the medical staff to dismiss her concerns.

After the women convince Jake that something is wrong, he begins a desperate and frantic effort to secure medical attention for the baby.  How far will they go to fight the system and get their daughter the medical attention she needs?

I liked this book but the story really is more about Jake and Tina than it is about the fight to save their baby. The majority of the book is about their relationship and their families. Providing some back story on the characters is natural but three quarters of the book is really about that and only the last bit is about Jake’s perseverance in trying to get their daughter the care she needs. That being said I enjoyed reading about Tina and Jake’s history. It allowed you to feel like you really knew the characters when the meat of the story arrived. The beginning of the book is difficult to follow because it is set in the present but really it’s the end of the story, and it bounces around between present and past for a few chapters. In fact, to be honest, I was pretty lost for the first couple of chapters. If it would have been written sequentially I would have enjoyed it a lot more, but I did like the characters and the premise of the story.

One reader will receive a copy of María Juana’s Gift.

To enter the giveaway just leave your address so if you win the book can be shipped directly to you.

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