Nonfiction Book Award Status: SILVER
Synopsis
Two sisters face identical nightmares when their sons are diagnosed with the same leukemia. The boys’ fight to survive coincides with perhaps the most miraculous medical story of the twentieth century. When doctors adopt a revolutionary approach to clinical trials, they not only develop a cure for childhood leukemia, they establish the foundation of chemotherapy treatment as it is known today.
In Trials, Bradley uses the personal journals of his wife and her sister to guide readers through a world where toxic, experimental treatments were given to children by doctors who at times wondered if they were doing more harm than good. More than one hundred interviews with physicians, nurses, and parents of children with cancer further illuminate this story. Trials will leave you wondering, “Could I do that? Do I have that kind of courage?”
Author Bio
In addition to being the father of a surviving childhood cancer patient, Larry Bradley has volunteered for more than two decades with a variety of cancer support organizations, including the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life and Candlelighters for Children with Cancer.
Bradley retired in 2018 after a thirty-year career in sales and marketing. He and Mary Lou, his wife of forty years, live in Eugene, Oregon. They have two grown sons and two grandchildren.