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Reviews with images
Amazing -- a must-read
"Wonder Drug" leaps off the pages, and is an amazing chronicle of the story of thalidomide in the U.S. and the world. It's a page turner -- fast paced, with dynamic characters -- and while it reads as easily and and compellingly as fiction, it's a true story. Jennifer Vanderbes spent years researching this book, and crafted a narrative as compelling as her earlier (also fabulous) novels. I cannot recommend it enough -- it will blow you away. Laughs, tears, pride, horror -- often in the same vignettes. Despite unfolding decades ago, the story remains timely. (I recently watched the new adaptation of "The Fall of The House of Usher," and some of the very same themes of drug development and safety echo throughout both tales.) The heroes and survivors both will amaze you with their determination; this book is (with no exaggeration) about the triumph of the human spirit. It's a mystery, but also a history: of feminism, science, medical ethics, and business corruption, all in one. Best of all, Vanderbes sticks the landing by introducing us to the survivors of this drug, their bravery (them and their families), and their inspirational stories of success. This book is amazing and important. Read it -- you will NOT be disappointed.
Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2023
"Wonder Drug" leaps off the pages, and is an amazing chronicle of the story of thalidomide in the U.S. and the world. It's a page turner -- fast paced, with dynamic characters -- and while it reads as easily and and compellingly as fiction, it's a true story. Jennifer Vanderbes spent years researching this book, and crafted a narrative as compelling as her earlier (also fabulous) novels. I cannot recommend it enough -- it will blow you away. Laughs, tears, pride, horror -- often in the same vignettes. Despite unfolding decades ago, the story remains timely. (I recently watched the new adaptation of "The Fall of The House of Usher," and some of the very same themes of drug development and safety echo throughout both tales.) The heroes and survivors both will amaze you with their determination; this book is (with no exaggeration) about the triumph of the human spirit. It's a mystery, but also a history: of feminism, science, medical ethics, and business corruption, all in one. Best of all, Vanderbes sticks the landing by introducing us to the survivors of this drug, their bravery (them and their families), and their inspirational stories of success. This book is amazing and important. Read it -- you will NOT be disappointed.
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Reviewed in the United States on August 11, 2023
Reviewed in the United States on July 5, 2023
This book for me has been 61 years in the making. I am a character in the book — honestly, I really am. And so are a lot of my friends from U.S. Thalidomide Survivors, a nonprofit formed only a few years ago in 2018. This book is us. This book literally helped us find each other.
Can you imagine wondering all of your life why you look like all of the thalidomide survivors in Europe, and asking questions of doctors all your life, but being told that the FDA never approved the drug in our country, and it was never here? Can you imagine rewriting your history when you were in your late 50s? Finally learning the truth?
That is why I say this book will change history. It already is doing so. While it was previously mis-reported that the US escaped the thalidomide tragedy, this book shows us all that it did not. It introduces new information.
Jennifer Vanderbes illuminates the disturbing story of how thalidomide was handed out by United States drug companies, eager to get ahead of what they thought would be FDA approval (which never came) to doctors all across the country; who, in turn, gave it out to patients who often did not know what drug they were being given. This included pregnant women. This included my mother.
And her book goes on to show how US authorities, including the FDA, did not adequately investigate once the dangers of thalidomide were discovered. They did not track down the patients who had received it. They did not notify the unwitting victims and failed to find the babies affected.
Wonder Drug is a riveting read, so well-told and well-researched! The old statistics are out and the new ones are here. The casualties of this dark chapter in American history come to life in Jennifer’s book. I personally am proud she did our stories justice. Please read, share, and amplify this important new truth!
Can you imagine wondering all of your life why you look like all of the thalidomide survivors in Europe, and asking questions of doctors all your life, but being told that the FDA never approved the drug in our country, and it was never here? Can you imagine rewriting your history when you were in your late 50s? Finally learning the truth?
That is why I say this book will change history. It already is doing so. While it was previously mis-reported that the US escaped the thalidomide tragedy, this book shows us all that it did not. It introduces new information.
Jennifer Vanderbes illuminates the disturbing story of how thalidomide was handed out by United States drug companies, eager to get ahead of what they thought would be FDA approval (which never came) to doctors all across the country; who, in turn, gave it out to patients who often did not know what drug they were being given. This included pregnant women. This included my mother.
And her book goes on to show how US authorities, including the FDA, did not adequately investigate once the dangers of thalidomide were discovered. They did not track down the patients who had received it. They did not notify the unwitting victims and failed to find the babies affected.
Wonder Drug is a riveting read, so well-told and well-researched! The old statistics are out and the new ones are here. The casualties of this dark chapter in American history come to life in Jennifer’s book. I personally am proud she did our stories justice. Please read, share, and amplify this important new truth!
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Top reviews from other countries
Reading is for fun
60 years on & truths still coming to light
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 24, 2023