Lone Wolf

Author: Jodi Picoult
Stars: 4
Review by: Jambob
My dad passed away last month from a massive heart attack that left him on life support for 2 weeks. I am grieving his passing as his only child but I reflect back on the decisions I needed to make for his care at the time. Although I was surrounded by family members they were ultimately my decisions. What agony! I could have read clinical books about the circumstance, instead I read this fictional account of a man whose life ambition was to understand wolves by entering a wolf pack himself and living in the wild. Actually a man has entered a wolf pack in real life. This author intersperses the lives of the people involved with the man's health condition in ICU due to brain death following a vehicle accident; his estranged son, loving guilt-ridden daughter, divorced wife and aspects of his own life as he learns about wolf relationships in the wild. For anyone who had to face the daunting and haunting task of making medical decisions for a loved one I highly recommend reading this book. For others who are fascinated by wolf behavior or how dysfunctional families may heal...this book is filled with treasures. Our families are all dysfunctional in one way or another and by varying degrees and you may be called upon to make life/death decisions for someone in your care. The author fleshes out the complexities of this gut-wrenching situation and the family dynamics which surround it. I finished the book and had a good cry then began reflecting more deeply on my own circumstances.