Heaven 2026: January Book Club - Dark Remedy by Rock Brynner and Trent Stephens
Sandemaniac
Shipmate
Posting early to annoy the hosts ensure I remember to start in a reasonable time.
Christmas Day, 1956, Stolberg, West Germany, A baby girl, the daughter of an employee of Chemie Gruenenthal in the town, is born without ears.
There is nothing to link her to any other cases because Gruenenthal's new drug is ten months away from the market - her father had taken samples of their new sedative home for his wife.
With the 20:20 clarity of hindsight, we now know that she was the first recorded victim of Thalidomide - a drug that changed bodies, minds, lives, and the legislative landscape around medicine.
This book records the events of the 1950s and 1960s around the epidemic of birth defects that thalidomide caused. It also records the drug's surprising afterlife - as a drug of choice for a number of diseases - that led to further discoveries, and caused much concern to those who had already been harmed by it.
I'll confess now to having an interest - I was lent the copy I have by a drinking mate who is a thalidomider. Most of us can read the book as outsiders. He went through it and his life is still affected every day.
Not sure that "Happy reading!" is the most apt opening salutation - but I hope those of you who join will find it interesting and educational.
Christmas Day, 1956, Stolberg, West Germany, A baby girl, the daughter of an employee of Chemie Gruenenthal in the town, is born without ears.
There is nothing to link her to any other cases because Gruenenthal's new drug is ten months away from the market - her father had taken samples of their new sedative home for his wife.
With the 20:20 clarity of hindsight, we now know that she was the first recorded victim of Thalidomide - a drug that changed bodies, minds, lives, and the legislative landscape around medicine.
This book records the events of the 1950s and 1960s around the epidemic of birth defects that thalidomide caused. It also records the drug's surprising afterlife - as a drug of choice for a number of diseases - that led to further discoveries, and caused much concern to those who had already been harmed by it.
I'll confess now to having an interest - I was lent the copy I have by a drinking mate who is a thalidomider. Most of us can read the book as outsiders. He went through it and his life is still affected every day.
Not sure that "Happy reading!" is the most apt opening salutation - but I hope those of you who join will find it interesting and educational.
Comments
I suspect the doctors heard that a lot! Funnily enough I'd never heard of the derivative Lenolidimide until I went down a Google rabbit hole to update myself on what had happened since the book was published (2001ish)- but an acquaintance on another forum, also a myeloma patient, posted a complaint about side efects that same day.
If you can find a good summary of what happened in Australia and why it took so long, that could be useful to drop jnto the discussion. I'd certainly be interested in reading it.
I didn't realise there is also a book about Lynette Rowe and her family (my childhood neighbours) and her legal case written by one of her lawyers. https://amzn.asia/d/2wuVxvQ
When I've got through my pile for other book groups I'll be joining up to read this.
Sodium valproate has been used for bipolar disorder and epilepsy for a very long time, it is tetragenic and has only been withdrawn for women of childbearing age in the last decade - 2018. I don’t know if anyone has sued.
Please don't out yourself if you don't want to, I am just being snouty.