The Book of Kehls

by Christine O'Hagan

A luminous memoir about five generations of an Irish-American family whose fate was shaped by muscular dystrophy.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312329555
• ISBN13: 9780312329556
• Release Date: January 2005
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Length: 210 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.3" x 7.5"

Customer Reviews

The Book of Kehls

A book you can't put down - that's the way I would describe Mrs. O'Hagan's The Book of Kehls. You get the feeling that you grew up with her in the way she draws the reader into the most intimate part of her life in dealing with her parents, her siblings and her disabled son, Jamie. This book is about an Irish family and how they deal with a disease that affected everyone in their family. It is about a mother who is above all human, unashamedly sharing her emotions that run the gamut from being frustrated to being hilarious. Above all, this book shows Mrs. O'Hagan's strength and unending love in letting her son know that it is okay to stop fighting and to find peace. A must read.

A Work of the heart....

This book is not your ordinary story, it is the blood, sweat and tears of a brave family suffering from generation to generation with Muscular Dystrophy. Christine O'Hagan should be proud of how elloquently she is able to share her losses from her brother Richie to the ultimate loss of her own precious son Jamie. She shares so much in this book, you can't help but wonder how she was able to sit all those long hours and re-live so much sorrow. But don't be fooled. Christine knows just how to tell her story with her very fine sense of humor which has always been her strong tool through her struggles.A book to read not only for the journey of her life, but also for what it gives the reader.... The true meaning of what live is about. God Bless you Chrissie.

Honestly and bravely written!!!!

The Book Of Kehls is a memoir that is honestly and bravely written. The author probes her deepest feelings about coming from a family smitten with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and shares her candid insights with depth as well as with humor. The book also provides education about the disease to those that are unfamiliar with the ravaging toll it takes on its victims and their families. It helps the reader to understand the horror that living with this disease can bring, and provides insight into how families cope both effectively and ineffectively with chronic illness. Ms. O'Hagan also gives us a glimpse of the past as she shares her childhood growing up in the 50's and 60's and in many instances with great nostalgia. This was quite enjoyable to read. The layout of the book is very well created and the themes excellently threaded throughout. The beginning is extremely powerful as is the ending, leaving the reader to ponder life, its personal meaning and the necessity of gratitude for what many of us take for granted. For me, the book was a quick read because it was so interesting that I couldn't stop......The cover was a beautiful, the title wonderful and the picture of the children so poignantly presented. I highly recommend The Book of Kehls for its message of love and spirit.

A Love Story

O'Hagan has written a remarkable and heartfelt story of the disease and death of her beloved son, Jamie. It is a tragic story filled with pain, fear and frustration , guilt and loss. Yet one reads her story with acute awareness of the love that is in this woman, and how that love defines her, gives her strength and imparts a message to all of us. It takes great courage to write about such a personal and private ordeal - but in doing so, she has reached a universality that raises her book to a profound and wonderful level. This is a book to own, to read and to cherish.

PW reviewer must be nuts

the PW is so off the mark on this memoir that she/he is either a person who has suffered nothing, has the proverbial ice water running through her? veins, or knows nothing of human experience. PW should be ashamed of itself for giving this work of love and inspiration to someone who cannot think or feel and who accesses only the bare details of many lost lives.