HI there!
Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.
Today, we're joining Rachel's Random Resources to shine a spotlight on a new title that sounds FAR too intriguing to miss, so you know...just DON'T! Ready your wish lists because here comes today's title in the spotlight...
The Cure
by
Patricia Ann Bowen
About the book...
TWO PEOPLE HARBORING SECRETS...
A stranger from the future comes to Paige’s cabin in rural Georgia with a treatment for her early onset Alzheimer’s disease. He bargains with the skeptical patient to give her The Cure if she’ll conduct a longitudinal study for him, proving his drug’s efficacy to a future world full of clients that need it. Faced with her dire diagnosis, he might be her only hope. She grapples with the side effects of his offer and learns to suppress her own dangerous truth: trust no one.
Seldom lucky in love, Paige finds herself competing with her best friend for his attention, knowing there can be no good end for their stolen moments of passion. Can she stay under the radar of the medical and legal communities to carry out his requests? And how will their complicated pasts bring them together physically, emotionally and professionally in a successful, if unethical, partnership?
Many lives will be changed, but at what cost… and to whom?
A stranger from the future comes to Paige’s cabin in rural Georgia with a treatment for her early onset Alzheimer’s disease. He bargains with the skeptical patient to give her The Cure if she’ll conduct a longitudinal study for him, proving his drug’s efficacy to a future world full of clients that need it. Faced with her dire diagnosis, he might be her only hope. She grapples with the side effects of his offer and learns to suppress her own dangerous truth: trust no one.
Seldom lucky in love, Paige finds herself competing with her best friend for his attention, knowing there can be no good end for their stolen moments of passion. Can she stay under the radar of the medical and legal communities to carry out his requests? And how will their complicated pasts bring them together physically, emotionally and professionally in a successful, if unethical, partnership?
Many lives will be changed, but at what cost… and to whom?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~ EXCERPT ~~~
Peter Lee has come from 40 years in the future with the cure for Alzheimer’s… not the treatment… The Cure. In exchange, he’s asked Paige Bergeron, a physician’s assistant, to take the cure for her own early-onset disease in consideration for doing a longitudinal study for him. She’s to recruit patients, administer the cure, and report to him in MedCloud any side effects and other issues that will give him immediate feedback, instead of having to wait for them in his own time frame. This scene is where she makes the decision to accept his offer of the cure.
Day 2
Chapter Five
They agreed to meet at 6:30 this morning, before Paige’s shift, in the chapel of the hospital where she works. Peter had two backup candidates in case she turned down his offer, not as good but good enough, and he couldn’t take a chance on her spreading the word about him and his mission if she did. Secrecy was paramount. He had permission to remove her if he had to, but it would cost him precious time to start the revelations again with someone new, in a different town on his list.
He arrived at the hospital ten minutes early. The man at the information desk directed him to the chapel. It was quiet. Paige was already there, alone, standing in the small half-lit room, dressed in her work uniform: a light blue cotton tunic and loose matching trousers. She looked very small.
“I hope I didn’t keep you waiting.”
“No, I just got here. All I had to do was walk down the hall.” She smiled, put out her hand, and he took it in his.
Good sign, he thought.
“I’ll come right to the point, Peter. Setting aside the extraordinary nature of your story, which is nearly impossible for me to do, I want to be rid of this awful disease. I see no alternative but to accept your offer, to take your cure. That’s selfish, I know, and I admit it.”
She let go of his hand, sat down, and looked up at him. “What I’ve also thought long and hard about since we parted company is what you want me to do in exchange. I can’t in good conscience deliver an unproven treatment to others until I prove the results to myself.”
“Don’t be foolish. I have so little time to work with you. I told you there’s a bigger picture here. You save your own brain from rotting away in exchange for contributing to medical research. I won’t, I can’t give you The Cure without your full agreement. Consider it the price to pay for your life.”
He saw her eyes open wide at his candid outburst, so he took another tack. “You’re very brave, and you’re going to make a difference in the lives of many people, an opportunity few are able to realize. Are you a religious person? Would you like me to pray with you here in the chapel?”
“Oh, no, I’m far from religious. I just chose for us to meet here because it’s private and quiet. No.”
“All right. What can I do to convince you The Cure is safe and totally beneficial?”
“At least give me time to see the results for myself. I know it’s not an acceptable medical trial, but how else can I believe your story?”
“I told you, I have only three weeks left here. If we start your treatment today, I can’t predict how long it will take to observe visible improvement in your brain. Days, maybe weeks. I don’t have that kind of time.”
“Then perhaps we should just call it off. Maybe you can raid some other doctor’s files and get yourself a new candidate. One who’s more desperate and… more compliant.”
“Listen Paige, I understand your ethical concerns, so here’s my Plan B. I’ll meet you half way. Work with me up to the point of administering The Cure to others. Go along with me on all the steps in my plan as though you have proof of safety and efficacy. If you aren’t convinced by the time your four-day treatment is complete you stop there, you’re cured, with no obligation to cure others.”
“You make me sound pretty ungrateful when you put it that way.”
“How else can I put it? You’ve given me an ultimatum, and I’m giving you a choice. What will it be?”
“I’m scared to go forward on this path with someone I don’t know anything about, someone who has the most bizarre story I’ve ever heard in my life. But I’ve told myself it’s no more frightening than a diagnosis of losing my mind. So okay, I’ll go along with your Plan B. If you can prove I’m cured, I’ll work with you. Now what?”
“Our next step is to administer The Cure to you, right now if possible. I have the drug here, in my backpack. I’ve customized the dosage to your size and body type, and I’d like to fit the patch on you immediately. Do you have a private office where we can do that?”
“Sort of. Private enough. I share one with Aaron, another PA. Our shifts overlap but his doesn’t start until eleven.”
“That’ll work. It will take only fifteen minutes or so.”
“Will I be able to work my regular shift today? I’m due on at seven. Or shall I tell my team I need some more time off?”
“No, that won’t be necessary. You needn’t change your routine in any way, except for daily monitoring. And I want us to do that together, really for two important reasons. First, I need to know that the dosage you’re getting is being properly absorbed by your body. Second, if you do finally choose to come on board and join the study, you’ll be administering future doses to others, so you can consider it part of your training as well as your treatment.”
They shared an awkward few moments. Both of them realized they were now cohorts, but traveling separate roads with no return. They went to Paige’s office on the fourth floor and locked the door.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
About the author...
Patricia Bowen writes novels, novellas and short stories, mostly about women with complicated lives. She’s been a copywriter, business owner, coach, marketing manager, and held corporate jobs in international business. She pens gardening articles for her local newspaper, and grants to support her local library. Her recent writing has appeared in the Table for Two anthology, The Sun magazine, and earned honourable mention in several contests. The Cure is her first full published work of fiction.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Special thanks to Rachel at Rachel's Random Resources for the chance to bring this tour to you. (THANKS!) For more information on this title, the author, this promotion, or those on the horizon, feel free to click through the links provided above. Be sure to check out the rest of tour for more bookish fun!
Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!
No comments:
Post a Comment