About this ebook
While a scientist struggles with medical ethics, his family tackles troubles of their own in this novel by the author of The Cost of Good Intentions.
A wise and richly symphonic first novel, Long for This World is a thoroughly contemporary family drama that hinges on a riveting medical dilemma. Dr. Henry Moss is a dedicated geneticist who stumbles upon a possible cure for a disease that causes rapid aging and early death in children. Although his discovery may hold the key to eternal youth, exploiting it is an ethical minefield. Henry must make a painful choice: he can save the life of a critically ill boy he has grown to love—at the cost of his career—or he can sell his findings for a fortune to match the wealth of his dot-com-rich Seattle neighbors. Henry turns to his family for support, and in their intimately detailed lives unfolds a story of unforgettable characters grappling with their own demons.
A New York Times Notable Book
“This story will move you to tears and make you laugh out loud. It will also probably make you lie in bed at night and think about things that should be thought about: medical ethics, the moral choices in everyday life, the meaning of friendship and love and compassion, the need for connection.” —Elizabeth Berg, New York Times – bestselling author of The Confession Club
“A piercing scientific and familial romance . . . also a noisy novel of manners—and money . . . Byers effortlessly conveys the quick pivots and non sequiturs of familial byplay.” —Kerry Fried, New York Times Book Review
“A medical-ethical thriller with a warm domestic heart.” —Francine Prose, O, the Oprah Magazine
A wise and richly symphonic first novel, Long for This World is a thoroughly contemporary family drama that hinges on a riveting medical dilemma. Dr. Henry Moss is a dedicated geneticist who stumbles upon a possible cure for a disease that causes rapid aging and early death in children. Although his discovery may hold the key to eternal youth, exploiting it is an ethical minefield. Henry must make a painful choice: he can save the life of a critically ill boy he has grown to love—at the cost of his career—or he can sell his findings for a fortune to match the wealth of his dot-com-rich Seattle neighbors. Henry turns to his family for support, and in their intimately detailed lives unfolds a story of unforgettable characters grappling with their own demons.
A New York Times Notable Book
“This story will move you to tears and make you laugh out loud. It will also probably make you lie in bed at night and think about things that should be thought about: medical ethics, the moral choices in everyday life, the meaning of friendship and love and compassion, the need for connection.” —Elizabeth Berg, New York Times – bestselling author of The Confession Club
“A piercing scientific and familial romance . . . also a noisy novel of manners—and money . . . Byers effortlessly conveys the quick pivots and non sequiturs of familial byplay.” —Kerry Fried, New York Times Book Review
“A medical-ethical thriller with a warm domestic heart.” —Francine Prose, O, the Oprah Magazine
About the author
Michael Byers’s story collection The Coast of Good Intentions won the Sue Kaufman Prize for First Fiction from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and was a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award. Long for This World was featured on the History Channel's “Mavericks, Miracles, and Medicine.” The recipient of a Whiting Foundation Writer’s Award, Byers lives in Pittsburgh with his wife and two children.
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