Would it be a qualified demand if your sibling asks for your bone marrow to cure her leukemia? The usual answer for this question would be a direct yes- of course, it is your sibling after all! Who wouldn’t go through bit of pain to heal her beloved sister? However, for thirteen-year-old Anna with a very ill sister, her answer is quite different.
Anna is a bone marrow match for her older sister Kate, who has been fighting against leukemia which has plagued her body since childhood. Since age five, Anna has to go through countless surgeries, transfusions, and shots to save her sister Kate. Her parents consider these as certain duty Anna should do, and that what she believes in too. However, as time goes, Anna slowly begins to question who she truly is, why she has to suffer, and for who she exists. To make matters worse, she overhears that her parents previously devided her birth to save young Kate from leukemia. This was a fatal shock to Anna, causing her to lose identity. She makes a decision after contemplating, which will tear her family apart, and worse, could lead to her older sister’s death. She rejects to be her sister’s bone marrow donor. Her parents consider Anna’s behavior insignificant, feeling that she is just going through puberty, but the story gets different when Anna hires her lawyer, Dr. Campbell, to fight against her parents and protect her own self. She goes through numerous controversies with her parents, burdening the guilt of betraying her own sister, but she does not change her mind. Anna’s father attempts to coerce her but results in failure, and her mother infuriates over her decision, yet both fail at comprehending Anna her birth was not solely for the purpose of blood marrow for Kate.
My Sister’s Keeper, written by Jodi Picoult, deals with a very heavy and unapproachable issue. The plot which deals with parents and their daughter’s controversy in the beginning might seem typical at first yet it soon turns very intense. The deep, solemn mood overwhelms readers with dingy narration . It is very hard to get out of the shock received from this book, feeling the deep misery rooted inside family’s heart, understanding Anna’s pain and guilt, and truly being part of the story as you read. It is solely up to the readers’ mind whether Anna’s choice is right or wrong. Some blame her parents for unable to show much affection and devotion to Anna compared to Kate, which could have resulted into Anna’s decision to file lawsuit against them. Regardless of the question whose fault caused this tragedy, both Anna and her parents are both trying to protect what are most important to them- and if those actions are selfish, no one would have rights to toss rocks at them.
