There's nothing more refreshing than reading a true story told well.
That's exactly what you get when you read "Up and Running."
Andrew was only six years old when he came down with the disease - setting in within twelve hours, shutting down his vital organs, covering him with purple and black boils and sores, and eventually causing both of his legs to be amputated. The astounding part is not just that he survived, but that he never stopped fighting.
I never thought I could imagine a fraction of what it would be like to see someone you love suddenly fall ill with a life-threatening disease like bacterial meningitis, and fight to recover and begin a new life. But after reading Mark Patinkin's telling of that very story, I feel like I was there every step of the way: standing over young Andrew's hospital bed with the doctors, worrying and fretting next to his parents Rebecca and Scott, praying alongside his family members and friends.
The book is told simply and honestly. It doesn't heroify Andrew - more than he deserves - or his family: at times they do lose faith, get angry, and want to quit. And the book doesn't sugar-coat the seriousness of the illness. At times I was more than disgusted to be reading some of the descriptions of his condition, surguries, or painful physical therapy sessions. And many times I laughed out loud at the pure kid-ness of Andrew's personality and some of the things he said. This was the truth of the situation. This was real, and it feels like it happened not to a distant person in a far-off place, but to your neighbor, your playmate, your friend.
I would recommend this book even if you think you're not the biggest fan of non-fiction. "Up and Running" reads like a story; but it's even more powerful because it's a true one.
Reviewed by Beckie Sheffield for Flamingnet Book Reviews
