Not what I expected. It is more of an autobiography/memoir than it was the search for a cause of sudden death in the family. The bio parts seemed to lack emotion and the genetics was oretty complex.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Rowman and Littlefield for providing a digital copy.

The Dressmaker's Mirror, by Susan Weiss Liebman, is the powerful story of her search to find answers to her family’s medical mystery, a mystery that included unforeseen death at an early age.

I was drawn to The Dressmaker’s Mirror as a granddaughter, daughter, and sister who grew up with a similar, multi-generational secret – a midwestern family of eight children who had a 50-50 chance of carrying a deadly gene mutation for an inherited cancer syndrome. That fear, the feeling of being ‘cursed,’ and the hopelessness that sets in are all too painfully familiar. But with that pain came the hope and the faith that science was moving ahead and would someday provide the tools and knowledge needed to unravel the clues hidden in our DNA.

When her pregnant niece died suddenly at the age of thirty-six, Dr. Liebman knew she had to do something more than being a fierce advocate for her loved ones- she had to become, in her words, a “medical detective.” Her courage, curiosity, and a background as a geneticist, as well as an unwavering commitment to find the truth, is what makes The Dressmaker’s Mirror a compelling and thought-provoking memoir.

Today, after decades of scientific breakthroughs following the triumph of the Human Genome Project, advanced and affordable genetic testing, gene therapies and related medical interventions along with the availability of genetic counseling, have played a significant role in the lives of Dr. Liebman’s family members as well as my own.
But there is more work to do.

The Dressmaker’s Mirror is an incredible tale of family- of posing questions and chasing down answers. It is fitting that I write this review in the month set aside each year (November) to raise awareness of our family’s medical history. Family Health History Month is a national initiative that encourages families to share their health history with loved ones at holiday and other family gatherings.
Our health histories are stories, passed on from generation to generation.

When we share our stories, we can save lives.

I highly recommend this book to readers who enjoy real life stories around genetics, family dynamics, and narrative medicine. The Dressmaker’s Mirror would be an inspiring and informative gift for early careerists interested in health care and medical science professions.

I received a free ARC of this book in exchange for my authentic review. All opinions are my own.

The Dress maker's Mirror is a story of how genetics can greatly affect families and how searching for genes for diseases can make a difference. This book,written by Susan Weiss Liebman, herself a geneticist, tells the story of her family from Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM) and the devastation is has caused. She describes her pursuits of fights to find genes for DCM after learning that it is caused by genetics, as well as how she (and recommendations to others) how to track down at notify family members through vary types of genealogy about possibly having or being a carrier of DCM so proper actions can be taken to at least get the right treatment as to not die from what can be deadly, and can cause death with no notice.

In Liebman's quest for answers, she also goes into detail about how genetic diseases can run in certain populations or can be more prevalent in certain populations. With this knowledge, Liebman believes that it can bring power to people and talks about the ramifications of such knowledge.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in genetic diseases as well as one person's life experience with a genetic disease as well as anyone interested in the ramifications of genetic research.

This was an interesting read that is not easily categorized. And that is the issue that I had with this book. Is it a memoir or is it a book on genetics? In fact it is both and I appreciate that the author did her best to present it as such, but for me as a reader, I found it somewhat frustrating. For the reader who has a more informed interest in science and genetic issues, this book will be a gem. For the reader interested in the book as a memoir that reveals "secrets" it will be a little disappointing. I do wish she'd put more of a spotlight on the "why" behind the so-called secrets.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. I hope it finds a slew of readers that are able to fully appreciate it.

Susan Weiss Liebman’s soon-to-be-released book is brilliant. In “The Dressmaker's Mirror: Sudden Death, Genetics, and a Jewish Family's Secret,” the author outlines not just a family secret that would one day be thrust into the spotlight, but also provides readers with all of the background that one needs to understand the story within context.

As a scientist, the author has expertise in genetic testing and is now a fierce advocate for genetic screening. The family stories that Weiss Liebman tells reminds me of some of the same family secrets that festered in my own family, namely, my great-grandfather. Like the author’s uncle, the real cause of my great-grandfather’s death was covered up when he died in 1940 at the age of just forty-six years old. My grandfather—who was estranged from his father—always believed that he himself would die at a young age because his father did. Long after my grandfather died, I learned that my great-grandfather didn’t die from “accidentally” hitting his head at work—-but from meningovascular syphilis that eventually forced his second wife to commit him to a state hospital.

The author discusses in detail the social stigmas associated with genetic diseases. And while my great-grandfather’s death resulted from an illness that was not genetic, it was a combination of shame and fear that caused both of our families to hide the true causes of death.

What I really love about this book is that the author takes great pains to introduce readers to her cultural background. Besides the text, Weiss Liebman included two appendixes, chapter endnotes, photographs, a Glossary of Jewish Words, and a Glossary of Scientific and Medical Terms.

The author’s description of academic life really resonated with me, as I come from a similar background. But the author was really thoughtful in writing this text by ensuring that her inclusion of scientific information could be understood by, I believe, the vast majority of educated readers.

Weiss Liebman’s passion for genetic testing was born out of her and her family’s own personal losses, and those losses will become a gain for many readers. I’ve had some training in genetics, but it is not my expertise. With the author’s explanations, I was able to really understand the importance of genetic screening and from the author I learned that I can actually bank my DNA for my relative’s future possible research—something that I most definitely will be investing in.

I love that the author included a family chart at the beginning of the book because this really helped me to place family members in context. The author has a deep and unyielding faith, but it is one that is inspiring and not overburdened by dogmas. Weiss Liebman did a fantastic job of explaining both Jewish traditions and Jewish religious concepts for gentile readers.

I can see this book quickly becoming required reading for undergraduate and graduate science courses in colleges, especially in the United States. I’m not currently teaching, but if I was, I would undoubtedly use this book as part of my course. I strongly encourage the publishers to target colleges in their marketing campaigns.

I absolutely recommend this book to everyone, and especially to those who are interested in history, medicine, and disease. It is well written, sensitive, and thoughtful. Weiss Liebman deserves an A+!

I received an ARC of “The Dressmaker's Mirror: Sudden Death, Genetics, and a Jewish Family's Secret” by Susan Weiss Liebman from NetGalley and Rowman & Littlefield Publishers in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.