Overdrawn
A Guardian Book of the Month
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- $4.99
Publisher Description
Henry Morris is watching his wife slip away from him. In an ageist society, where euthanasia is encouraged as a patriotic act, dementia is no longer tolerated. Kaitlyn, a young waitress, is desperate for the funds to keep her brother's life support machine switched on. When a chance encounter brings the two together, they embark on an unconventional business arrangement that will force them to confront their prejudices, as well as their deepest, darkest secrets.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Crosskey (Poster Boy) uses this powerful futuristic novel to explore the ethics of a health-care system built on capitalism. Following the collapse of a socialist utopia, the New Church holds that staying alive too long is selfish, and big companies promote euthanasia of the elderly and sick in order to financially benefit the younger generation. But elderly Henry Morris is determined not to let his wife, Chloe, who has dementia, go gently even though he can no longer afford her medication. Kaitlyn Thomas is a waitress facing a similar financial dilemma to keep her brother, Jack, on life support. The two protagonists meet by chance at the hospital and devise an unusual plan to help each other make money: as "sterilization and termination considered responsible and sacred," babies have become both rare and extremely valuable on the black market. So Henry donates his sperm and Chloe agrees to carry the child to term to sell to rich would-be parents. Meanwhile, Henry's scheming son, David, works to secure his inheritance, and a tragic revelation about Henry and Chloe's daughter is slowly teased out. Examining ageism, ableism, and misogyny, Crosskey succeeds in showcasing the value of human bonds while dealing with illness, trauma, and bureaucracy.
