The group I was in for the final project/paper decided to read My Sister’s Keeper and I have to say I thought it was a great read. My Sister’s Keeper is about a girl, named Anna, trying to emancipate herself medically from her parents when she’s only thirteen. The reason she does this is because even before her birth Anna was designed to help her sister Kate because Kate had cancer and needed a doner with a particular genetic makeup. Kate needed needed to have transplants that were essential in keeping her alive and Anna was born to donate them. So Anna, who’s under gone many surgeries without anything being wrong with her, takes her parents to court intending to stop her parents from signing her up to donate a kidney to her critically ill sister after she had little say in all of the other surgeries.
To me this was a really exciting and emotional story mainly because I too have a sister who I would do anything for. Anna wants to help her sister but she also wants a say in what is taken from her and to her parents and those around her she is considered somewhat selfish for wanting this. At first I have to say that I felt similar to those around her but after reading it though I can completely understand why she would want a say in what is taken out of her body, especially in her situation where she has been basically the only thing keeping her sister alive for 13 years. When I think about doing anything to help my sister it’s coming from a person who has always had a healthy sister and Anna’s story gives light to what it is like to be the one who’s grown up giving up parts and pieces to a person who it seems like is always getting closer and closer to death.
Although My Sister’s Keeper was an easy read it still challenged me to think of what would really be best in that type of situation and yet to understand what the human response was not only for Anna but her entire family.