Rosie Sorenson, MA, MFT

 

Midwest Book Review 
     
When the author and her husband set out on the daunting journey for his life-saving liver transplant, she had no idea they were stepping into a medical labyrinth where the stakes were nothing short of life and death. Several years before, Steve had been diagnosed with "non-alcoholic, cryptogenic, end-stage liver disease." Shockingly, she had to intervene several times during Steve's hospitalization to save his life.  
 
Awarded the 2024 Zibby Book Award for Best Story of Overcoming, and the 2025 American Legacy Books Award in Health, Ms. Sorenson's memoir is more than a personal account, it's a rallying cry for patient advocacy and a wake-up call about the dangers of preventable medical errors.   
     
Sorenson injects facts about the nature of these medical errors into an account which moves from personal experience to some truly eye-opening statistics:  According to research from Johns Hopkins and Harvard, 371,000 patients die every year in the U.S. due to preventable medical mistakes, with another 424,000 left with ongoing disabilities. Sorenson and her husband, like so many families, were unaware of these staggering statistics when they left California for another state, desperate for a transplant after facing an impossibly long waiting list at home
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As Sorenson chronicles the long journey between diagnosis and hope to eventual successful outcome, readers gain insights into the challenges of not just her husband and transplant recipients in general, but the U.S. medical system as a whole. 
         
The memoir's impact extends beyond storytelling. The Addendum provides a deep dive into the realities of medical error, the influence of private equity in healthcare, and the pervasive issue of racial bias. It also offers practical recommendations for families on how to be an effective advocate and how to keep a loved one safe in the hospital. 

The revelations are hard-hitting. While they may prove especially challenging to those who intrinsically believe in modern medicine, this information solidifies the need for not just change, but proactive attitudes among patients, caregivers, spouses, and medical support teams.  Sorenson involves readers in every step of their lives, making her memoir intimate, appealing, and hard to put down.

These features are why libraries should not only make If You'd Only Listen a part of their collections, but should highly recommend its experiences and messages to a wide audience, from book club reading groups interested in hard-hitting medical memoirs to groups from medical professional and patient reading circles who look for experiences and insights worthy of discussion. 
   
If You'd Only Listen is not just a memoir, it's a survival guide for anyone who may one day find themselves fighting for a loved one's life. It reminds us that with courage, resilience and unwavering love, even in the darkest hours, ordinary people can make an extraordinary difference.