Sara StaggsReseñas

could not put this one down!

Worthwhile but not my favorite of this genre

This novel deserves the highest praise for a well written story, though not a thriller, was a page turner in a different sense. The reader follows the years during an 11 year period in which Casey, a successful litigation attorney, who searches for ways to get control of her uncontrollable epilepsy seizures. After seeing physicians and having traveling to a large epilepsy clinic, she agrees to a surgery that is successful only 50% of the time. Both Casey and her husband are feeling great stress at work which contributes to the intensity and frequency of her seizures. Their marriage is in jeopardy as her husband, Jonah, seeks support from a member of his therapy group. This is a story that shows how medical problems of one member of the family can change the dynamics of the entire family.

Don’t you just love it when you get a book where the author is previously unknown to you? You have absolutely no expectations and yet you’re absolutely riveted from the first few sentences. Such has been my experience reading this debut novel from Sara Staggs.
Set in Portland, Oregon, (which coincidentally is one of the few West Coast cities I have visited!) Uncontrollable tells the story of lawyer, Casey Scott, her husband, Jonah and their children. Jonah works at a downtown advertising agency (I had a friend who worked in just such an agency in downtown Portland!). Both seem to be managing their careers and their family life. But Casey has epilepsy. The novel explores, with depth and feeling the pressure this places on the whole family as Casey’s seizures get worse. When a doctor tells her bluntly she could die if her condition is not controlled Casey faces an impossible decision. Should she choose her career, all that she’s worked for and dreamed of, or does she choose her family and her health? The story examines what happens when plans don’t – go to plan. What happens to a family and the whole nature of compromise and survival when things go so frighteningly wrong.

I found the book very well constructed. It’s a dual narrative, so we get both Jonah’s and Casey’s points of view. In that sense, we are never encouraged to take sides. And it’s easy to see where both of them are coming from. They are flawed and human. The emotion is raw and palpable. I found them well drawn and believable characters. And if you knew little about epilepsy, then this is the fiction to educate you. The sequences in the book that detail treatments and procedures are jaw dropping . And my heart goes out to this author, because there’s no way she could write about this without having undergone it herself and believe me, it’s highly challenging for the bravest and strongest of individuals.

I think there can be a danger when you’re writing about something so close to you that a degree of sentiment and subjectivity can creep in, but that never happens in this book. It’s well plotted and accessible. The narrative remains objective. And the focus isn’t solely upon the subject of epilepsy. As a litigator, Casey is involved in a high-profile court case which highlights the #MeToo movement.

It’s an impressive debut novel, entertaining, thought provoking and enlightening. I look forward to more from this writer.

Thank you LibararyThing for giving me the opportunity to read this wonderful novel, Uncontrollable by Sara Staggs. Ms. Staggs writing makes you feel every emotion of all the characters, while giving you in-site of epilepsy, which the main character Casey has. There are so many twists and turns in this novel and you can feel everyone of them. To try and describe all that is happening is impossible, you must read this novel to fully appreciate it. Thank you Sara Staggs for giving me that opportunity

Uncontrollable by Sara Staggs

Casey has the perfect live, Husband, children and a satisfying career, but she is also living with Epilepsy. Then her Doctor gives her the news, she must control her seizure or she will die. Now faced with life altering choices that affect her family, career and life that she is accustom to.

The story moves at a fast pace told from alternating voices, Casey and her Husband Jonah. True to life events, engaging dialog and knowledge of Epilepsy, drew me in. I was engrossed from the first page (in) this compelling memorable read. I recommend to all.

I really enjoyed this book. It gave a really interesting perspective of how living with a chronic illness affects a persons work, family life, mental health, and friendships; especially when that chronic illness is not something that is outwardly visible. Casey's struggle to try to have it all is very relatable.

Thank you Sara for sending me a copy of this book, I really enjoyed reading it!

I found this debut novel from Sara Staggs an emotionally intense read, not just because of the convincing authenticity of her portrayal of her main characters, but because her evocative depictions of some of the challenges they faced offered what felt like truly ‘fly on the wall’ insights into what it must be like to live with epilepsy, with an ever-present awareness of the threat of seizures. By switching the narrative between Casey’s and Jonah’s perspectives, she captured the different challenges each of them faced as the frequency, and seriousness, of Casey’s seizures increased, with only a risky surgical procedure, targeting certain areas of her brain, appearing to offer any hope that she might be able to balance her own health and the needs of her family, with being able to continue doing the job she loved and was so good at. Even when people love each other dearly, at times of crisis it’s all too easy for them to stop ‘seeing’ and properly listening to each other and, consequently, fail to communicate their fears and anxieties truthfully. At times both Casey and Jonah unwittingly hurt each other as they failed to take into account, or even recognise, how much of an impact all the uncertainties was having on their partner. The author’s powerfully empathic prose captured a rawness to their emotional pain which, at times, felt almost unbearable to be exposed to as I accompanied them on the emotional rollercoaster they were facing, desperately trying to hold onto hope, whilst fearing what the future might hold. Equally painful was her portrayal of how their two very young children reacted to their separation from their mother when Casey has to spend some weeks in hospital for a series of tests to assess her suitability for the surgery being proposed. She brilliantly captured how Jonah was faced with trying to juggle their needs with his own fears about what was happening for Casey, plus coping with an employer who was totally unsympathetic to his home situation.
Before reading Uncontrollable I had only a very general understanding about epilepsy so I truly appreciate the insights Sara’s novel has given me into the challenges faced by all who are affected by it, as well as what I learnt from her descriptions of current treatments and ongoing research. I think that her novel very successfully achieves her aim of examining “… what happens when the life we may be forced to live is not the life we planned to live, and the compromises we make to survive in the face of adversity” because although Casey and Jonah’s story is unique to them, many of the dilemmas they face, the compromises and adjustments they need to make in order to live their best lives, will surely resonate with anyone who has had to make similar adjustments to their dreams and aspirations.
Thank you Sara for sending me an ARC of your moving and unforgettable story; it has been a pleasure to read and review it and I hope it will be as successful as I think it deserves to be following its release on 25th May.

Don't let the cover image and title of Sara Staggs' novel, fool you. This is not a romance featuring a bare-chested man and a bodice-ripped woman, it's a riveting and emotional account of what it's really like to live with epilepsy.

I imagine that many, if not most, people have no direct experience of epilepsy, and what information they do have is probably from movies or books. I would be one of those people. The one time I was around someone with epilepsy who had a seizure, I was a kid. The person suddenly began staring at nothing. I didn't know what was going on but did know enough to call for grownups to come, and then I was shunted out of the room and that was the sum total of my experience.

Current data indicates that 56% of adults who have epilepsy have uncontrolled seizures. Some of that high percentage is because lack of social support, low levels of income and education, unemployment, location and lifestyle may affect people's epilepsy and ability to control seizures. But there are also people, like the author's Casey Scott, a successful attorney with excellent medical coverage, for whom the causes of their epilepsy are unknown. Also like Casey Scott, there are some whose epilepsy cannot be controlled by medicines and who are at risk of Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP).

One factor in reducing that risk is identifying and avoiding seizure triggers. In Casey Scott's case, that trigger appears to be stress.

Casey Scott is not just a successful attorney, she's the lead litigator in a high profile civil rights case that will change the law, will crown her career and throw open the doors of opportunity for her. She's also learned she will likely die if she her seizures keep happening. Will she back away from her life's dreams or will she forge on, risking her marriage and leaving her two children motherless? Casey wants it all, but real life isn't like that.

Uncontrollable is not just about epilepsy, it's a look at the details of being faced with a life-threatening condition, of trying to hold on to one's old life when that life is already gone. It's about the dynamics of the individuals in a marriage in crisis, and about the compromises that feel like defeat but that in fact may lead to victory.

Young woman's fight to have it all, but at what cost? Her family, career as a litigator, marriage and health are all in jeopardy as she has a chance to try a landmark case. A very real dilemma in today's society presented as a fictional situation. Not a heavy read, but one that moves fast. I recommend it!