How far would you go to protect your family? And if, in the act of protecting your family, you ended up losing them anyway, would it all be worth it?

That’s the dilemma Ari faces when he finds out his cousin Nicole is dying of cancer, and her only hope of survival is a cord-blood transplant. But the cord-blood that Nicole needs is the cord blood of Ari’s children, which he kept to safeguard their future. And despite his love for his cousin, he would protect his children, and therefore the cord-blood with his life.

But he’d already signed a letter promising that Nicole could have it, and Nicola is determined to fight this as it’s her last hope.

We follow the process through the courts and through the challenges that this brings for a previously close-knit family. We also get to know the judge of the case, trying his last case before retirement, and see the case change his attitudes towards his family too.

This was a very unusual choice of book for me, picked mainly because it had an audio-version and it was quite high in the kindle unlimited charts. I enjoyed listening to it on my commute, the narrator had a soothing voice which brought the book to life, in a way that I don’t think I’d have experienced if I’d simply read the book.

I found the book very interesting, although it definitely wasn’t an easy read, as you could probably tell by the subject matter. I’d still recommend it though, as long as you’re prepared for becoming emotionally invested.