Love in the Time of Cholesterol

December 12, 2005
Ross, food critic at Canada's Globe and Mail
, chronicles the prelude to and two years following her husband's heart attack and open heart surgery. She and Basil meet while working at a magazine, fall in love and marry. Yet it's the younger of the two (he's 39 and she's 46) who falls victim to heart disease, though he's in denial about the problem and brushes off his initial heart attack ("The pain was awful, but it's gone now," he tells Ross, and then hops in the shower). Though Basil is "an extremely private person," Ross writes with unabashed detail about her husband's health, dwelling on every hint and clue to his ultimate diagnosis: unstable angina, likely caused by an arterial blockage interfering with blood flow to the heart. As the couple deal with their frustrations with medical personnel and Basil's growing depression and anxiety, Ross remains a staunchly devoted wife. While the book humanizes the clinical aspects of heart disease, Ross's recipes (though enticing enough) lack nutritional stats and are not well connected to the narrative (the segue from surgery to Date and Walnut Loaf is one example). However, families coping with heart disease will no doubt find that the reassuring love tale of Basil and Cecily rings true.

Starred review from November 15, 2005
Ross, a senior editor and writer for the Globe and Mail (Toronto), offers a wonderfully written, heartfelt story about life after her husband's heart surgery. This event turned the couple's world upside down: not only did they have to change how they ate, but they also had to learn to deal with daily anxiety and fear. Ross does a great job of describing the denial that people often experience when they suspect a heart attack and how and why they often don't seek medical attention sooner rather than later. Not that the book is all doom and gloom -Ross includes hilarious observations, such as her story about dog park etiquette, and food is a recurring theme. Each chapter concludes with two of her favorite recipes, many of which this reviewer has dog-eared for future reference. Social support systems and books for spouses and caregivers of heart disease patients are generally lacking; this book offers those audiences an inside look at what to expect after such a diagnosis. Highly recommended for all collections." -Howard Fuller, Stanford Health Lib., Palo Alto, CA"

Copyright 2005 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.