Remedies for Sorrow

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This inspiring memoir by a mother whose child is born deaf reveals a preventable virus that causes more childhood disabilities than any other, yet remains largely unacknowledged by the medical community. One virus, cytomegalovirus (CMV), leads to more birth defects than any other infectious disease, yet 93% of Americans are unaware of its existence. In 2015, after a seemingly normal pregnancy, Megan Nix's second daughter, Anna, was born small and failed her newborn hearing test. Megan and her husband discovered that Anna is completely deaf due to an infection in the womb from CMV, which Megan unknowingly contracted from her toddler. While doctors caution pregnant women about saunas, sushi, and unpasteurized cheese, they neglect to mention that CMV can be transmitted through the saliva of one in three toddlers. This shocking reality prompted Megan to conduct extensive research, revealing that obstetricians in the U.S. are advised not to discuss CMV with pregnant women. Set against the backdrop of Sitka, Alaska, where Megan's husband works as a salmon fisherman, this memoir serves as a poignant critique of the paternalistic practice of "benevolent deception" in medicine.