Miracle Creek by Angie Kim
Miracle Creek is ostensibly the story of the trial of a mother (Elizabeth) who may or may not have been responsible for the death of her autistic son, Henry, and another mother, Kit. But it's also about how hard it is to be the mother of a special needs kid.
Elizabeth envisioned a happy life with her husband and son. But Henry turns out to have both autism and severe food allergies, which means taking care of him is pretty much a full-time job. Her husband soon splits and starts a new family somewhere else. So Elizabeth is on her own and never gets a break. And it takes its toll. She signs Henry up for every type of autism treatment she can find--including an experimental oxygen treatment in the "Miracle Submarine" bariatric machine operated by a Korean immigrant named Pak. We meet some of the other patients using the Submarine: Kit, whose son also has autism, Matt, whose wife forces him to undergo treatment for his infertility so she can have a baby, and Teresa, whose daughter has cerebral palsy.
One day, there is an explosion and fire at the site of the Submarine, and both Henry and Kit end up dead. Elizabeth is arrested for causing the fire--and while she is clearly wracked with guilt about her son's death, we're not sure that she actually caused the fire that killed him. And we don't find out until the very end of the book.
In this very sad story, I thought the saddest part was when Elizabeth realized what a sweet kid Henry really was and that it would do her and Henry more good if she spent less time dragging him to all of these therapy sessions and more time just hanging out together and bonding--a realization that comes too late.
Elizabeth envisioned a happy life with her husband and son. But Henry turns out to have both autism and severe food allergies, which means taking care of him is pretty much a full-time job. Her husband soon splits and starts a new family somewhere else. So Elizabeth is on her own and never gets a break. And it takes its toll. She signs Henry up for every type of autism treatment she can find--including an experimental oxygen treatment in the "Miracle Submarine" bariatric machine operated by a Korean immigrant named Pak. We meet some of the other patients using the Submarine: Kit, whose son also has autism, Matt, whose wife forces him to undergo treatment for his infertility so she can have a baby, and Teresa, whose daughter has cerebral palsy.
One day, there is an explosion and fire at the site of the Submarine, and both Henry and Kit end up dead. Elizabeth is arrested for causing the fire--and while she is clearly wracked with guilt about her son's death, we're not sure that she actually caused the fire that killed him. And we don't find out until the very end of the book.
In this very sad story, I thought the saddest part was when Elizabeth realized what a sweet kid Henry really was and that it would do her and Henry more good if she spent less time dragging him to all of these therapy sessions and more time just hanging out together and bonding--a realization that comes too late.
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