Georgia is a urologist working at a hospital in Charleston, South Carolina with her best friend, Jonah. She enjoys her job and the people she works with, both patients and co-workers, until one day a scandal breaks loose. Many of Jonah’s patients begin leaving the clinic with no explanation. Then Jonah himself comes under scrutiny and is at risk of losing his job. As Georgia and Jonah uncover what is going on, they learn the truth: the hospital intends to no longer treat transgender patients. When Jonah stands up against this injustice, he is fired. With her own job on the line as well, Georgia tries to help Jonah find a way out of a particularly sticky predicament in hopes that the hospital will not only hire him back, but will also see the error of their discriminatory ways.
The Antidote for Everything is Kimmery Martin’s second fiction novel, drawing on her own experiences as a physician. A subplot of Georgia’s love interest adds another dimension to the storyline that is otherwise focused on medical and social issues. The novel also includes many aspects that are sure to draw the reader in: a strong female lead, mystery and twists in the plot, and the strong bond of friendship between the main characters, Georgia and Jonah. Martin’s writing is quite sound for one making such a drastic change in fields; however despite the solid writing the storyline feels too contrived overall. While there are compelling points throughout, by and large the novel feels too neatly planned out and structured, at least for this reviewer’s tastes. When broaching a large, complex, and currently relevant topic, such as that of gender identity which is examined here, one may be looking for more depth with the social commentary. At times it felt as if there was a pull between whether the story was truly focused on what Georgia and Jonah would risk to “save” their patients versus what they would do to “save” themselves or each other.
It is particularly interesting, however, to note some of the situations which influenced and inspired Martin to write this story. For example, Martin actually knows a physician who was fired for refusing to stop treating transgender patients. Martin also lives in the state of North Carolina and has stated that her writing was influenced by the passing of an anti-discrimination ordinance for gay and transgender people in the city of Charlotte a few years back. Despite the concerns noted by this reviewer, it does seem that The Antidote for Everything has the appeal of contemporary fiction which is likely to find a broad audience out in the reading world. If you tend to enjoy a bit of a lighter, more commercial fiction novel which still contains important social references, you may want to give this one a try.
The Antidote for Everything is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers as of February 18th 2020. Thanks to Berkley for gifting me this advance copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Kimmery Martin is a physician turned full-time writer. Her first novel, The Queen of Hearts, was published by Penguin Random House in 2018. Her second novel, The Antidote for Everything is forthcoming in February 2020. She lives in Charlotte, North Carolina with her husband and children where she also serves on the boards of various non-profit organizations.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
In this whip-smart and timely novel from acclaimed author Kimmery Martin, two doctors travel a surprising path when they must choose between treating their patients and keeping their jobs.
Georgia Brown’s profession as a urologist requires her to interact with plenty of naked men, but her romantic prospects have fizzled. The most important person in her life is her friend Jonah Tsukada, a funny, empathetic family medicine doctor who works at the same hospital in Charleston, South Carolina and who has become as close as family to her.
Just after Georgia leaves the country for a medical conference, Jonah shares startling news. The hospital is instructing doctors to stop providing medical care for transgender patients. Jonah, a gay man, is the first to be fired when he refuses to abandon his patients. Stunned by the predicament of her closest friend, Georgia’s natural instinct is to fight alongside him. But when her attempts to address the situation result in incalculable harm, both Georgia and Jonah find themselves facing the loss of much more than their careers.
