Although you’ll rarely find a character living with diabetes in the movies, there are plenty of them in books. Unfortunately these literary depictions of diabetes usually follow the same tragic demise you’ll find in the play and film, ‘Steel Magnolias.

I just learned about another awful depiction of diabetes in NY Best-Selling author, Mary Kay Andrews‘ latest novel, ‘The Weekenders’ when I pieced up the free paper, Pink in Charleston, SC.

Is this true or false? I’m currently reading the book and I haven’t read anything that I feel is offensive related to diabetes in this book.

For those of you who have not read The Weekender yet, the story features a 12 year old girl, Maggy is living with type 1 diabetes. She was recently diagnosed with type 1 diabetes before learning that her father was murdered and that her family is bankrupt. I think this scenario would be pretty stressful for anyone even if they weren’t living with diabetes. I think it’s reasonable to assume that she would be dealing with a lot of unexpected high’s and low’s as she struggles with her emotions.

However my feelings don’t seem to echo those of other readers from the diabetes community based on on reviews posted on Amazon.com. Here are a few comments from Amazon reviews:

“The daughter was an undisciplined brat, I had a mouthy 12 year old who suffered from low blood sugars …”

“The behavior of the 12yr old daughter was outrageous and intolerable, the fact that she was never truly disciplined in any way for her attitude was galling …”

The book actually centers on Maggy’s mother’s life, Riley. Riley who has a summer home on Belle Isle, unexpectedly loses her husband (who was murdered). Of course, she has more than just the murder of her husband to worry about (!) This is because her husband has left her and her daughter, Maggie, high and dry without a penny in the world. Her beautiful house has a foreclosure sign on it, her money is all tapped out at the bank, and she has no husband to get the answers from. What is supposed to be a summer of fun turns into a downright nightmare for Riley and her family as the begin to uncover the hidden secrets that her late husband was hiding from them all. And to crack the case, they all need to keep open minds and hearts.

Have you read the book? If so, we’d love to hear from you! Please e-mail your comments to mrdivabetic@gmail.com

Plus, I’d love to invite the author, Mary Kay Andrews on our monthly podcast to talk about the depiction of type 1 diabetes featured in her book.

LISTEN NOW: Diabetes Late Nite inspired by P.M. Dawn. Hosted by Mr. Divabetic

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