Books
THE BOOK OF ESSIE
A captivating debut novel of family, fame, and religion, The Book of Essie tells the story of a seventeen-year-old girl, daughter of an evangelical preacher, star of the family’s hit reality show, and the secret pregnancy that threatens to blow her entire world apart.
“I was immediately captivated by The Book of Essie, a unique and moving story about a young woman whose life has been hijacked by fame, family and faith–and her spectacular, surprising plot to take it back.” –Vanessa Diffenbaugh, bestselling author of The Language of Flowers and We Never Asked for Wings
“Every once in a while, a novel comes along that is both timelessly beautiful and unbelievably timely. The Book of Essie is such a story. Meghan MacLean Weir has given us a young heroine who is at once authentic and courageous — and a tale that is wonderful and mysterious and relentlessly surprising.” —Chris Bohjalian, bestselling author of Midwives and The Flight Attendant
“The youngest daughter of an Evangelical preacher-turned-reality TV star hatches a plan to wrangle her freedom—and expose the dark truth about her family—in Weir’s debut novel… Deeply sympathetic… well-paced… and the unexpected tenderness between Essie and Roarke gives the novel genuine emotional punch.” —Kirkus
“The Book of Essie is a captivating debut. The original plot moves at lightning speed while giving the reader characters to hang on to, care for, and sympathize with. The novel focuses on 16-year-old Essie Hicks, a star on a reality TV show following her preacher father and her ultra-religious, conservative family. When Essie finds out she is pregnant, she must protect herself and her future in the face of public scorn. I couldn’t stop turning the pages to see what would happen to Essie and Roarke, the boy Essie’s mother has decided she will marry in a primetime, live-televised wedding. Weir proves herself to be a brilliant new talent with a sensitive but unflinching take on child exploitation and life in the public eye. A must-read!” —Liv Stratman, Books Are Magic, Brooklyn, NY
BETWEEN EXPECTATIONS
In this memoir, written during her residency at Boston Children's Hospital and Boston Medical Center, Weir offers an unfiltered description of her first uncertain years in medicine and the children who helped her become a doctor, not all of whom can be saved.
“A searing, compassionate, well-written and inspiring account by a young woman doctor out on the leading edge of caring for children. A marvelous book.” —Samuel Shem, M.D., author of The Spirit of the Place and The House of God
"An eviscerating chronicle of life as a pediatric resident in two dissimilar Boston hospitals."—Kirkus
"It's a given that doctors-in-training will suffer through sleep deprivation and stress, but pediatrician Weir brings something more heartfelt—and joyful—to this achingly personal chronicle of her residency at Children's Hospital Boston and Boston Medical Center . . . Here's a white coat insider's account with better writing and more soul than most medical dramas." —Publishers Weekly