My friend Beth and I decided to meet up on short notice over the weekend. It was unplanned, and if there was something good about giving in to this last-minute invitation, next to being able to have a three-hour conversation over coffee (for the first time since we first met in January!), is to finally get the old books which we've been discussing two months back. Those were old books from her bookshelf that I agreed to adopt and make room in mine. 

But what made me more excited aside from those old books is because she gave me a copy of one of her works, Come and Rescue Me. I've gushed about how I enjoyed reading her other work, Right Where You Left Me but Beth recommended that I try to read this one too -- if that was for the sake of comparison or something else, well, I simply didn't know. For a bibliophile like me, so long as it's a book, I would be glad to let my senses devour on it.

Her second book published under Lifebooks, Come and Rescue Me is a story revolving around the characters of an independent girl named Belle, a young neurologist named Joseph, and how a supposedly fun night out in a resort with Belle's girl friends ends in an emergency that would eventually lead to the discovery of an illness that is still kind of unknown to many -- Guillain-Barré Syndrome. Whether their accidental meeting was just to find the cure to Belle's mysterious illness or if there's more to it than just healing is something that readers would understand as they read through each chapter.

Despite being composed of 19 chapters, I was able to finish the book in four hours (I normally finish reading a book in two days!). While the author once told me that she felt that her ideas in writing this book were a bit "scattered", I never felt it to be like that. Reading the book allowed me to go through different kinds of emotions with the events associated with the story. From joy, kilig, sadness, and even the pain that Belle went through as a neurology ward patient. In a way, I could relate to that part of her character because I was once a familiar face in a neurology ward back when I was younger. Just like her, I too was a victim of a neurological disease that exhibited mysterious symptoms at first before my neurologist arrived with a diagnosis. There was even a particularly painful scene that rehashed the same level of pain in my mind because I also went through such a necessary medical procedure back when I was around the age of 11. The only difference is that compared to the character of Belle, there was no one like Joseph who exists in my memory at that time as I go through the same ordeal as hers. 

There were also heartfelt scenes that got me a bit teary-eyed while reading the book. I guess, events unfolding inside the confines of an ICU leave everyone feeling gloomy because that book made me feel that. It was the scene between Belle and an office mate that involved seeking forgiveness from a past offense and providing such despite the absence of words that pulled one of my heart's weakest strings. 

On the other hand, Joseph's character also deserves credit for his calming and compassionate persona. He is the kind of person any patient going through a hard time would wish to see in someone who professionally looks after them and their health concerns-- because admit it or not, at some point, we all find doctors to be either strict or intimidating and finding one who has more than just those "awkward" traits is a rare occurrence. 

Aside from giving the reader a bit of idea about what GBS is about, Come and Rescue Me imparts in its scenes the importance of the friends we keep (in the case of Belle, it's her friends Callie and Jean!),  and why we should appreciate moments, experiences, and even the people we cross paths with. This book is a light read but it's something I would love to read several times more. 

You can find out more about Beth and her works by visiting her blog, or by dropping her a shoutout on her Facebook page.