Summer of the Bees

by Andy Sutherland

Every parent’s nightmare becomes a reality: Sutherland’s baby boy Michael is diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. This book documents the processes, both internal and medical, that the family goes through in their year of living in hospitals: the hope and fear, the anger at carelessness in management of their child’s illness, and the gratitude at (the majority of) doctors and nurses who go way beyond the course of duty in their involvement in their child’s illness.

It seems churlish to make the point that the chapters in which Sutherland writes in the imagined voice of his child don’t work: he would have done better to limit himself to sharing the kind of communication that pre-lingual children so expressively have. But this is a grieving father writing, and his indulgence is forgivable.

Children get cancer and, too often, it kills them. Between the diagnosis and death, there are a million pinpricks. Among these are others’ opinions on the most appropriate course of action. Adults can make a call: this treatment is too hard; the prognosis is too grim; I’m not going to go through it. Children have these decisions made for them. Cancer treatment can be savage. So among the issues the parents of cancer babies have to deal with, is the dilemma: is this fair? Is this kind? Is this right?

Friends and family who also love the child in treatment have feelings too, and where they feel the parents are pushing things too far, they have, perhaps, an obligation to speak up. One of the triumphs of Sutherland’s book is his exploration of what this means for the people who ultimately, in consultation with doctors, have to make torturous decisions.

The ending isn’t happy, but it’s immensely instructive. This is a brave book. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone starting down the road of treatment for their child. But for anyone close to such a family, this should be required reading. One of life’s most painful issues is explored here with dignity and courage, honesty and vulnerability.

(Review by Heather Parker)