Described as a
"Hard-Hitting and heartfelt dystopian fiction"
Title: Overdrawn
Author: NJ Crosskey
Genre: General Fiction
Publisher: Legend Press
Release Date: 1st September 2019
BLURB from Goodreads
Henry
Morris is watching his wife slip away from him. In an ageist society, where
euthanasia is encouraged as a patriotic act, dementia is no longer tolerated.
Kaitlyn,
a young waitress, is desperate for the funds to keep her brother’s life support
machine switched on.
When
a chance encounter brings the two together, they embark on an unconventional
business arrangement that will force them to confront their prejudices, as well
as their deepest, darkest secrets.
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REVIEW
The book cover is what initially caught
my eye, then when I read the blurb I knew I had to read this book. Unusually
for me I also checked out what the “Advance praise” was for the book and Christina
Dalcher, author of VOX had commented “Keep this book far from anyone who might be tempted to turn
its fiction into reality' which
intrigued me even more!
The book is set in an era where everyone is encouraged to
think about the resources they are using and to try their best to keep their “footprint”
as minimal as possible. Every one is given a set amount of “credits” based on
their usefulness to society. You are housed by the Council collective, they
decide what you do or do not need or deserve in relation to how useful you are
to society. To be totally candid, it is something that doesn’t take a whole lot
of imagination to think it’s a future possibility should the NHS cease to exist
in our country.
Waste of any sort is not tolerated. Even to the point of using
your credits for any medical issues you have.
Henry & Chloe Morris, both sixty years old are two of the
main characters and are elderly and in need of medical help. They are lucky in
that they own their own home which is a rarity in this “modern” age of the
supposed principal of everyone having a level playing field to start out their
lives. Henry has a prosthetic leg that gives him a lot of pain, causes him to
walk with a limp and really desperately needs replacing. Henry is a stubborn
man and we first come across him talking to a Dr Johnson about his wife Chloe.
Chloe has dementia and sadly it is progressing rather quickly so much so her
usual dose of Hepraxin has stopped working. The Dr explains that he can double
the dose of Hepraxin, but it will not cure Chloe. The Dr then reveals that Henry
has two options, he can have 6 month’s worth of the Hepraxin at the current
dose where it’s not working as well as when Chloe first began taking it or he can
prescribe 3 months of the Hepraxin at double the usual dose but it would be the
last lot of Hepraxin he could give as Chloe & Henry’s credit had reached it’s
limit. Dr Johnson suggests perhaps it’s time for Henry to let Chloe go, to let
her “move on”
The elderly are encouraged to choose death rather than using
up all their credits and money. They are increasingly being pressured to leave
a sizable inheritance to the younger generation to give them a good start.
Henry has one son, called David, whom he had with his first wife. Henry and
Chloe have no living children. The child they had and called Heidi sadly died
shortly after birth. There’s much more to be revealed about Heidi and details
surrounding her death but I do not want to reveal too much of the story.
The other main characters in the book are Kaitlyn and her hospitalised
brother Jack. Jack has had an accident and is on life support, despite reaching
the limits of his own credit, his sister Kaitlyn is using her own credits and
money from her waitressing job to fund Jacks medical care, in the hope that one
day when she visits him, he will suddenly wake up and be okay once again. Jack
is all Kaitlyn has, she broke up from her fiancé when he couldn’t understand
her decision to keep Jack on life support. Jack was everything to Kaitlyn when
she was younger, bringing her out of the awful home with her alcoholic,
prostitute of her mother and fed, clothed and cared for her himself.
It’s when Henry and Kaitlyn meet. Henry basically believes
that all youngsters are interested in is money and they have no respect at all
for their elders, which seems warranted when he stops for a drink in the café that
Kaitlyn works at and she serves him rather begrudgingly and sharply. Then he
thinks of his wife Chloe and that she would say maybe the young female is
having a bad day. When Henry leaves, he adds a tip for the waitress as his wife
would have if she had been well enough to be there. It’s that small act of
kindness that sets a large chain of events that end up being like a rather
large rollercoaster ride into action.
I
adored reading this book yet at the same time found it intensely disturbing
when you compare it to todays society that we are living in. A society that no
longer respects their elders, that doesn’t seem to care for others. The elderly
are really viewed and thought of as an unnecessary burden and being over users
of resources. On the other hand, the younger generation seem happy to accept
the Collective Council telling them their place in society. Telling them where
and how to live their lives. The youngers generation had never seemed to yearn
for more or to have any ambition, they just blindly accept what they are told.
Society has gone from protesting abortions and even condemning contraception.
In this new society sterilisation and termination are encouraged. Even more
dire, in my opinion early death is encouraged. That is where the “Moving On
Initiative” comes in. A large company that encourages those who are ill, or in
fact just those who are getting older to end their life themselves via their
service. People even have big celebrations called “moving on” parties to say
goodbye to all their family and friends. Medical professionals actively
encourage it. During the course of the book both Henry and Kaitlyn are offered
leaflets explaining and advising on the Moving On Initiative services. There
are some pretty sad scenes in this book, with Chloe having on of her “funny
turns” as she calls them, then Henry trying to sell his house in order to fund
more medication for Chloe. Henry also puts off replacing and updating his
prosthetic despite it giving him pain, and affecting his walking and everyday
life. Then sadly when Henry discovers his own health issue and has to work out
how to deal with it.
Kaitlyn
is also continually being told to let her brother go, that she should get on
with her own life, think of herself more and not waste more credit on her
brother. Kaitlyn keeps remembering all her brother did for her, how he
literally rescued her from her own mother, and a life that would have been a
lot worse.
My
immediate thoughts upon finishing the book were that it was an amazing read. I
found the book extremely thought provoking. Get those tissues at the ready for
the end section of the book. I don’t know what else to say other than I truly
loved it.
I
really don’t want to give away much more of the plot, but Henry and Kaitlyn
come up with an idea to earn enough money for each of them to continue to help
their loved ones stay with them a little longer. I truly loved the ending and
it did make me tear up and I continued thinking about it long after finishing
the book. Difficult decisions are made and carried out. Certain relationships
end, though as they end some important ones are being made too. I honestly
loved all the characters with the exception of Kaitlyn & Jacks mother. I
think Kaitlyn is very brave in her undertaking at the end of the book. All the
lose ends are tied up really well, though a little part of me would love to
read more stories set in this society.
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