OUT OF WARRANTY (Haywood Smith)

Recently widowed Cassie Jones is coping with grief and lifelong disabling health issues, including multiple joint replacements.  Her late and much-loved husband's life insurance money is disappearing much too quickly into a well of medical bills not covered by her very expensive insurance.  She is beginning to wonder if she will ever feel better, physically or emotionally.  When her holistic physician (not covered under her insurance) refers her to a doctor specializing in the treatment of fungal allergies (also not covered by her insurance plan), Cassie finally has a diagnosis of fungal arthritis, a rare genetic condition, and a very expensive course of treatment and medications (none of which are covered by her insurance).  She also needs to completely free her home of mold, a process not covered by her homeowner's insurance, of course.

At her new doctor's office Cassie meets Jack Wilson, a grubby, one-legged curmudgeon with COPD who is undergoing the same course of treatment as Cassie.  She initially believes him to be an uneducated  mechanic and he assumes she is a pampered, wealthy housewife.  As the novel progresses Cassie and Jack, whose appointments coincide, develop a very tentative friendship colored with frustration and a deepening understanding of each other's feeling about life and loss. While Cassie wonders if she can even afford to grow older, Jack wonders if it's worth it to even try, yet during the course of helping each other cope with their treatments they discover a mutual love of literature and common frustration with parents and children.  One very interesting thing about this very entertaining book is that author Haywood Smith suffers from the same genetic form of arthritis as Cassie Jones.

I have to say that I enjoyed every moment of this wonderful novel.  Watching Cassie and Jack's relationship evolve into unexpected (i.e. not your typical romance!) territory, suffering along with them while they each try to cope with loss of "things" that they thought were important, and their very practical solution to most of their problems was a total delight.  If this were a movie and I were a critic I would give it 2 thumbs up without question!  By the way, anyone who has ever for a moment worried about the state of health care in America should read this novel.  In some ways it's an eye-opener!