The Antidote for Everything

By: Kimmery Martin
Published Year: 2020
Publisher: Berkley
Pages: 352

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I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way shape or form influenced my opinion of this book.

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Georgia Brown’s profession as a urologist requires her to interact with plenty of naked men, but her romantic prospects have fizzled. The most important person in her life is her friend Jonah Tsukada, a funny, empathetic family medicine doctor who works at the same hospital in Charleston, South Carolina and who has become as close as family to her.

Just after Georgia leaves the country for a medical conference, Jonah shares startling news. The hospital is instructing doctors to stop providing medical care for transgender patients. Jonah, a gay man, is the first to be fired when he refuses to abandon his patients. Stunned by the predicament of her closest friend, Georgia’s natural instinct is to fight alongside him. But when her attempts to address the situation result in incalculable harm, both Georgia and Jonah find themselves facing the loss of much more than their careers.

First Impressions

Martin’s book covers are just gorgeous. The colors and the designs jump out at you and make you want to display them in your home. What I love about this cover is that once you read the summery you learn that it’s about gay and transgender patients and the cover features what is often call the Little Boy flower. I loved the little design hint at what the book was going to be about. Wonderful first impression.

What I thought

Martin does it again! A smartly written book with a whole ton of heart.

Georgia is urologist in Charleston. She works with her gay best friend Jonah who is a general practitioner. When the hospital and clinic decide to release Jonah’s patients on the ground that they are transgender, he challenges the hospital and gets fired himself. This story deals with the injustice of the healthcare system and the option to turn away patients as well as how Georgia and Jonah deal with how it impacts their lives.

One of my favorite things about Martin’s books is that she is an ER doctor and you can tell that from her writing. That doesn’t mean it’s dry, but that it’s smart. Her doctors know what they’re doing and know what they’re talking about. Everything has a level of intelligence that makes me as a reader more invested because the characters are so believable in their careers. Georgia is a strong and intelligent female doctor in a specialty dominated by men. While she may have faults in the way she handles her personal life, she is good at her job.

One unexpected element that I greatly enjoyed was a secondary love story. Was it necessary? No. Did it end up being one of my favorite parts of the book? Yes. It definitely added a lightness to break up the seriousness of the other plot points.

Speaking of the other plot points, this book touches on some sensitive yet very important topics. Now, I am a straight, white, female, so I can’t fully speak to how well Martin handles these topics or writes a gay character, but in my opinion she does a wonderful job. Jonah is so great and I adore the relationship between him and Georgia. The book also made me just angry enough that I am mad about the topic but not so angry that I couldn’t read the story. I think this book sends a strong message and a lot of people should read it.

I loved this book. I think this should be a top book club pick for 2020. There are a lot of solid discussion points balanced with well-written relationships and fun moments. The characters are all likeable which makes the story more enjoyable and easy to read. I never once felt like I was being preached at and I didn’t experience any reader fatigue. I love Martin’s writing. I would probably give this a 4.5/5 stars, if only because I don’t know if I would re-read this book. I will, however, be passing it on to a lot of people!