"Heartbreak, sacrifice, genetics and venture philanthropy — this book has it all."
-Nature, Book Review, October 26th
"...I was gripped by Trivedi’s curiosity and attention to detail. Anecdotes and explanations about the condition’s medical history were illuminating and easy to follow.."
-Must-Read Science Books, Discover
"I couldn’t put the book down... Trivedi leads you on a tour through the ups and downs of the discovery process. She gives it life-and-death urgency and emotion....Breath from Salt is an inspiring book. "
Bijal Trivedi is an award-winning journalist specializing in longform narrative features about biology, medicine, and health. She currently works as the senior science editor for National Geographic. She has just completed her first book, Breath from Salt: A Deadly Genetic Disease, a New Era in Science, and the Patients and Families Who Changed Medicine Forever.
Advance praise for Breath from Salt
“A thorough and engrossing saga packed with information, Breath from Salt is really about the transformative power of hope. It arrives at just the right moment, when too many of us have forgotten what human faith, ingenuity and relentless determination can accomplish.”
—Dan Fagin, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Toms River
“Beautifully written, Breath from Salt brings to life the amazing story of a passionate community that dared to dream, work together, and take extraordinary risks to bring life-saving treatments to those with cystic fibrosis. Timely and important, the breakthroughs described in this book are likely to accelerate cures for many other genetic diseases.”
—Dr. Preston W. Campbell, former president and CEO of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
"Timely and inspiring, Bijal Trivedi’s Breath from Salt performs several rare feats. It captures -- through rigorous research, rich scene-setting, and deep empathy -- a revolution-in-progress: genetic medicine’s ability to conquer new fronts in the war on disease. It chronicles the alchemy of pain, loss, science and money into forging bold new cures. It heaps “firsts” one on top of another into a template for innovation in health. It’s an expansive, moving, hopeful, multi-generational saga with the intimate tempo, pacing, dynamics and attention to character of a mystery novel… A truly masterful combination of science writing, deft historical insight, narrative dexterity, thoughtfulness, and compassion."
—Barry Werth, author of The Billion Dollar Molecule named one of Fortune’s 75 “Smartest Books We Know” and a Business Week top ten book of the year
"Elaborating on the science as well as the business behind the fight against cystic fibrosis, Trivedi captures the emotions of the families, doctors, and scientists involved in the clinical trials and their 'weeping with joy' as new drugs are approved, and shows how cystic fibrosis, once a 'death sentence,' became, for many, a manageable condition. This is a rewarding and challenging work."
—Publishers Weekly