A Medical Affair

For the first time in her 38 years, Heather has an asthma attack. It lands her in the ER, where she meets a really hot doctor. Jeff has been married for 10 years, but has never let that fact keep him from one-night stands or short-term affairs. Heather is slowly falling in love with him, finding herself becoming “the other woman”. What happens along the way should send shivers up any woman’s spine as Heather slowly loses herself and becomes a victim.

There is sex, but be aware that this is not a romance. Men in positions of authority abuse women, everyone knows that. What is less known is just how it gets to that point. Written in dueling viewpoints between Jeff and Heather, this tale is creepily vivid in walking you down that path. From innocuous to insidious, this is a terrifying look at the psychological manipulation used by such men, where their arrogance truly breeds ignorance. Interestingly enough, however, one may not come away loathing Jeff, because his arrogance and ignorance are a perfect showcase to an endemic problem, hidden by other arrogant and ignorant men. He gets his, just as Heather gets hers, and while her story ends abruptly, yet with strength, there are no winners. Some of the subplot could have been done away with, and at times the statistics and research on cases like this are almost preachy - the information only needs to be told to Heather once. A well-written tale on a topic few would dare to touch, there is no happy ending, but there is an ending with hope.

Julie York