Spinning an 'extraordinary' medical thriller

There are stories. And there are remarkable stories. And then there are people who write remarkable stories. Perhaps Pulitzer-prize winning writer Geeta Anand belongs to the third category.Her newest book "The Cure: How a Father Raised $100 Million— and Bucked the Medical Establishment — in a Quest to Save hisChildren" was adapted into an Oscar-nominated motion picture "ExtraordinaryMeasures" starring Hollywood stars Harrison Ford and Brendan Fraser. It's onlythe latest in the series of inspiring stories from Anand. Though the film on herbook bombed at the box office — despite its stellar cast — and ranin theatres only four weeks.A reporter with the Wall Street Journal,Anand was part of a Pulitzer-winning team that exposed corporate corruption in2002. One of her stories described how the founder of a biotechnology firm,ImClone Systems Inc, put out misleading research. Another article was about thelies biotechnology analysts tell, pretending to be patients or doctors to obtainproprietary information with which to manipulate biotech stocks.In2003, the mother of two was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for an article about howthe US was rationing healthcare. Now based in Mumbai, Anand specializes inreporting on medicine and biotechnology.Mumbai is home turf forAnand. She was raised here. This is where she says she learnt to be an achiever."I was the head girl of my school (Mumbai's prestigious Cathedral & JohnConnon School). In 1982, when I was in Class X, I represented India at the AsianGames in Delhi and the Commonwealth Games. I was Indian National Champion in100m and 200m breast stroke competition for women," says the43-year-old.But surely "The Cure" is about more than a high-flyingjournalist simply turning a good story into a good book? Anand says she "lovedthe story about a father moving heaven and earth to try to save his kids. Thestory was not only inspiring but also filled with drama. The family was so openand honest about their strengths and weaknesses and their mistakes as well asheroism".Anand, who is now writing a family memoir that starts withher grandparents leaving Karachi during Partition, demonstrated impeccableinstinct. Harrison Ford said "The Cure" had "something to say about personalcourage, initiative, parents' love, and the power to overcome extraordinarilydifficult circumstances."Anand, however, went one better. She admitsto writing the story "as a page-turner, with 'Seabiscuit' and 'A Civil Action'as my role models. Basically, 'The Cure' is a medical thriller, a book thattakes you from a family dining table to a hospital room to a science lab to abusiness board room — making it all understandable."