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Some Assembly Required: A True Story of Love and Organ Transplants
So your husband is going to die. Now what?
Some Assembly Required chronicles the 10-month adventure of a couple living through the worst of times like it’s the best of times. It’s a story about having heart when what you really need is a brand-new liver.
Some Assembly Required chronicles the 10-month adventure of a couple living through the worst of times like it’s the best of times. It’s a story about having heart when what you really need is a brand-new liver.
190 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 20, 2021
8 people are currently reading
26 people want to read
About the author
T.J. Condon
1 bookTJ Condon aspires to be the Amy Poehler of illness and cheerleader for all those whom life just handed a crap sandwich.
When she is not writing stuff, TJ is a marketing executive, compulsive volunteer, passionate advocate for organ donation, cat mom, and lover of fried cheese. She holds a Master of Communication and Information Studies degree from Rutgers University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Dickinson College.
If you want to keep up with this crazy scamp, please do these things:
Visit: http://www.tjcondonwrites.com
Follow: http://www.facebook.com/tjcondonwrites
Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH6h...
If you want to be a phenomenal human being:
Go to http://www.registerme.org to join the National Donate Life Registry and register to become an organ donor.
When she is not writing stuff, TJ is a marketing executive, compulsive volunteer, passionate advocate for organ donation, cat mom, and lover of fried cheese. She holds a Master of Communication and Information Studies degree from Rutgers University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Dickinson College.
If you want to keep up with this crazy scamp, please do these things:
Visit: http://www.tjcondonwrites.com
Follow: http://www.facebook.com/tjcondonwrites
Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH6h...
If you want to be a phenomenal human being:
Go to http://www.registerme.org to join the National Donate Life Registry and register to become an organ donor.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
March 20, 2023
This is an inspiring story told with honesty, humor and love. I learned a lot about the transplant process and what an amazingly positive and resilient human being the author is. I laughed and I cried and don’t hesitate to recommend this book!
June 1, 2021
Some assembly required is an amazing rollercoaster of heartfelt emotion during illness through recovery. It portrays the true love and meaning of “till death do we part “.
TJ’s writing is witty and so powerful it brings you directly into the journey with them. If she’s hinting at another book, I can’t wait to read more
TJ’s writing is witty and so powerful it brings you directly into the journey with them. If she’s hinting at another book, I can’t wait to read more
June 5, 2021
Witty and charming.
I loved feeling a part of their lives. It was a page turner the whole way through. I seriously couldn’t put it down. I had several laugh out loud moments along with a couple of misty eyed moments too.
I loved feeling a part of their lives. It was a page turner the whole way through. I seriously couldn’t put it down. I had several laugh out loud moments along with a couple of misty eyed moments too.
June 1, 2021
This woman is a saint.
August 4, 2022
The Gift of Life
This is a beautifully written book. Although it tells the story of a particular couple as they slog through the crisis of disease and organ damage so intense the only recourse is total organ failure requiring donor implantation it's also the story of how life threatening illness either makes or breaks a marriage. People facing such devastating events wander all around and over the emotional and physical issues in clear and concise language, even during what had to have been one of the most devastating and frightening situations they've ever faced. TJ Comlon spares no punches or skips past events that have got to be absolutely gut wrenching to have lived through as she tells the story of how the entire life she and her husband Jim face a devastating ordeal of terminal illness absolutely demanding organ transplantation.
I'm sure there are hundreds of thousands of people who might share this diagnosis and the sheer upheaval of the comfortable lives they anticipated sharing together until they were blindsided by this trauma. That they would come through this crisis with such dignity and stalwart devotion to not just each other but to the process they suddenly found themselves battling speaks volumes to their commitment to see each other at their absolute worst and also their startling best.
I'm very happy the process they were going through brought out the best of them and grateful they chose to share this experience with others. She said very early on the absolute fact that people who are dealing with chronic illness can never take for granted simple behaviour that most people assume is the norm. We never have to figure out how to do something that others often overlook or accomplish without giving it a second thought. Until the time we are told our simple lives are going to change in unfathomable ways.
I most appreciated the simple acknowledgement that chronic illness threatens everything and anything a person might have believed possible about themselves and their families, friends, co-workers, even casual acquaintances, because we simply do not, can not, or will not conceive as possible. It's a shock to the system, and to the process we use to manage our new realities.
Ms. Common doesn't hold back. Every moment is simply a challenge to make it through one more day, even on occasion just one more hour.
An interesting point that bears mention is how essential a sense of self becomes to an individual and thus to the relationship as a whole. Faced with a crisis of disease there are simply some folks who find themselves completely alone. For this couple that didn't happen. It's refreshing to read that there are still people who might become better when dealing with such issues. Sadly some people don't have that faith or that strength to rely upon. They have only themselves to depend on. Some people might desire such enviable strength but don't manage to achieve it, not from a lack of any personal goals but simply because they never anticipated the need.
As she describes her thoughts and feelings in this book she steps aside from an individual perspective to one of shared revelation and understanding complex issues rarely discussed in everyday life. No one ever says they're looking forward to this type of unvarnished truth, that they hope they have a chance to experience trauma like this because they are unafraid. They are strong. They are smart. Kind. Resilient.
None of that matters at crunch time. Lifelong friendship can dissolve under the weight of chronic illness. Families shatter and some never recover. Employment crises develop. Saving up for this is never in our lifestyle or hopes. When illness threatens many people crumble and lose their way. Chronic illness is not for sissies.
On this point I can totally relate. I have a chronic, often debilitating disease that does not have a cure. I will never be well again. There isn't a transplant or medical intervention that will ever restore my health. Sometimes it's overwhelming. Once diagnosed I learned my partner lacked the moral, mental, or substantive traits of personality that would keep him in our marriage. Putting himself above and beyond the ritual of marriage vows he decamped and left me without warning or any type of information to help me manage my very existence. Speaking from perspective, and after more than a decade of learning how to be my own best friend I can honestly say I am better for seeing him leave. I've learned things about myself that I might never have understood if I hadn't had to step up and challenge myself.
While there's a world of difference between my situation and this one I am reminded again how sacred are faith and belief in our chosen person. When illness threatens the temptation to pack up and go leaves many people adrift and afraid. I think I'm lucky I found out early on that I'd made a bad choice in a life partner. It was easier to find out just how strong I was.
Read this book. It will open your eyes.
This is a beautifully written book. Although it tells the story of a particular couple as they slog through the crisis of disease and organ damage so intense the only recourse is total organ failure requiring donor implantation it's also the story of how life threatening illness either makes or breaks a marriage. People facing such devastating events wander all around and over the emotional and physical issues in clear and concise language, even during what had to have been one of the most devastating and frightening situations they've ever faced. TJ Comlon spares no punches or skips past events that have got to be absolutely gut wrenching to have lived through as she tells the story of how the entire life she and her husband Jim face a devastating ordeal of terminal illness absolutely demanding organ transplantation.
I'm sure there are hundreds of thousands of people who might share this diagnosis and the sheer upheaval of the comfortable lives they anticipated sharing together until they were blindsided by this trauma. That they would come through this crisis with such dignity and stalwart devotion to not just each other but to the process they suddenly found themselves battling speaks volumes to their commitment to see each other at their absolute worst and also their startling best.
I'm very happy the process they were going through brought out the best of them and grateful they chose to share this experience with others. She said very early on the absolute fact that people who are dealing with chronic illness can never take for granted simple behaviour that most people assume is the norm. We never have to figure out how to do something that others often overlook or accomplish without giving it a second thought. Until the time we are told our simple lives are going to change in unfathomable ways.
I most appreciated the simple acknowledgement that chronic illness threatens everything and anything a person might have believed possible about themselves and their families, friends, co-workers, even casual acquaintances, because we simply do not, can not, or will not conceive as possible. It's a shock to the system, and to the process we use to manage our new realities.
Ms. Common doesn't hold back. Every moment is simply a challenge to make it through one more day, even on occasion just one more hour.
An interesting point that bears mention is how essential a sense of self becomes to an individual and thus to the relationship as a whole. Faced with a crisis of disease there are simply some folks who find themselves completely alone. For this couple that didn't happen. It's refreshing to read that there are still people who might become better when dealing with such issues. Sadly some people don't have that faith or that strength to rely upon. They have only themselves to depend on. Some people might desire such enviable strength but don't manage to achieve it, not from a lack of any personal goals but simply because they never anticipated the need.
As she describes her thoughts and feelings in this book she steps aside from an individual perspective to one of shared revelation and understanding complex issues rarely discussed in everyday life. No one ever says they're looking forward to this type of unvarnished truth, that they hope they have a chance to experience trauma like this because they are unafraid. They are strong. They are smart. Kind. Resilient.
None of that matters at crunch time. Lifelong friendship can dissolve under the weight of chronic illness. Families shatter and some never recover. Employment crises develop. Saving up for this is never in our lifestyle or hopes. When illness threatens many people crumble and lose their way. Chronic illness is not for sissies.
On this point I can totally relate. I have a chronic, often debilitating disease that does not have a cure. I will never be well again. There isn't a transplant or medical intervention that will ever restore my health. Sometimes it's overwhelming. Once diagnosed I learned my partner lacked the moral, mental, or substantive traits of personality that would keep him in our marriage. Putting himself above and beyond the ritual of marriage vows he decamped and left me without warning or any type of information to help me manage my very existence. Speaking from perspective, and after more than a decade of learning how to be my own best friend I can honestly say I am better for seeing him leave. I've learned things about myself that I might never have understood if I hadn't had to step up and challenge myself.
While there's a world of difference between my situation and this one I am reminded again how sacred are faith and belief in our chosen person. When illness threatens the temptation to pack up and go leaves many people adrift and afraid. I think I'm lucky I found out early on that I'd made a bad choice in a life partner. It was easier to find out just how strong I was.
Read this book. It will open your eyes.
September 15, 2021
In one word: Authentic
Cannonball Read Bingo: Pandemic
Full disclosure, TJ is a new acquaintance of mine and I was so excited to support her debut book! I of course was also a little nervous about reading it, what if I didn't like it, how would I review it honestly? But no worries there, this book is (somehow) a refreshing and fun look at how both she and her husband survived her husband's liver transplant, with their humor and marriage still intact. As a human being, she is a force to be reckoned with, sharp, fun, funny, and really real and this is who she is as an author as well. Her narrative voice is witty and will keep you turning the pages, even when the times get bleak.
Condon uses Facebook posts she shared during her husband's transplant journey as fixed points on the timeline and adds in color commentary along the way. Each chapter marks the passage of time, almost like reading a movie script. It's a raw look at their experiences, from his diagnosis to the harrowing time spent on the transplant list.
And yet, it is laugh-out-loud funny. From her antics chatting up strangers in the hospital, her attempts to stay calm and collected when emergency room visits go awry, to fighting with her very-ill, but also in one instance kind of asking for it husband, there is no topic off-limits. Condon clearly isn't interested in sharing a shiny happy social media look at this journey. This is a no-holds-barred glimpse behind the curtain of a painful experience and she is sharing it with us both for laughs, and just in case it might help someone else. As I thankfully am not having to support someone with a critical medical issue I wouldn't have been looking for this book, but I'm so glad I found it! I think it would be a great read for anyone looking for a bit of authentic human connection and to have perspective and insight into something that luckily most of us only have to worry about in the hypothetical.
Cannonball Read Bingo: Pandemic
Full disclosure, TJ is a new acquaintance of mine and I was so excited to support her debut book! I of course was also a little nervous about reading it, what if I didn't like it, how would I review it honestly? But no worries there, this book is (somehow) a refreshing and fun look at how both she and her husband survived her husband's liver transplant, with their humor and marriage still intact. As a human being, she is a force to be reckoned with, sharp, fun, funny, and really real and this is who she is as an author as well. Her narrative voice is witty and will keep you turning the pages, even when the times get bleak.
Condon uses Facebook posts she shared during her husband's transplant journey as fixed points on the timeline and adds in color commentary along the way. Each chapter marks the passage of time, almost like reading a movie script. It's a raw look at their experiences, from his diagnosis to the harrowing time spent on the transplant list.
And yet, it is laugh-out-loud funny. From her antics chatting up strangers in the hospital, her attempts to stay calm and collected when emergency room visits go awry, to fighting with her very-ill, but also in one instance kind of asking for it husband, there is no topic off-limits. Condon clearly isn't interested in sharing a shiny happy social media look at this journey. This is a no-holds-barred glimpse behind the curtain of a painful experience and she is sharing it with us both for laughs, and just in case it might help someone else. As I thankfully am not having to support someone with a critical medical issue I wouldn't have been looking for this book, but I'm so glad I found it! I think it would be a great read for anyone looking for a bit of authentic human connection and to have perspective and insight into something that luckily most of us only have to worry about in the hypothetical.
December 9, 2021
Some Assembly Required written by TJCondon. TJCondon is a very good friend of mine, so I may be biassed. However, I enjoyed the book about her experiences while her husband is diagnosed with liver disease then looking for a new liver and then receiving a new liver, the recuperation. TJ's quirky personality comes through the book which made a heart wrenching subject more palpable and understandable especially as I was the caregiver for a stem cell transplant patient. I recommend this for any family and caregivers that are going through a organ transplant.
June 7, 2021
This story is touching, humorous, and informative. I loved it. Ms. Condon's writing style is so accessible and enjoyable that reading the book felt like a friend talking to another. Having also been a caregiver for a liver transplant recipient I found so much to relate to, but if you haven't been in a similar situation there's plenty of joy for anyone who's been through something tough with a loved one.
July 15, 2021
This book is a funny, vulnerable portrait of a couple managing a complicated and ever-changing medical journey. I found myself laughing out loud, which I definitely didn’t expect. TJ’s love for her husband and her steely drive to do whatever is necessary we’re touching and inspiring. I have no experience with organ donation but I found myself immersed in their world and fascinated by their journey. An exciting, emotional, fast-paced read I highly recommend!
June 10, 2022
So inspiring
This book was recommended to me because my daughter is donating her kidney to her friend from highschool. Reading about the overwhelming amount of courage that both TJ and Jim needed to get thru their journey to wellness makes me ten times more proud of my daughter and her husband for agreeing to give the gift of hope and life to the organ recipient. Thank you TJ for your honesty and letting us share your triumph!
This book was recommended to me because my daughter is donating her kidney to her friend from highschool. Reading about the overwhelming amount of courage that both TJ and Jim needed to get thru their journey to wellness makes me ten times more proud of my daughter and her husband for agreeing to give the gift of hope and life to the organ recipient. Thank you TJ for your honesty and letting us share your triumph!
June 10, 2021
Condon is a remarkable, funny storyteller. Turns a gut wrenching, grueling experience into a fine roadmap, should anybody ever have to go through the same, and does so with an unironic optimism, and a legitimately funny point of view. I dig this one very much.
July 28, 2022
Good book
It tells the truth about what waiting for and receiving a transplant is like. It isn’t all roses, it’s hard work, and caregiver fatigue is real. It isn’t ‘here’s your new organ, now go out and live your life, with zero restrictions’
It tells the truth about what waiting for and receiving a transplant is like. It isn’t all roses, it’s hard work, and caregiver fatigue is real. It isn’t ‘here’s your new organ, now go out and live your life, with zero restrictions’
June 21, 2022
TJ’s account of her and her husband’s journey toward organ transplantation is unabashed, genuine, full of wit, strength and love. A very good read indeed.
August 6, 2021
I really enjoyed this book - maybe it's because I could relate to much of it with a family member who is waiting for a transplant, but I thought the author did a good job of finding some humor in the difficult times. Well written!
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews