Normal at Any Cost cover

Normal at Any Cost

by Christine Cosgrove

Two science journalists examine the fascinating history of medical science's flawed attempts to manipulate height and the ethics involved. They also tell the story of the boys and girls themselves, many of them now grown, who were subjected to a wide range of non-FDA-approved medical procedures. These treatments which consisted of extreme doses of estrogen, pituitary glands taken from both animals and human cadavers, and testosterone injectionsoften had disastrous side effects.

Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?