A geneticist tells the stories of men, women, and children whose genes have shaped their lives in unexpected ways.

It was while listening to a colleague tell the parents of a newborn girl that their daughter was going to die that a lifelong interest in genetic medicine was sparked in Dr. Edwin Kirk. Warmth and gentleness tempered a direct, sure manner—this was the medicine he wanted to practice, where the most advanced science and the most deeply humane care meet and merge. Twenty-five years later, Kirk works both with patients and in the lab, meanwhile spearheading a campaign that will change the way we think about having babies.

Written with insight and gentle humor, The Boy Who Wasn’t Short tells tales about his work, such as the moment the realization that a young boy wasn’t short ended up saving the life of his mother—and how Angelina Jolie has saved the lives of many more. Sit in the room with Kirk and his patients as they navigate the world of heartbreaking uncertainties, tantalizing possibilities, and thorny questions of morality. In genetics, it is the particularities of an individual’s history that matter, and here, in clear and considerate writing, those individual stories are given voice.