What would you do if your spouse and daughter had an illness with no cure? For Tom Small, a professor and researcher at a Philadelphia medical school, the answer is anything it takes. Tom believes a discovery he made with a Nobel Prize-winning scientist at Oxford could hold the key to a cure. But turning this discovery into treatment requires millions of dollars-and that means navigating the unfamiliar and sometimes hostile worlds of venture capital and pharmaceutical companies.
Raised in a working-class family and haunted by self-doubt since boyhood, Tom's journey is one of resilience. As a troubled youth during the Vietnam War era, he was a hopeless truant and trouble maker and was nearly expelled from middle school until a surprise aptitude test score propelled him to college at 14. Now, his own insecurities and phobias are dwarfed by his determination to save his family.
This novel, based loosely on a true story, blends the charm and wit of Tom Sawyer and My Family and Other Animals with the profound urgency of Lorenzo's Oil. With humor, heart, and plenty of candid self-reflection, Small World follows a young family forced to confront challenges they never imagined, pushing themselves to the limits in their quest for a cure.