Journey

Having been a Romanov fan for over 30 years, I don't know how Journey by Robert and Suzanne Massie escaped my notice for so long. Written in journal style, both authors alternate entries that detail their experiences with hemophilia on many different levels.First, their oldest child, Robert Jr. (Bobby) was born in 1956, and was quickly diagnosed with hemophilia. Journey chronicles their experiences in dealing with this disease on a first hand basis for the first 18 years of their son's life. Second, it shows how they educated themselves about this chronic, debilitating and sometimes fatal disease. At that time, the treatment of hemophilia was not very sophisticated, and they were often at the cutting edge of pioneering treatment. Thirdly, in the course of their research, they became fascinated with the story of Queen Victoria and how hemophilia (that was passed through her) affected so many of the royal houses in Europe. This led them to the last Tsar and Tsarina, Nicholas and Alexandra Romanov. The Tsarevich Alexei was a hemophiliac and how Nicholas and Alexandra dealt with this crisis changed the course of Russian history and the Russian monarchy. The Massie's also give great details about the different forms of hemophilia-some more severe than others. We learn that Alexei had a relatively mild form of the disease. While the only treatment available in the early 1900's was ice and immobilization, Bobby Massie required hundreds and hundreds of transfusions to get him through childhood. And finally, Journey details the politics of the American Red Cross, and various government agencies and private companies in dealing with the treatment and manufacturing of blood agents for hemophiliacs. Don't believe for a minute that their first priority is what is best for the patient. This book also relates the story of how their research led to Robert's writing the classic, Nicholas and Alexandra. This was the book that hooked me on the Romanov's while still in high school, and is still today one of the best written on this subject. Journey was published in 1973 and much has happened since then. There are now many more treatment options available in the treatment of hemophilia. Unfortunately, much of the blood supply used for treatment was contaminated by HIV in the 1980's and many hemophiliacs ended up with AIDS. But the good news is that Bobby has grown into a brilliant man. After receiving degrees from Princeton, Yale, and Harvard, he is now an Episcopal priest and a published, award winning author in his own right. He is married with several children. The bad news is that for whatever reason, Robert and Suzanne Massie's marriage did not survive. Still, despite being published so long ago, Journey is a good book to read for those wanting to know more background about how the Nicholas and Alexandra story came about.