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10 Gripping Medical Memoirs
Christine Wiebe, MA | May 21, 2018
| Contributor Information
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10 Gripping Medical Memoirs
Christine Wiebe, MA | May 21, 2018 | Contributor Information
In the past year, several memoirs written by clinicians have received critical acclaim, one even being the focus of an Oscar-nominated film. All have remarkable human stories while offering the added relatability of a medical backdrop for clinician audiences.
Book cover by W. W. Norton Company
10 Gripping Medical Memoirs
Christine Wiebe, MA | May 21, 2018 | Contributor Information
Tears of Salt: A Doctor's Story, by Pietro Bartolo, MD, and Lidia Tilotta
Dr Pietro Bartolo runs the only medical clinic on Lampedusa, a remote island between Italy and Africa where boatloads of migrants routinely stop on their way to Europe, often arriving sick and sometimes even dead. "The conditions under which migrants travel across desert and sea are not dissimilar from those of the death trains that transported victims of the Holocaust," he writes. Dr Bartolo shares stories of misery but also of humanity. He was featured in an Oscar-nominated film, Fire at Sea.
Book cover by Amistad
10 Gripping Medical Memoirs
Christine Wiebe, MA | May 21, 2018 | Contributor Information
Hundreds of Interlaced Fingers: A Kidney Doctor's Search for the Perfect Match, by Vanessa Grubbs, MD
When Dr Vanessa Grubbs met Robert Phillips, she was a primary care doctor and he was in end-stage kidney disease. This book describes the journey that led her to donate her kidney to him, their eventual marriage, and her decision to become a nephrologist, as well as her exploration of the national transplant system and the racial inequities that they experienced.
Book cover by W. W. Norton Company
10 Gripping Medical Memoirs
Christine Wiebe, MA | May 21, 2018 | Contributor Information
Counting Backwards: A Doctor's Notes on Anesthesia, by Henry Jay Przybylo, MD
A pediatric anesthesiologist provides a behind-the-scenes account of what happens between the time a surgical patient drifts off and when awareness is again restored. Brief historical explanations about drugs and procedures provide context for current-day management, with personal anecdotes and patient stories spread throughout.
Book cover by Viking
10 Gripping Medical Memoirs
Christine Wiebe, MA | May 21, 2018 | Contributor Information
Healing Children: A Surgeon's Stories from the Frontiers of Pediatric Medicine, by Kurt Newman, MD
A national advocate for Children's Hospitals, Dr Kurt Newman makes his case for prioritizing children's health through moving stories, such as this description of a child with intestinal failure: "He thought more about his parents' suffering than his own. As a human being, he put me to shame…" Dr Newman is president and CEO of Children's National Medical Center in Washington, DC, and has been a surgeon there for more than 30 years.
Book cover by Basic Books
10 Gripping Medical Memoirs
Christine Wiebe, MA | May 21, 2018 | Contributor Information
Open Heart: A Cardiac Surgeon's Stories of Life and Death on the Operating Table, by Stephen Westaby, MD
Although this British cardiologist provides some autobiographical background in the first part of this book, most of the critical acclaim has focused on the intensely detailed accounts of his many surgeries and on his biting commentary about the UK National Health Service, which he blames for preventable deaths. "Not without some gore but required reading for medical students… but also for anyone curious to learn about hearts and the heroic measures to save them."— Kirkus Reviews
Book cover by Regan Arts
10 Gripping Medical Memoirs
Christine Wiebe, MA | May 21, 2018 | Contributor Information
Sometimes Amazing Things Happen: Heartbreak and Hope on the Bellevue Hospital Psychiatric Prison Ward, by Elizabeth Ford, MD
Dr Elizabeth Ford was just an intern when she first entered the doors of the Bellevue Prison Ward in 2000, and this book covers her personal and professional evolution as a forensic psychiatrist over the next 14 years. Described as compassionate and compelling, the book also represents the views toward the mental health system of Dr Ford, who worked her way up to be chief of psychiatry for Correction Health Services for New York City.
Book cover by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
10 Gripping Medical Memoirs
Christine Wiebe, MA | May 21, 2018 | Contributor Information
The Neuroscientist Who Lost Her Mind: My Tale of Madness and Discovery, by Barbara K. Lipska, PhD, and Elaine McArdle
Imagine being a leading expert on how the brain works and then undergoing your own descent into extreme mental illness. When a melanoma spread to her brain, neuroscientist Barbara Lipska spent 2 months suffering from the symptoms of dementia and schizophrenia, then recovered and remembered enough to retell the experience.
Book cover by St. Martin's Press
10 Gripping Medical Memoirs
Christine Wiebe, MA | May 21, 2018 | Contributor Information
In Shock: My Journey From Death to Recovery and the Redemptive Power of Hope, by Rana Awdish, MD
Seven months pregnant and near the end of her residency, Dr Rana Awdish experienced a catastrophic medical event that suddenly flipped her role from physician to patient. This book is not only the account of what happened next but also an exploration of issues clinicians will want to consider before they become patients themselves.
Book cover by Schocken Books Inc
10 Gripping Medical Memoirs
Christine Wiebe, MA | May 21, 2018 | Contributor Information
This Narrow Space: A Pediatric Oncologist, His Jewish, Muslim, and Christian Patients, and a Hospital in Jerusalem, by Elisha Waldman, MD
As a pediatric oncologist and palliative care specialist, Dr Elisha Waldman spends much of his time with sick children and their parents going over their sometimes limited options. During his 7 years in Jerusalem, described in this book, he also had to navigate different religions and cultures. As a reviewer in the New York Times put it, the book "illustrates just how difficult it is to reconcile devotion to the healing mission with the realities of a complex life."
Book cover by Basic Books
10 Gripping Medical Memoirs
Christine Wiebe, MA | May 21, 2018 | Contributor Information
Becoming Myself: A Psychiatrist's Memoir, by Irvin D. Yalom, MD
After writing numerous novels as well as nonfiction books, some of which are used as psychiatry textbooks, Dr Irvin Yalom has turned his reflective eye on his own life. Fans of this author, a professor emeritus of Stanford University, will especially enjoy his memories of childhood, college, and his professional career, interspersed with imaginary consultations between his current self and a young, adolescent Irvin.
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Christine Wiebe, MA
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