5 comments about All Things Bright and Beautiful.

1. All Things Bright and Beautiful by James Herriot is a true classic and I can see why it has been such a big seller through many decades. Sadly, I missed seeing his books when they were made into a television series. This autobiographical work is charming and delightful.
   
   Jim Herriot was a vet in Yorkshire, England. He was pretty much a country veterinarian, servicing farm animals for most of his years. He began his career when the practice of being a vet was pretty much in the dark ages. Antibiotics were not yet on the horizon and many of today's vaccines weren't invented. Each chapter is a story about a different experience--birthing a lamb, caring for injured animals, judging a favorite pet contest, tasting homemade wine, etc. Through them all, we get to sense Jim's love for his job, his patients, and the simple but grateful folk he came in contact with every day. Many times, being a vet was also to be a detective. He often had to come up with a diagnosis for a mystery ailment, and he had to deal with everything from copper deficiencies to hairballs. As in life, not all of his stories have happy endings.
   
   I am happy to have finally acquainted myself with James Herriot and will definitely read more of his books. I have already started James Herriot's Dog Stories.



2. Is there anyone who read ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL and who didn't rush right out and buy this one next? I didn't think so. I gave the first one a rave review, and rightfully so, but somehow I don't recall enjoying it as much as I did this one. He's an amazing talent on so many levels. Read the real reviews by the real reviewers. They're all true. This man lived in the moment, and he enjoyed all in life that is enjoyable.



3. We listened to this book on a trip and wanted to keep driving so it wouldn't end! It was a collection of Mr. Herriot's adventures as a country vet in England, and was so delightfully written. Having lived with the various ailments of large animals, the occasional realistic descriptions of ailments did not bother us. Someone not accustomed to large animals and their care, might find it too descriptive. We enjoyed the book immensely and hope to hear them all!



4. James Herriot (not his real name) has given us a series of wonderful stories about all creatures the big and the small. Even if you hate these kinds of book you are bound to find one of the stories that you like.
   
   My personal favorite is story of Mrs. Donovan the town busybody and amateur vet.
   Wonderful collection



5. I read his books as a teen and loved them. Bought the whole set for my grandsons, [teens]. They laughed until they cried. [so did I].

5 comments about Waiting for Daisy: A Tale of Two Continents, Three Religions, Five Infertility Doctors, an Oscar, an Atomic Bomb, a Romantic Night, and One Woman's Quest to Become a Mother.

1. Peggy Orenstein's articulate prose is as "gorgeous" as her mucous:-). (She was frequently told by medical people that her cervical mucous was "gorgeous".) In this wry, intensely personal, beautifully told tale, she presents us with a cautionary tale of modern life that can be summed up as "Don't put off having children." I began to feel somewhat constrained as I turned the pages of her compelling story, thinking I had judged her too harshly in my review of her book "Flux"(available on my profile page, page 36 of reviews, dated December 6, 2000). In this current book, she writes briefly of her upbringing in a Conservative Jewish family, and of how she felt her mother's life was severely limited, strictly contained by old ideas of a woman's role. (I was born into a much freer, exuberant Scandinavian family full of educated, high achieving women who were also wise enough to know (1) they wanted children and (2) the time to have them was when they were young.)



2. I struggled with this book. How could someone go through all the procedures, expense, marital strife, and anxiety and NOT still be certain that they wanted to be a parent? Her descriptions of the escalating nature of infertility treatments were fascinating, but they could not overcome her descriptions regarding her ambivalence toward parenthood. I think her husband is a saint. I wonder what the people in Hiroshima think?



3. I'm in my 30's, but I'm not planning to have kids. I happened to have a chance to borrow this book, and I'm glad I did. Orenstein's writing style was so honest and engaging, I'm going to seek out more of her work.
   
   As others have noted, Orenstein shares everything about her fertility journey - especially the bad and the ugly. It was very brave of her, and I imagine it will be very useful to people trying to conceive. I found it refreshing to read about her ambivalence towards wanting children at all, and even now, towards how she arrived at parenthood at last and how it has affected her life. I particularly enjoyed the chapter about her Orthodox Jewish friend who had 15 children. That was a slice of life I wouldn't have gotten to learn about otherwise.
   
   As an adopted person (from outside the US, as it happens,) I was not offended by her reluctance to adopt, as some other readers were. The decision to adopt is very personal, and I thought Orenstein's misgivings were perfectly natural. Besides, they did try to adopt a little boy in the end, but one petty bureaucrat made it impossible for them to bring him home. After five years of trying to become parents, one couldn't blame Orenstein and her husband for cutting their losses at that point.
   
   I would recommend this book to anyone, whether they were trying to become parents or not.



4. I REALLY enjoyed this book! It helped me to relax more as I went through my journey that lasted several years & I'm so proud to say has FINALLY come to an end! We're pregnant! Her writing is wonderful & the book took me to world's I'd never been to. It was so helpful to see how another woman had struggled with this awful disease & how she made it through with a happy ending...it gave me great hope & helped ease my tension considerably. I highly recommend this book to anyone struggling through Infertility or anyone who knows someone who's struggling. GREAT book...fantastic author with a big heart & a great sense of humor!



5. This book was exactly what I needed to read after struggling with pregnancies and feeling pretty alone in that. It is an amazing story of hope and loss that will -- sorry for the cliche -- make you laugh and make you cry. I highly recommend it!

5 comments about The Soul of a Doctor: Harvard Medical Students Face Life and Death.

1. This is a great book. It tells the story of Harvard medical school graduates and their interactions with patients. Some of the stories are particularly moving and give hope, others remind me of how difficult it must be to become a doctor. Nearly all of the stories are well written. This book would be a great gift for anyone starting medical school, anyone who has an interest in medicine or even someone with a passing interest who watches television shows like Grey's Anatomy.



2. I have been very interested in becoming a doctor for a very long time, as such, I like to read as many books as possible about individual's experiences as a doctor or while becoming a doctor. I do feel as though some of the experiences shown were very intimate, but overall I just couldn't force myself to maintain interest. I feel as though the students who wrote these accounts received more benefit from writing them thean I did from reading them.



3. all of the true stories in this book have promise - they are interesting and thought provoking but unfortunately, the writers never follow through with the outcomes. You meet a patient, find out their problem - usually involving some sort of dillema for the dr. - they make their point but the outcome is left out. Did the patient die? They never say. (even a brief update after the essay would make a difference).



4. Getting to understand someone else's point of view is always wonderful. This book helped me imagine what it is like to be given a gift to heal and then have to learn what that means in real life. This book is not just for medical minded people but for everyone as the lessons these students learn can be applied to all of our lives/works. If nothing else, I am thankful for my health and all the doctors/nurses in my life.



5. If you ever wondered what it feels like to become a physician, I would highly recommend reading this book. Not designed to be entertaining but is instead an intimate look into the real life experiences of young and idealistic medical students as they move from the classroom to encounter the realities of patient care and the limitations of the health care system. These are very powerful and human stories, sometimes disturbing and heartwrenching and other times more positive. It's hard to imagine anyone reading this book and not be profoundly moved.

5 comments about Cancer Vixen: A True Story.

1. I loved this book! Have been waiting for M.A. book since read "Who the hellis SHE anyway?!"
   My mom survived ovarian Ca and also could appreciate this book. Saw her tear up and laugh all within a couple of pages. I work in Women's health and have shared this with many intrepid women and they say it has helped too.
   Now want to try the restaurant...
   Thank You M. A. M.!



2. This book is truly excellent. I laughed and I cried. If you enjoy comics, intelligent ones, this is a gem. Will Eisner in heels. A fantastic book. I loved this work.



3. I found this book incredibly entertaining ...simply a great read! It rocked my emotions from sadness, to laughter, to disbelief and made me feel extremely fortunate by the end. The cartoons are creative and oh, so humorous. The comedic relief was provided by Mom who could be my own. The story is a triumph over breast cancer and sends a powerful message to all women and families.A must-read, whether you are afflicted with breast cancer or not. You won't be able to put it down.
   Barb



4. I have purchased this book 3 times, 1 for myself and 2 as gifts. I don't even know how to describe how great this book is. Not only is it an amazing story of survival, but it has a lot of great information in it. Highly Reccomended!



5. A breast cancer comic book? YES. Ms. Marchetto has given us all the gift of the story of her experience in a very accessible form.
   
   One thing that stands out: the poignant interactions with her fellow cancer patients nearly brought me to tears.
   
   Thanks for writing such a great book.

3 comments about A Journey Round My Skull (New York Review Books Classics).

1. A Journey Round My Skull appears (based on reviews and cover blurbs) to be a classic of the 'sick patient' genre. I'm not exactly sure why. I found it to be a little challenging to stick with to the end. Part of the problem is the stilted translation from Karinthy's native language. It never flows well and reads very much like a translation inasmuch as the english phrases seem awkward, rough and not-quite-right. I almost never forgot that I was in fact reading a translation -- surely a sign of a less than stellar job.
   
   That aside, Karinthy's style never really caught on with me. What I expected to be a straight-up tale of what happens to a patient with a brain tumor saddled with diagnosis and treatment using only mid-20th century technology, turned out to be a more dreamlike, stream of consciousness experience that was often a little confusing. Also surprising was Karinthy's baffling attitude at being stricken with a brain tumor. Never did he admit to self-pity, sadness or fear for the future. Instead he tells his story from a detached, "what will be will be" perspective. It's rather hard for me to imagine facing blindness and possible death with such a cavalier attitude. I question if he really did either.



2. Oliver Sacks makes the case for the book much better than I can. In his new introduction, he writes, "I first read A Journey Round My Skull as a boy of thirteen or fourteen -- I think it influenced me, when I came to write my own neurological case histories -- and now, rereading it sixty years later, I think it stands up remarkably well. It is not just an elaborate case history; it depicts the complex impact of a sight-, mind-, and life-threatening illness in a man of extraordinary sensibility and talent, and even something approaching genius, in the prime of his life. It becomes a journey of insight, of symbolic stages. It has its faults: there are long digressions, philosophical and literary, and there is a certain amount of fanciful contrivance and extravagance -- though this is something that Karinthy becomes more and more conscious of as he writes the book, as he is sobered by his experience, and as he tried to weld his novelistic imagination to the factual, even the clinical, realities of his situation. But despite its flaws, Karinthy's book is, to my mind, a masterpiece. We are inundated now with medical memoirs, both biographical and autobiographical -- the entire genre has exploded in the last twenty years. Yet even though medical technology may have changed, the human experience has not, and A Journey Round My Skull, the first autobiographical description of a journey inside the brain, remains one of the very best."



3. In the spring of 1936, Frigyes (Frederic) Karinthy, a popular Hungarian poet, heard locomotives rumbling, reverberating, dying away. He knew there had been no trains on the streets of Budapest for 40 years. After long, exhaustive examinations Budapest neurologists told him that an egg-sized cyst webbed with tiny blood vessels was sprouting on the right side of his brain, back of his cerebellum. Karinthy's wife took him to Stockholm and Dr. Herbert Olivecrona.
   
   Oliver Sachks asks: "Were doctors in Budapest in 1936, worse than doctors in, say, New York or London seventy years later? ... [O]ne needs to remember ... how difficult and delicate an art it was, seventy years ago, to diagnose and locate a cerebral tumor." Ether could not be used -- it would congest brain blood vessels. Karinthy remained awake during the operation. This book is the first patient's account of a brain operation in medical history.
   
   Much of the book is autobiographical, but in chapter "Avdeling 13" Karinthy describes the operation itself.
   
   "I felt them wheel me under the lamp. I felt a succession of little pricks in a wide circle ... on my head. Then . . . one long horizontal incision at the back of my neck. This did not hurt me either. I felt soft gestures, as if my flesh were being opened and folded back.
   
   "There was a sudden jerk as if [Dr. Olivecrona] had seized the opening with a pair of forceps. It was followed by a straining sensation, a feeling of pressure, a cracking sound, and a terrific wrench. . . . Something broke with a dull noise. . . . Each cracking sound reminded me of taking the lid off a jamjar, while the process as a whole was like splitting open a wooden packing case, plank by plank. . . .
   
   "A veritable fury of destruction seized hold of me. Break it up! I wanted to shout. Smash away! Bust it to bits! Everything had gone red in front of my eyes. If I had had an axe or a lump of iron in my hand I should have hit out with it and smashed up myself and everyone else with the wild recklessness of a maniac.
   
   "Once the trephining of the skull was over . . . my mood underwent a change. There was a sound of pumping and draining and I could hear the drip, drip of a liquid. Although my brain didn't hurt at all, it did hurt me when one of the instruments fell on to the glass with a sharp, metallic sound. A certain idea passing through my mind hurt me too. It had nothing to do with my present situation. . . ."
   
   Three hours after the operation began, the poet lost consciousness. Three weeks later, Karinthy went back to his Budapest cafés, and heard no more nonexistent locomotives.
   
   His report from the operating table is compelling, and the autobiographical sections are also interesting as. "I felt absolutely at peace. This was no longer my whole life; it was just one afternoon. It might be that I was very ill. Perhaps I was even going to die. Yet this had nothing to do with that afternoon, nor I with the man born to sorrow from the day he came into the world."
   
   And again: "Throughout nature, every living body has two aspects--one connected with its private functions and individual life, and one which we may call the sexual. Each of our organs has likewise two aspects, adapted for completely different purposes. Thus, the eye is not merely an instrument of vision, but an alluring jewel, an ever-burning lamp, whose sparkle inflames the opposite sex."
   
   Finally: "Reality as a genre requires no helping hand from the artist."
   
   This book makes a great companion to My Stroke of Insight by Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor who writes about her journey inside her brain. Both are compelling reading.

5 comments about Borrowed Time: An AIDS Memoir.

1. Others have already described the book well. I just want to add my two cents. This account and The Last Watch of the Night are so tender and honest that I miss these men I've never met.



2. "I don't know if I will live to finish this," begins this memoir by Paul Monette, who would ultimately live only seven years after he did complete it (and, auspiciously, several other works). Monette's account is a chronicle of the last days of his lover Roger Horwitz in 1985 and 1986: a mere nineteen months between diagnosis and death. It's an emotionally devastating portrait; yet, far from wallowing in his grief (although grieve he does), Monette instead describes this period as a battle to extend Roger's life and a determination to seize every remaining day and make the most of it.
   
   An AIDS diagnosis in 1985, in Los Angeles, doomed the couple to an unwanted pioneer status; it was a "death sentence" mitigated only by hope and delusion. For the first half of the decade, Paul and Roger comforted themselves with the notion that the disease, whatever it was, confined itself to a certain group of fast-living libertines ("not us") in San Francisco and Los Angeles. When the reality hit home, the initial method of coping, shared to different degrees by themselves and by their friends (and particularly by Roger's brother), was a mixture of mortification and denial.
   
   Once Roger became ill, however, the couple fought tooth and nail to pursue every potential pharmaceutical elixir or therapeutic panacea; they were on the vanguard of trials for suramin (with devastating side effects) and for the more successful "Compound S" (AZT), which Monette credits for extending Roger's life. Throughout, they struggled to present a united front of normalcy and optimism, with Roger attempting to practice law from his hospital bed and Paul flying to New York for meetings in the Russian Tea Room with the newly famous Whoopi Goldberg about an ultimately doomed screenplay ("it must've dismayed her considerably to think that this humorless man sipping broth and Coca-Cola was meant to be her breakthrough into feature comedy").
   
   Still, if it's possible to say that one can be "fortunate" in such circumstances, Roger and Paul had the only advantages available at the time: money, connections, and (mostly) supportive family and friends. In spite of the sequence of crises and disappointments, they somehow managed to find time to laugh and to love amidst the anger and the betrayals; Monette's wit and fair-mindedness saves this work from overwhelming the reader with morbid pity and depression. Paul and Roger were often too busy chasing hope to pause and wallow; those moments were often saved for the morning. ("Waking teaches you pain.") What's most remarkable about this book is not the riveting and livid account from the front of the epidemic--such memoirs are plentiful--but the lyrical and even humorous appreciation of the "borrowed time" remaining to these two admirable profiles in courage.



3. Although I am a conservative Christian who has never been "homophobic", I have been 100 percent guilty of "indifference" to what it really means to be gay and and the AIDS issue. Not any more. I began to research the issues and I have been telling everyone about this book. The genuine love story and respectful relationship that Paul and Roger shared is something everyone could learn from. I don't believe I have ever read a book that portrays such courage. The pain that both of these men endured would make the average person collapse under the weight. I know what the Bible says about homosexuality, but I believe that Jesus himself would just wants us stop judging and comdemning and to simply love one another as he loves us. All of us.



4. 'Borrowed Time' is the most unpretentious, cliche free account of love I've read. So much of it's power lies in what Paul does not say about his lover: describing him most often as his most precious 'friend' he asks the reader to understand, to implicitly know the strength of his passion. The simple assumption that readers across cities, countries, cultures will understand his emotions is what gives the story so much beauty. I fell in love with both Paul and Roger, or more specifically, the strength of what they had together.
   The battle against AIDS and discrimination faced by both men made me bawl, and I hope this book is read by people working through their prejudices and moral judgements about the both the illness and its prevalence in the gay community at the time the events occurred. Surely Paul and Roger's love can only be seen as something beautiful that graced the earth, even briefly.



5. I don't know how this book didn't win every award the publishing world has to offer. Quite simply, this one volume is the most emotionally devastating work I've ever read. I've read about hate crimes, political assassination and Nazi persecution, but none touch this. Several times I had to set the book down because I was no longer able to read through great, racking sobs and eyes nearly swollen shut. I grieved.
   
   Paul Monette, author of the the award winning memoir "Becoming a Man: Half a Life Story," died of AIDS not too long after losing his beloved companion Roger to the disease. That he was able to focus so much energy on chronicling the events of Roger's death in this memoir, was a mircle - and indeed this book is a miraclous gift. "Borrowed Time" is a story of pain, suffering, hope, strength and courage. However, and more importantly, it is a love story - the greatest I've ever read.

5 comments about Married to a Bedouin.

1. I've only heard rave reviews of this book and was strongly encouraged to read it since I would be spending an extended period in Jordan. I think my expectations were too great. I had hoped to learn more about Bedouin traditions and culture and how a Westerner became a part of the society. I'm not a scholar of the Middle East, Arab, or Bedouin historty/tradition, but there was little information that was new for me. I found the book to be poorly organized, lacking of structure, and repetitive. Except for a few "chapters" when the author truly opened up to the reader, I felt as if I were reading a list of items from a day planner. From the anecdotes, it's clear Ms. Van Geldermalsen (Umm Salwa wa Umm Raami) led a rich life and experienced much that most of us will never know. I simply wish she had a better editor.



2. Having been to Jordan several times and hoping to go back (I am totally in love with the country) I picked up this book at the airport for an in-flight reading.
   
   I thought it would be just another account of a western person whining about the ''wrongs'' of Muslim life but I was so pleasantly surprised that I couldn't put this book down.
   
   Margaruite's story is a matter of fact account and no preaching. She writes it as she experienced it and offers us facts which we can then make into whatever we want. She offers no criticism of the lifestyle nor does she compare it to the western lifestyle as many of the similar accounts are written nowadays. She also isn't a ''hippie gone native'' as she says many people used to see her as.:)) She simply fell in love with a man and adapted to live her life in his culture. You will enjoy the funny details, and I especially liked her account of the trip back to New Zealand with her Bedouin Husband.
   
   I admire her story, not just for the story itself but for the way it was written.
   Although I have been to Petra several times, after having read this book I went again to experience it in a totally different way, not stopping to admire the ancient Nabataean city but the people who live there and around at the moment. And the experience was unforgettable. We do tend to forget observing the people when doing the ''touristy'' thing at the historical sites. And ashamed, I must admit that the first couple of times around I was annoyed by the ''Bedouins'' trying to get me to buy the ''ancient'' items - but this time around I had a wonderful experience enjoying their spirit.
   
   I don't want to give away too much.
   Read the book. You will not regret it!
   
   Hope it will get you to plan your next holiday to Jordan!



3. If you want to understand Arab culture no better place than to start here. You get a two for one. Petra is one of the great places on the globe and the people there are very special. Marguerite writes a cogent and charming account of her life from New Zealand to Jordan and her family in Petra.



4. Read this book right after touring Petra. It enhanced my feelings and memories if the place immensely. Well written. It gives a very good sense of what life was like in a Petra cave and being married to a very creative Bedouin man and his very large extended clan. Recommended highly, although I'm not sure how much I would have comprehended without having been there myself.



5. This New Zealand-born woman with her Dutch ancestry talks about how she wasn't brave or didn't do anything extraordinary: she merely fell in love with a wonderful, decent, funny, charming and intelligent guy -- who happened to be Bedouin and live in a cave in Petra. I met them in the teahouse across from the amphitheater in the spring of 1989 when Salwa was a little girl and the boys were toddlers. Marg and Mo became our lifeline there and secured one of the new government houses in Umm Sehun for us to rent -- with a hot shower and all. We returned in the fall for three more months, learning so much from Marguerite: how to weave a tent from goat hair, to make margluba in one pot and attend a wedding. Each year for the next 10 years (until 2000), we remet and rekindled our friendship, having incredible fun with my own bint (daughter). Now, reading her book, I cherish each page, understanding even more about their special lives and what it means to be part of a Beduoin family.
   It is a book that is so pertinent today in understanding another culture and how our American government is clueless about that part of the world and the vastly different outlook, superstitions, meanings, approach to everyday living that the local people have. Bravo Marguerite.

5 comments about Broken Justice.

1. I have met Dr Edelin in 1975 and have known him during the post trial years. His motivation for the work he has done is nothing but honorable .. a man following his beliefs for the good and welfare of people. This book demonstrates, once again, the broken legal system, with all of its prejudice in a very polarized city,not unlike many tainted trials. In Ken's instance, it is shameful of our legal system to have put this esteemed and caring doctor through the ringer for selfish and biased reasons. Once I began this book, I couldn't put it down.



2. Broken Justice captures its reader's attention from the very first page. This book is not only a story of a young Black doctor fighting for his rights in racist Boston, but fighting for the rights of all Women, in Boston and through out this country. It is hard at times to turn the page because of the injustice that keeps emerging on each page, but at the same time it is hard not to keep going so as to find out how this young doctor continued to survive through this treacherous time in his life, because the book grips you and forces you to continue.
   
   This book is a must read for people of all ages, genders and races. If we are to unite as a country, it is pertinent for all of us to understand everyone's struggle. Dr. Edelin fought for himself, but more importantly he selflessly fought for others. And 30 plus years after his trial he still fights and believes in the same rights as he did then. Thank you for giving this book to us!



3. I have known Dr. Edelin for a number of years and always have found him to be an engaging speaker and a great storyteller. This book did not disappoint. It is amazing to imagine one person going through what he went through....the turn of events was such that I couldn't believe that it was a non-fiction book!
   
   This is an important book on the subject of Roe vs Wade and the parallels to a John Grisham novel in describing the court room scenes are accurate. I felt the energy of the 70's and his experiences as a young man faced with such a frightening indictment. Where it differs from John Grisham novels that I have read is that this was the first book I had where someone had gone in-depth into the medical profession and explained it in a way that made sense to a non-doctor. He makes the medical world accessible and interesting in the same way that Grisham and Turow have made the legal world accessible and interesting.
   
   Overall this is a great read and one that I have already recommended to many others.



4. EXCELLENT BOOK, DEFINATELY A TRUE REPRESENTATION OF THE 70'S IN BOSTON AND ONE BLACK MAN'S STRUGGLE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE



5. Aside from being an amazing story, told in an emotionally-stirring fashion, this book truly has an impact on the reader. For my generation, this point in history is often glossed over, whether because it's too controversial or because so much time is spent each year on earlier points in American history. This book shed a light on the years surrounding Roe v. Wade and the subject was swimming around my head all day.
   
   Even if you're not as fascinated by history as I am, it pulls you in and shows you bits and pieces of Boston in the 70's, while remaining focused on the issue of abortion. An excellent read and a reminder that we must preserve the right to choose.

5 comments about Tell Me Where It Hurts: A Day of Humor, Healing, and Hope in My Life As an Animal Surgeon (Thorndike Press Large Print Nonfiction Series).

1. This book makes me wish I had become a vet.
   
   In "Tell Me Where It Hurts" Dr. Nick Trout explores the ups and downs of the life of a top tier veterinary surgeon. He compresses a lifetime of poignant, frequently funny, and sometimes heart rending experiences into a single exhausting day. I had thought about being a vet when I was young, and this book is closer than any other I have read to summarizing what the journey to skilled professional veterinarian is really like.
   
   The book opens and closes with the story of "Sage", a German Shepard with a potentially life threatening stomach disorder. It is the perfect case to explain the uncertainties of the world of veterinary medicine, and ultimately serves to explain the trials and joys of the job. Along the way there are many detours, including sections on methods of veterinary training in different countries, the emotional tolls of the job, the changing demographics of the profession, and the increase in exotic animals in common practice. I was especially amused by the diversion into the world of "ferret legging" on p. 201. "Ferret legging is a centuries-old English sport in which the contestant stuffs a pair of ill-tempered ferrets down his pants." Several restrictions apply, including a total ban on undergarments of any sort. The winner is the person who can keep the ferrets in their pants the longest. The current record holder is a 72 year old Welsh coal miner named Reg Mellor who has kept two ferrets in his pants for the unbelievable time of five hours and twenty-six minutes. Humorous diversions such as this break the tension of the life-or-death decisions that the majority of the book deals with, and are a welcome relief after some of the more nail-biting sections.
   
   My only critique of the book would be the rather enormous over-weighting of canine cases in the book, although I don't know if that is representative of Dr. Trout's practice, or if he simply prefers dogs to cats. Any animal lover should love and appreciate this book in its entirety, and I wholeheartedly recommend it.



2. Tell Me Where it Hurts is a good, short book that follows a day in the life of a veterinarian in a large small-animal practice.
   
   The stories are a mixture of delight and heartbreak -- just like real life. Dr. Trout does a terrific job of describing the animals, their medical conditions, and I love that he refers to their owners as "their parents".
   
   It probably isn't fair to compare it with "All Creatures Great and Small" that was a truly fantastic book.



3. Yet another book about elevating pets to the levels of people. In fact, Trout seems to think a dog would make the best spouse. He also thinks its endearing for owners to be pathologically obsessed with their animals. He "respects" their delusions and will do all kinds of over-the-top surgeries on the pets to placate the owner's beliefs that their animal is their child or substitute mother or whatever. Trout calls pet owners pet "parents". He's one of the idiots that keeps this pet elevatation fad going.
   
   The only good thing I can say about this book is that Nick Trout is a talented writer and surgeon. Too bad he chose to write about pets and too bad he chose to be a vet instead of a medical doctor. His writing and surgical skills are being wasted on lower species beasts.



4. This book is so enjoyable that I almost read it in one sitting. It is a delight. If you love animals then get this one right away.



5. I wish Trout could finish one story without interjecting so many side stories. I found the book boring and repeatedly wished he would just finish one story before sticking other totally unrelated ones in the middle.

5 comments about This Common Secret: My Journey as an Abortion Doctor.

1. This is a wonderful, well written, book about a heroic figure who has endured much intimidation by anti-choice thugs who want to control women's bodies. It's a book I would recommend especially to young woman as they have a 50% chance of finding themselves in need of a save and legal abortion sometime in their life and if things keep going the way they are, they may be unable to obtain one. The stories Dr. Wicklund relates about herself and her patients would be unheard of in other developed Western nations so you get an indication of how out of step the U.S. is with respect to women's health. The book contained interesting medical facts about abortion procedures so you'll get factual information about an issue that has been clouded by a great deal of misinformation courtesy of the anti-choice folks. I was surprised not to see more endorsements on the book jacket from well known feminists other than Barbara Erenreich but that may be an indication of their own fear of being targeted. This is an inspiring story of a courageous woman who followed her passion and sacrificed much to serve women in need.



2. This book is simply excellent. No matter your feelings on the subject matter, the memoir is well-written, with a compelling story. Dr. Wicklund makes an excellent heroine for the 21st century--we see her plodding on with resolve, even in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. But we also see moments of doubt, of reflection, that let us know that she is human. This is a very good book.
   
   Dr. Wicklund focuses her memoir on herself, but also on her patients. The many, many women that she has served over the years play a huge role in this book. However, what was most interesting and eye-opening to me was her recounting of various tactics used by anti-choice protesters, and what she had to do to keep herself safe and to keep working. I had heard of doctors being killed, but I truly had no clue about the everyday lengths to which the "antis" would go in their self-righteousness.
   
   
   Dr. Wicklund, I don't know if you read your book reviews on Amazon.com, but thank you. Thank you for writing this book, and for doing what you have done and what you do. Thank you for never giving up. You are an inspiration, as is your daughter, and everyone who supported you.



3. I was engrossed with reading this book. It is well written and the story is powerful. Also, the details match the details of my life when I worked at an abortion clinic; it is accurate.
   
   Many thanks to Susan Wicklund for telling the world how her life was effected by her work.



4. This is a brave book by a courageous woman. As an Australian, I am not surprised by what she describes as I have become aware of the shameless and gutless tactics used by anti-abortion activists in the US. If it is their faith which drives them to make Susan's life hell, then they are certainly not Christians. The very encouraging thing about this book is Susan's determination not to be cowed by them and the little ways in which she discovers the latent support for her around her eg the man on the plane. As a man I find the over the top zealousness by the male anti-abortion activists almost laughable as they can have no concept of the pressures that may make a woman undertake an abortion.



5. I have always opposed abortion. In the 1970's, I stopped going to public protest functions. At that time, one of my fellows brought a side-by-side shotgun with him to the protests. At first, I thought it was just a sort of symbolic zeal. Later, I found that at least one barrel was loaded. This did not bother me, in itself. What bothered me was that the "organizers" were not willing to suppress or control that kind of misplaced zeal. So, I quit going to the protests. I didn't stop opposing abortion. I just stopped supporting bad organization. I don't support uncontrolled crazies, and they were already in evidence then.
   
   Dr. Wicklund has a right to produce a book, especially after decades of work in the area. However, the book is poorly planned. It is a sequence of personal recollections, a number of anecdotes put together, end to end. If the anecdotes were connected better by a common theme, it could be more revealing. As it is, it recounts the personal emotional excursions of a number of different people. There is no doubt that the emotions are real. They are relevant to an extent, but they aren't some sort of telling argument. Neither side of this particular debate has ever been plagued or inconvenienced by any excessive exercise of sanity.
   
   I have tried over many years to understand the views of the opposition, those who are pro-abortion and prefer to spin it as "pro-choice." To me, it has always seemed that the core argument of their position is convenience. It is convenient to be very sexually active and even to be sexually promiscuous, and abortion is a somewhat unpleasant but very practical version of birth control. So, it has seemed to me---perhaps incorrectly---that abortion is needed mainly as a practical convenience. Even Dr. Wicklund's own original experience was caused basically because she found it convenient or useful to live together with a man who was not her husband at a time of their lives when they had not established a reasonable economic basis. Was it necessary? They thought so. Maybe it was...maybe not.
   
   Is my view wrong? Undoubtedly it is simplistic. Undoubtedly the world itself has shades of gray that I am overlooking or too blind to see. The fact is that this book is written sufficiently badly that it gives me no more clue of the opposite view than I had before. I read the book because I was clueless, and I remain clueless afterward.
   
   People do have a choice, and it is often good to exercise the choice by using a zipper.
   
   Sic transit gloria mundi.