No comments about Chad's Triumph: The Story of the Life of Chad Green.

1 comments about Gifts of Time.

1. This book provides an incredible look into Epstein's Pediatric Neurosurgery program. It provides hope and amazement while showing a man who is what every doctor should be. By showing children who give all they can to live life to the fullest and the doctors who make it happen, this book will make you treasure life with all the joys and traumas it provides. It will force you to look at the good side of medicine, renewing a confidence that many have lost. In short this book, Gifts of Time by Fred Epstein, will educate you, fill you with faith, and restore your belief in not just medicine but in human kind. This is the best book you will ever read

1 comments about Una And Her Paupers: Memorials of Agnes Elizabeth Jones.

1. I found this book both moving and inspiring, really reminding me why many of us became nurses - to CARE. It was very interesting too to read about Agnes's nurse training at Kaiserwerth, the same school as Florence Nightingale - gosh, they were strict!! The account of Agnes's work in the workshouse is also fasciniating.

5 comments about Twitch and Shout: A Touretter's Tale.

1. Taken from the perspective of an author who lives with Tourette's Syndrome, Lowell Handler provides one of the most vivid everyday observances to a most uncontrollable disorder. What most people have little grasp on, Handler often uses humility and humor to set examples of how only one living with this handicap can describe.
   
   Tourette's Syndrome is usually spotted early before the age of eighteen, found to impair males more than females (almost three to one). Tourette's creates involuntary movements and tics that usually cannot be controlled by the person. Vocally, inappropriate language and animal sounds is the most common dysfunction towards the disorder's spontaneous combustion.
   
   Twitch & Shout gives an inspirational account of a man that survives triumphantly, documenting the good and the bad as an author, photographer and moviemaker, on top of personal and love interest. People with Tourette's lead normal and healthy lives, but the journey sometimes is not. Feeling comfortable means comprehending the diagnoses. Handler evokes a great deal of self into the findings of this book.
   
   SIDENOTE
   Handler filmed a documentary also called Twitch & Shout before the book was published. This can be found at select local libraries on a VHS format. The video shows some different perspectives that the book cannot illustrate. VERY RECOMMENDED.



2. Many Touretters will say that Tourette's gives rhythm to not only movement and speech, but thought and life as well. This book, with its energetic, pulsing, and sometimes explosive rhythm, certainly seems to bear that out.

   The author, who has Tourette's syndrome himself, describes the way Tourette's interplays with and shapes his life, in an integrated way even when he sees it as an interference. He meets people with varying kinds and degrees of Tourette's, along with Oliver Sacks, a famous neurologist who studies people with Tourette's.

   As a person whose tics are too mild for me to really consider them a part of me, I found it interesting to see what life is like with tics that integrate themselves into every part of a person's life. I noticed parallels between the attitudes of some Touretters toward Tourette's and the attitude of many autistic people toward autism, where there's not as much of a line to be drawn between a condition and a person's personality as a purely medical/disease model would make it sound. This book was both interesting and genuinely enjoyable to read.




3. Twitch and Shout is a fascinating, moving, and informative account of an artistic young man (the author) who confronts his Tourette Syndrome head on, deliberately living at full tilt in defiance of the much misunderstood disorder.

   Moments of transcendent prose alternate with hilarious and sometimes sad memoir.

   As an artist and advocate of mastery, I appreciated how the author's challenges shaped his journey, bringing him numerous triumphs, as photographer, author, friend and lover. With objectivity and grace, he discovered that Tourette informed part of who he was, and acted almost as a language or culture, at times a heightened state.

   I was moved by this perspective, and aspire to its message, that we should not only accept our rough edges, but see them as the parameters of our genius.




4. I was so impressed with the frankness and openess of this book. Handler allows its reader into a world that there are not many doors for those without TS. He helps the reader explore the humor of TS, the complexity of TS and the comradery between Touretters. This book is profoundly honest. It is a must read for those readers interested in Tourette Syndrome.



5. I was very disappointed that the author spent so much time using TS as an excuse for his immoral lifestyle. I'd rather not have read about his sex life & drug use.

   The book almost seemed to give the impression that all of us who have TS (yes, that means me too) go around living this way.

   The book actually did have a few pages that were worth reading so I gave it two stars rather than one.

3 comments about Never Question the Miracle.

1. Rose-Marie Toussaint's autobiographical novel Never Question the Miracle: A Surgeon's Story is a touching tale about the struggles of an African American woman whose lifelong dream is to become a surgeon. In plain and soemtimes simple language, Toussaint transports the reader to various times in her life, each fraught with strong and unique emotion. Toussaint shies away from nothing in this detailed account of her personal triumph over numerous obstacles such as her troubled childhood in Haiti, her draining years at college as a pre-med student, her failed relationships and her long years in residency. It is the story of a journey through life and the importance of not giving up hope.
   The book begins with Toussaint struggling amid the limitations of transplant surgery. She tells of sick patients desperately in need of a liver transplant but too poor to afford one, while in another hospital a wealthy patient who lacks the will to survive is given preference because the family can afford to pay for the transplant. She tells of the reality of organ transplantation, how doctors have to fight with insurance companies to convince them to authorize the operations. These social injustices and bureaucratic intricacies of the medical world show the reader that there is much to question about the system. She aligns herself on the side of the poor, often times African American patients, whom she sympathizes with since she herself has had to overcome similar barriers.
   The author then turns the spotlight on herself and begins with her autobiography which starts in Haiti; it is a childhood marked by poverty and a strong sense of religion, a blend of both Christianity and voodoo. She examines the various relationships that influenced her childhood and speaks openly about her mother's abusive nature and her father's desertion of the family. The subsequent journey to Miami and the reunion of her family there gives Toussaint the strength she will need to apply to a difficult premedical college program. From then on her family remains a solid backbone of support throughout the rest of Toussaint's journey.
   From her college years on Toussaint shares her struggles without apology; she tells of the disappointment she felt at not getting accepted to medical school and her frustration with the low level jobs she took as a result. Even her heartbreaking personal relationships with men are included in the story. When at last she is accepted into a medical school and starts to make sense of the schooling process, her relief is contagious. During medical school, Toussaint is faced with considerable amounts of prejudice both because she is a woman and because she is African American. As she proves herself to the older doctors and professors, she is also proving to herself that she can accomplish her goals.
   Toussaint's story draws the reader into her mind as she progresses thorugh her journey to ultimately become a transplant surgeon. Her thoughts and reflections make up the bulk of the book and center around the challenges she faces everyday. The reader watches her make mistakes and learn from them. Her story is continuously growing and developing as she matures. it is a story meant to inspire people to achieve their dreams, no matter what boulders lie in the way. It is a story about not giving up hope and underneath it all it is also a story meant to incite change for the sake of the thousands of poor people in this country whose insurance companies will not pay the price to save their lives.



2. Reads like a fantastic novel! Meet Dr. Toussaint at holisticdoctor.org



3. Rose-Marie is a friend of mine. Because she is humble and unassuming, I had only a hint of what a treasure load of talent, inspiration and skill she really is. Her book tells her story - a young woman from Haiti, literally pulling herself up by her own boot straps to become a surgeon at Howard University Hospital specializing in liver transplant surgery. She has met every challenge that blacks and women must meet, and she has conquered them all with brilliance and understanding. I hope you have time to look at her book. It's a real inspiration for young people with dreams.

No comments about The Glass Seed: The Fragile Beauty of Heart, Mind and Memory.

5 comments about This Ain't E.R.: A Heart Surgeon's Struggle to Keep the Faith.

1. I found myself laughing at what amounts to a surgical resident with a godzilla ego. I can't believe that someone who is entrusted with protecting and saving lives can make such fun of the very people he is charged with helping. If I were one of these patients and read this scrambled mess, I would hire an attorney for slander and malpractice. I only hope that he never passed his boards and if he did, practices in a state far from mine....you're the type of ass that gives doctors a bad name.



2. I thought the writting was accurate, but, could have used some better editing. As a close to finishing Cardiothoracic Surgery Fellow myself, I enjoyed the premise, theme, and characterizations. But, as others have stated, UAB is not among the best General Surgery Residencies, and Emory is not among the best or busiest Cardiothoracic Surgery Residencies. Perhaps each is among the most "malignant."
   This is not a good book for those considering a career in medicine...This IS a good book for those considering a career in surgery. CT surgeons are a very minute population, and it wouldn't be wise to take Murrah's experiences as generalities when a far greater majority of medical society has a different mindset, and different training philosophy.



3. If you work went to school or work at Bayview General (as I do) then it is a definite buy and read. His description of the characters is amusing. After you read it you will certainly have a new perception of arrogance at its highest level. There are a lot of people in a lot of specialties who work hard and try to put the patient first. Tell us once and get on with the story. If you are not familiar with Bayview I don't think you would enjoy it nearly as much, and remember, this is one person's (very biased) view.



4. This book has multiple problems. First and foremost, the writing is poor. Second, Murrah beats the reader over the head with his premise that this story is more "true" and "real" than other books on the same topic, because he supposedly wrote it as he went along in training. Unfortunately, those episodes are presented in brief passages he drew from his notes. The majority of the book is retrospective commentary on what he was thinking at the time- something for which he criticizes other authors. Further, his arrogance grows tiresome early- just because you're a liberal doesn't make you better than everyone else, Murrah. Also, UAB is not a good surgery program, Emory is not the best CV program around, and your wife is not "hot" as you mention several times. I get the feeling throughout that Murrah has to keep telling himself these things to justify his choices in life. In the end, Murrah is just another one of the 140 + residents who complete cardiothoracic training in this country each year. There is nothing of value in the pages he has put forth here.



5. If this were to be a truly honest account - as it claims to be - then it should have commented on the atrociously poor reputation that "Bayview's" surgery residency has across the nation. As a former surgery resident, I can comment with confidence on this point. To say that "Bayview" has one of the best surgery programs in the country is absolute fantasy! Teaching is poor and resident morale is abysmal. Murrah's success is probably mostly due to his personal strengths in spite of "Bayview" rather than because of it. True, "Bayview" surgery has a rich heritage, but its luster has faded in recent years. Other than these falsehoods, I found the book largely enjoyable.

No comments about Don Jose, The Last Patron.

2 comments about The Immune Spirit: A Story of Love, Loss and Healing; One Woman's Triumph over Breast Cancer, from the Mother of Meg Ryan.

1. This book is a richly detailed memoir of a particular woman and time... it is the story of the author, growing up in 1950's New England, who felt obliged to obey the dictates of her family, religion and society and who suffered the loss of her own self-worth. It is a fascinating portrait of a woman who discovered her true self through her life threatening illness and literally willed herself well. The author is a 28 year breast cancer survivor. The book has recently been honored with an Arts and Excellence award from the Heal Breast Cancer Foundation, which is studying it as part of their research programs. The book is in the reading libraries of hospitals and the author has been a spokeswoman for The American Cancer Society and The Susan G. Komen Foundation. The author describes herself as "a classic breast cancer personality who became a classic breast cancer survivor." The book is a deeply personal and inspiring account of one woman's triumph over lessons of her past in order to recover her health and a joyful future. I recommend it highly.



2. Meg chose to violate her mother's privacy, and I give her mother cudo's for speaking out and defending herself. Like Meg, Susan chose to leave an unhappy marriage; Unlike Meg, she was not making millions of dollars, and I am sure had to make some choices based on survival. How many of our mothers had the choices that MEG has now, my mother sure did not. Life is not perfect; nor is anyone. I can only hope Meg can avoid the pain of losing a parent one day without saying goodbye, like I did. I think the other reviews on this page do not show any depth of character- but then again, movie stars are "perfect", right? History indeed does repeat itself; good luck Daisy.

1 comments about The Man Who Cried Orange: Stories from a Doctor's Life.

1. A wonderful book written by an author who clearly understands human frailty, both mental and physical, and the fundamental difference a caring physician can make in the lives of those he touches. I was so impressed at the simple eloquence of the stories. Each one is affecting without any artifice and each character is hard to part with as the book progresses. A highly recommended and positive exploration of the human condition.