Reviews (2)

The rest of the world
Dr Downing shows us his compasion and his willingness to be wrong when faced with questions without answers. This book should be required reading for anyone who practices medicine for more then just money.

Seeing Africa
In this book Dr. Downing invites us on his journey to provide medical care for those who need it first in Appalachia and then in Africa. He is a careful observer, and a skillful storyteller. Through the stories of memorable people he has encountered, he tells us his own story--how the people he serves, though poor, have much to offer him. ... Read more

Book Description

The film tie-in edition of Helen Cross’s hugely acclaimed debut novel. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Inspiring and heart breaking
This book tells the story of a remarkable woman who has endured alot of pain and hardship in her life. Spanning 3 continents and all the various incidents which encompasses her life experiences, Linda Caine's story tells of a woman's re-awakening to the worst horror of her life - having been abused as a child with her mum complicit. I was fasinated by how the truth which she managed to block out for most of her life came back in an insidious way to haunt her. It is almost as if it was forcing her to acknowledge it, and almost as if her unconscious was adamant that she realised what it was she had gone through. Linda Caine's courage and strength in the face of all this revelation and how her faith pulled her through is uplifting and inspiring. I also enjoyed reading about the people who cared for her and who were selfless in their wish to see her recover and gain control over her life again. It is amazing how a woman who has lived through so many bad times has such a love and zest for life and all things living. It's a miracle that none of the nastiness and evil in life has managed to tarnish the core of her person. A very honest and heart felt piece of writing, and a real triumph for those who survived the difficult period.

Ann Eye-Opener
I've spent a long time pondering my past and tried to make 'forgetting' my priority. This book has changed all that. There is nothing more frightening than waking or falling asleep to flick images of a moment or a time you have apparently forgotten - especially if it's something so terrible that you could only possibly associate it with a nightmare.

This book is about one woman's devastating past that becomes at war with her mind. An amazing story about past hurt and abuse that inevitably comes back to haunt 'Linda Caine,' and in the most distructable form possible...end the life - stop the pain.
A powerful book filled with despair, devastation, love and hope.

Thank you xxKxx

Incredible!
Superbly written, once i started reading i couldn't put it down!You get totally involved & lost in what's happening in the book.The struggle Linda (as well as her family) went through for so many years, & the realisation of what actually happened to her is indescribable.Made me face my little demons, & re-think & re-prioritise my life.

A 'Must' Read!
I read this book in one sitting! Each chapter moved me to tears. It is a book about a woman's struggle with her(Linda) past that seems to haunt her and that unfolds beautifully in this book. Robin's chapters also shed much needed light and prespective to Linda's struggles. If this book was fictional it would have been storytelling at its best but given it is a true story makes it profound! Touching, inspiring, thought-provoking, thrilling and moving! It is witten in simple yet powerful words. It is one book anyone with a heart would love!

An emotionally charged, volatile self-exploration
Linda Caine is an artist; Robin Royston a practicing psychiatrist specializing in trauma: the two met up when Linda Caine began experiencing flashbacks and images out of nowhere. Together the two began an exploration of African roots which were to reveal the heart of forgotten memories and the source of Caine's depression, making her autobiography OUT OF THE DARK an emotionally charged, volatile self-exploration. ... Read more

Reviews (15)

Warm and Wonderful
Though I read his book a few years' ago, I still remember insights of Evan Handler. His recounting of his experiences with current therapies -- traditional and non-traditional -- and health care providers are memorable.

Whenever I think of the word "hope" I remember this: "I've heard the phrase -- "false hope" -- used by doctors and nurses again and again, in very self-congratulatory ways, as if, by exterminating it, they were providing a great philanthropic service to the community...I will state, unequivocally, that there is no such thing as false hope. It's an oxymoron. It can't exist. Hope has no connotations of certainty. Hope carries no assurance of success. Hope is the one thing in the world that can never, ever, be false. Hope is just what it says. A longing. A desire. Is there such a thing as a false, aching desire? I think, too often, that some doctors are protecting themselves from the aching desires, the hope, of their patients. It must be very painful to fail to save the life of someone who never concealed his passion to survive. His hope. Much more painful than the death of a patent willing to hide the intensity of his wish. If only they could learn what a potent source of energy they're wasting."

His comments about receiving needles are especially pertinent because hospitals, with their cost-cutting, have been training greater numbers of employees how to draw blood. Hospital administrators should read Handler's account of the artistry of a good phlebotomist and the torture inflicted by a poor phlebotomist.

I found his book to be a genuine and realistic account of his experiences and a gift to his readers. He is an excellent writer.

I wait and hope for many more articles and books from this author.

Story of young NY actor with leukemia makes my top 10 list!
Two years ago, when searching for health books for my sick father, I stumbled across this book. Before handing it over to him, I decided to read it. What a magnificent book! You need not be sick to be swiftly taken in by Handler's keen, sarcastic, loving and honest observations & emotions, as he leaves no stone unturned (or ridiculous practice uncovered) in his fight for life. Interwoven with horrific or blissful medical environments, he keeps us vividly informed of his physical and emotional state (both strong and weak) and lets us in on his family, spiritual, sexual and professional life. I cried, but laughed even more, the terrors fused with an uncanny irony, but mostly I fell in love with this amazing young man's vitality. You'll wish you could know him or have his perspective.

Time for my Annual Reading of this book...
Once a year, I revisit this story, as every nurse and physician should. Take an active role in your treatment, and be an informed consumer...these days, healthcare is a business. Don't let the residents and fellows treat you like a pincushion. This book changed the way I do my job.

"Dante's Inferno" meets "Friends"
An amazing book. Funny and terrifying. It makes me think of Catch-22 -- a strong, independent character forced to survive in an insane and dangerous world.

I've read this one several times, and it's a can't-put-it-down adventure each time.

Insightful, Adventurous, Bitterly Funny & ENTERTAINING
I must say, I consider myself a discriminating reader, and I found "Time On Fire" to be a compelling read - filled with unusual insights and a truly rare degree of honesty and introspection. I'm puzzled by the reactions of my fellow reader from Cincinati; I agree with the other eleven Amazon.com customer reviewers - "Time On Fire" is an excellent example of someone turning a harrowing experience into a valuable and entertaining series of lessons for all of us. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (10)

A Scenerio Sadly Recognized
Sadly, any woman who's achieved a doctorate (& not just in medicine) will relate wholeheartedly to this book. I greatly admire Dr. Conley's unbelievable courage in standing up to the Boys' Club & trying to make things better for women in academia. Hopefully this book will encourage ALL women to stand up to the misogyny & be heard.

Speaks to the hearts of professional women everywhere.
Frances Conley is a friend and mentor that has endured much more sacrifice and torture in the workplace than I could ever imagine. She tells about the support system she developed to survive, commradery in the OR with the nurses, orderlies and "less threatening" staff. She remains an inspiration and the book an incredible catharsis of her experiences. Although it might not appeal to everyone, certainly every woman who aspires to succeed in a male dominated profession should read it. Men in positions of power (imagined or real) should also read it to learn how to nuture and not stifle the creative spirit of their female collegues.

The sordid truth about the abuse of power in medicine
Men groping women. Men coming on to women, and making incredible jackasses of themselves in the process. Men getting drunk and acting like barbarians. Men with one thing in mind. Men whose compulsion to talk about sex is so strong that they do it at highly inappropriate times in public. Men who think that pressuring women is their God-given right. If you think that what I just described is a high school football team on an overdose of steroids, you're wrong. These sexual antics weren't perpetrated by adolescents with testosterone bubbling out their ears, they were committed by male doctors at Stanford University. Not being stupid, these demigods put two and two together and realized that they could use their power to pressure women. One of these men made a fatal mistake, though: he pressured Dr. Frances Conley, a topnotch neurosurgeon and renowned researcher at Stanford. Bad move, fella. I suppose that guy never learned that if you're going to pick a fight, you don't provoke someone who can whack you back so hard you just might rethink whether it's wise to be a bully.

As publicity spread about Dr. Conley's fight, more and more women came forward to reveal their stories. This was certainly an eye-opening book. Before reading it, I'd never given much thought about the sexual harassment of women in medicine and allied healthcare fields. Perhaps we're more civilized here in Michigan, because I've never seen or heard of any such hanky-panky. Well, let me revise that last statement: I have witnessed a lot of sexual inducement, but what I saw was women chasing men not the other way around. But everyone knows that those California folks are trendsetters.

Dr. Conley never envisioned herself as a trendsetter, though. For years, she passively participated in the abuse until a concatenation of events convinced her that it was time to draw a line in the sand. To make a long story short, the men didn't believe she'd put up much of a fight, but she did, and they lost. Big time.

(...) Perhaps the most chilling message in this book is that some men in positions of power are willing to use that power to stifle the careers of women. So what is an attractive woman to assume? That if she goes into medicine her pulchritude will serve as a magnet for sexual harassment? Perhaps this abuse is, unbeknownst to me, more pervasive than I think. I suppose because most of my friends are women, I can't understand men who view women as being somehow inferior. However, you shouldn't necessarily construe from that statement that I think women physicians are as competent, on average, as male physicians. There's no doubt that some are, and there's no doubt that Dr. Conley is a superior physician, not just competent. (...) My only major criticism of the book is that it is too focused upon abuse of women by men. Since the core of this book is hinged upon some of the depredations that ensue when power is abused, I think she could have achieved a more balanced perspective by pointing out that powerful people often use their power against men, too ' not just women. I've seen male docs fight one another with such a vehemence that it made the stories in Dr. Conley's book seem as pleasant as afternoon tea and cookies with a neighbor. Consequently, while I don't intend to trivialize the unfortunate reality of the abuse Dr. Conley documents, it's important to keep in mind that this abuse is but one aspect of a much larger problem. In defense of Dr. Conley, broadening the scope of this book to include other aspects of hospital politics would have diluted the message she wished to inculcate, and it would have made for a very unwieldy book. With that in mind, I suppose I'm on shaky ground by wishing that her book had a wider focus. Her book, her demeanor, her dedication, her resolve, and her competence are commendable. Dr. Conley is a great doctor and I am happy to have met her, however indirectly, by reading this book.

Review by Kevin Pezzi, M.D.

An honest book that validates my experience
As a minority faculty in the academics Frances Conley's book vividly portrays the reality of the ivory tower that, though pretentiously progressive in ideas, is way behind the iota of gender equality that exists outside the academe. I, sometimes, feel I am living in the medieval period when entering the academe.

When I first came across this book I thought this must have been written in the seventies and I could share it with my students as a historical autobiography of sexism in an academic institution. I was horrified to find that it was written in the nineties about one of the most prestigious institution in California.

I have always felt alone, alienated in the academe and of course disconnected from other women who were struggling too much to bother with the problems of their women peers. This book validated my experience and helped me understand where my alienation was coming from.

I wish this book could be a standard read for all freshman students in all universities. Only when women who appear to be in power tell their stories of powerlessness and abuse can we act collectively to stop the misogyny that exists among our men and more particularly among our elite men.

Courage
I'm not an MD or a PhD; I don't work in a hospital or academia. Yet I too have experienced sexual harassment, and I too have consulted the EEO department that is supposed to get involved in handling these issues, and I found that they were disinterested, that they gave subtle and obvious messages that the problem was "my" problem and not the corporation's, and that they relied on my being too timid or unmotivated to initiate a lawsuit so the whole thing could be, well, ignored. Sexual harassment exists because the society permits men (even encourages men) to expect that it is their right to harass women. Not all men harass, and not all men admire harassers. In fact, it is quite the opposite, but those who possess the attitude that women who dare to compete must be put down through sexual threat or debasement will harass (they also enjoy and even need it, since these men have very real problems). Through her description of her own experiences, the author illuminates the social mechanism of harassment. She also brings to light the story that all we women know -- what it feels like to be the victim not just of a troubled person but of an organization that insists she accept the role of victim. When we are harassed, we women discover the battle we are in, not against one man but against all those societies which are founded on (this does sound harsh, I know) the hatred of women. This is a marvelous book -- hard to read at times if you've been there -- but it is important that women know what we are facing (especially our daughters, who like us may have been programmed to think that all men will be nice to us, will treat us fairly, and that if someone is abusive, it is our own fault, there is something wrong with me, etc.). Important too is having the author detail the steps she took to handle the harassment. This is a very supportive book for anyone enduring just such a situation (harassment as well as gender discrimination, which is a lot more rife and a lot less obvious). I'd recommend this to any woman who is willing to step outside of the traditional role, because we all need to know what we are up against, how the system is going to fail us, and especially all the steps we are entitled to take to combat this problem so that we change society's viewpoint and not just our own. I'd also recommend this to men, because there are many who are supportive of women in the workplace. Our husbands and boyfriends need to read this book to know how difficult it is for women, because in the end we can only effect a change if we all stand together. ... Read more

Book Description

This moving story of a couple who left a life of wealth and luxury to found a hospital in rural Haiti is a vibrant and inspiring portrait of a marriage, of two cultures, and of the practice of medicine in the Third World. The youngest of the sons of William L. Mellon, Larimer Mellon seemed destined to follow his father and uncles into a life of high finance and wealth accumulation. But Larry Mellon was made of different stuff. Graduating from medical school in his mid-forties, Mellon and his wife Gwen, a medical lab technician, left their comfortable Arizona ranch and moved to poverty-stricken Haiti. In the Artibonite Valley, where life expectancy was the lowest in the hemisphere, they built the Albert Schweitzer Hospital. Larry Mellon served as a physician there for the rest of his life. And Gwen Mellon, now in her eighties, still lives in Haiti and works for the hospital.

Written by an acclaimed biographer, Song of Haiti bridges the worlds of the super-rich and the very poor and finds in a lonely valley in Haiti a mystery, a love story, and an inspiration. 24pp. photos. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

A great humanitarian and noble doctor
The life of William Larimer Mellon is an example of the life Americans should dream for themselves and those they love dearly. For one who majored in biology and gave it up for 18 years in auditing the paralells to Mellon's change of career and motivations struck me deeply. On witnessing the WTC disaster personally (a few hundred yards away) man should strive for something in life and go for it. Barry Paris well written account of a life inspired by Dr. Schweitzer is highly recommended to all readers committed to God and American morals and values. If readers have a noble vision the price of this book is totally insiginificant to the highest rewards you will gather from reading it.

A Lot of Mellon A Little of Haiti
The book has two distinct sections. The first 100 pages is a report on the Mellon family lifestyle, and how a rich maverick Mellon got to Haiti. The rest of the book details Dr. and Mrs. Mellon's founding of a hospital and civil engineering projects in central Haiti.
An important finding is that the Mellon's hospital was founded on the humanitarian premise, "Reverence for life." Taken from Dr. Sweitzer's work in Africa, life refers not only to human life, but also plant and animal. This little detail is critical to understanding the book. Many missions to Haiti are Christian, while Dr. Mellon's hospital is distinctly humanistic primarily as presented in the book.
As all books on Haiti fairly present, doing anything in Haiti is hard, and without American financial support, very little work done lasts. The hospital Dr. Mellon founded did well as long as he provided two of the four million dollars needed to run it. His civil engineering projects, in which he was much more interested than medicine (he actually only practiced medicine 3 years), all crumbled when turned over to the Haitians. Many other cottage industries met the same fate.
The book thus captures the Haitian dilemna, how to serve in Haiti and lift up the Haitians to be self sufficient. If Dr. Mellon's millions couldn't do it, how can any of us with less money at our disposal. Never the less, we go to Haiti because we cannot not go, nor can we not go back after going once.
An excellent book about how a real rich guy did his best to follow his heart, not his accountant's advice, and another book about how a strong wife really does the grunt work while her husband plays with big boy's toys.

An amazing book about inspiring people
Song of Haiti is an absolutely awesome book! As a nurse who has done mission work in Haiti, I found this book authentic, a true inspiration, as well as a compelling, indepth view of the lives of many dedicated and compassionate people. Barry Paris' work describes the country and the people in beautiful and fullfilling language. Oftentimes, I felt as if I were in Haiti again experiencing the amazing, hard-working and loving people of the country. I've never before read a biography with such griping prose. I looked forward to my time to read because I became more and more interested in the life of every person described - be it Dr. Mellon and Gwen or Albert Schweitzer, or the nurses and doctors and friends with whom they shared their lives. I believe this is the way that biographical work should be written. Song of Haiti is thorough in that it covers the entirety of Dr. Mellon's life, touching on his downfalls as well as his high acheivements. I found that the realism with which the story is told is excellent and believable. The many everyday encounters and adventures are interesting and mesmerizing - it makes a person want to travel and experience the third world for all of the beauty and intensity it offers. I recommend this book to everyone, regardless of your interest in medicine, mission work, or biography. It is amazing. ... Read more

Book Description

Kathy's mother suffered a stroke during a routine medical test. Kathy was frustrated in her search for answers about her mother's prognosis. Slowly, her knowledge about patients' rights, living wills, and what to do when a patient's medical insurance and money run out, began to grow. She began to keep a journal of the things that she had learned to help other baby boomers, like herself as they face the difficult task of caring for their elderly parents. ... Read more

Reviews (21)

An excellent word portrait of courage and sorrow.....
Quietly, with a dignified grace, Kathy Bosworth tells this painful story from her heart. There is nothing more frustrating than running into those brick walls medical professionals are so skilled at building. Ms. Bothworth unfolds the story about her mother's "slight stroke" without hysterics. When that stroke becomes a series of strokes, the reader experiences first hand the fright, pain, and confusion suffered by family members at such times. I have been a nurse for 40 years and every word she writes about the fear, frustration, and unanswered questions is pure gospel. This book should be required reading in every medical school, nursing school, and social services course in the country.

An informative book for Baby Boomers and Generation X
While reading "Your Mother Has Suffered a Slight Stroke," I felt as if I was Kathy's shadow. I endured many of the events she speaks so fluently about in this story. Many of the events we shared during the same time, although in different locations. Kathy's book is written in a compelling, honest style. I felt as if I was there with her, sharing her pain while watching her mother's body slowly shutting down.

As the author of "Condition of Limbo," another book about caregiving, I am able to feel the roller coaster ride Kathy could not break away from, because I served as a caregiver, while learning the rules of caregiving. Kathy and I learned how to jump through the hoops of bureaucracy, and how to break the rules. "Your Mother Has Suffered a Stroke," discusses the heartbreak of caregiving and the agony of watching your parent becoming your child while he or she slowly melts away from life.

You will enjoy this book if you are searching for information about caregiving, nursing home issues, medical bureaucracy and coping skills for baby boomers. I highly recommend it.

Barbie Perkins-Cooper, Author
A Condition of Limbo
ISBN: 1588511774

What you should know
A friend gave me this book when my mother suffered a stroke. This book helped me understand and know what to ask, when to ask and how to ask questions. I have read several books recently and this one outlined more about what I needed to know. I would recommend it highly. It certainly helped me.

A Necessary Handbook for Every Home Library!
Talented author, Kathy Bosworth, has written a timely and informative book for all who have aging parents or know of other with aging family members or friends. In a step by step discussion of the effects of a stroke on the loved one and on others who are "standing by," we are taken along on a daily, weekly, and monthly review of a family's coping and a "first-hand" account as understanding and adjustment becomes a primary focus in caring for the individual, in this case, Kathy's mother.
It is a sensitive, touching, and informative account that can serve as a guide-book for many of us who do not understand the full impact of a stroke and its implications.
It is written in a language we can all understand and the reader is drawn into the daily experiences until the conclusion of the book. I recommend this book for every home library as a source of referral and information. Your Mother has Suffered a Slight Stroke is a necessary and helpful read for everyone and the reader is sure to relate to Kathy and her family and their touching and poignant, true-life experiences.
Evelyn Horan - Author
Jeannie, A Texas Frontier Girl, Books One-Four

A necessary book
I'm a bereavement counselor and I coucil with people who are experiencing many different types of losses. A mentor of mine told me about this book months ago. She called me the other day to ask if I had put this book to work by using the information in it to help others. It reminded me of all the great information and love in this well written book about getting a family through medical trauma. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is struggling with any kind of a disease. A stroke can come into any of our lives any minute on any given day. This book is about so much more than strokes. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Martha Manning's previous memoir, Undercurrents, reveals her struggle with suicidal depression and her slow recovery, ending with the spiritual peace she found during her time in a monastery. Its sequel, Chasing Grace, is divided into sections based on the seven sacraments of the Roman Catholic Church: baptism, penance, Eucharist, confirmation, matrimony, holy orders, and last rites. Using this structure she relates episodes from her Catholic girlhood, her adult search for spirituality, and her own work as a therapist. Throughout, a sense of humor enlivens her account of a life spent in search of grace. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Absolutely Delightful
Not being Catholic, I was afraid when I picked this book up that parts would be over my head. However, Manning does an exceptional job of describing Catholic rites without getting bogged down in the explaination. I thought this book was touching and hysterical at the same time and I would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone, even non-Catholics, who is interested in the religion.

Pay no attention to the Kirkus review of this book
The review by Kirkus Reviews of Chasing Grace shows a completemisunderstanding of the book. The reviewer states: "Her textseems like the record of a pleasurable, meandering conversation exchanging anecdotes about their childhood than a measured, reflective study." Maybe that's because it was a conversation about childhood, not a study of the Catholic Church. I was wary of this book. I thought that it might be a "I survived Catholicism" Catholic-bashing type book. I was pleasantly surprised. This book is about a woman's journey from childhood to adulthood. It is centered by experiences with her religion. That makes perfect sense because the seven sacraments are rites of passage for Catholics. To be sure she did have some horror stories to tell about her experiences in the Pre-Vatican II church, but she seems to have learned that The Church is populated by people - and people fail. Those wretched nuns she described did fail the church and maybe the church failed them. But, as anyone who knows anything about the Catholic Church, the Church has made such progress. Manning seems to recognize that. Or at least forgive the Church for it's transgressions. She sees past the human failings of the Church and sees the grace within. END

Life as Sacrament
Martha Manning not only writes a delightfully charming and hilarious account of her Catholic girlhood, she also, and more importantly, connects adult life experiences with acramental spirituality. Relating real life experiences in the context of each of the 7 Sacraments celebrated in the Catholic Church, she gives a tangible reality to spirituality and explores life as a place where one encounters the living presence of God. It is obvious that for Ms. Manning, all of life is sacred and sacraments are to be lived - not just as ritual moments, but as the very fabric of everyday experience. This is a gem.

Laughing out Loud
This book is insightful, well written, very real and all of those other adjectives which are used to describe Amazon's 5-star books. I would recommend it for anyone who enjoys coming of age type books; it is a must read for any product of parochial education in the 1960s.

One warning, though- it is unbelievably funny, and I found myself in stitches throughout the whole thing. Great for me, not so great for those seated around me on the Miami to LA flight. Rereads yield the same result. Write more, Martha!

Absolutely Amazing.
One of the most hilarious and touching books ever written. Dr. Manning's style is stunning and incredibly beautiful. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Candid and well written
This book will have most of its appeal to those with interest in medicine, missionary work, or anthropology. It consists of Schweitzer's medical case histories, travels, hospital administrative chores, reflections on African and European culture, and general overview of his first decade and a half in Gabon on the west coast of Africa. Schweitzer's candid comments about the Africans and the harsh conditions under which he worked help make this book better than the average account of third world philanthropic endeavors. Schweitzer shows true insight and compassion for those he came to help and I found the book highly engaging. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Flying Without Wings
This is an excellent true story.I think it would be very good for people in the medical and/or caregiving professions to read.Dr. Beisser is very inspirational in his journey to overcome his disability.The concepts in the book that were important to me are those feelings and experiences he relays about being dependent on physical care from nurses and doctors.Specifically, I learned alot from what he said he felt like when they cared for him grudgingly or with indifference; and also how he was affected when they simply would not listen to him.I have taken these words into my life and I always try to remember them when I am caring for someone who is dependent on me. Another important concept is the persistence he embodied.He simply never gave up, even when everybody was telling him to 'throw in the towel'. He did accomplish exactly what he set out to do, despite his obstacles.And finally, the concept of gratitude was BIG in this book.He was grateful even for his disability in the end.As amazing as this sounds, it is a pure and simple truth that we all must be grateful for absolutely everything that happens to us.Dr. Beisser shows the reader this lesson in a big way at the end of the book when he talks about his total acceptance of his circumstances and all the personal growth he has attained from those circumstances.

Excellent
I'm 25 hispanic female that recently read this book. I just became fascinated for the optimistic attitude and spirit of life that this book has. No words to describe what has done in my life

Superb, life-affirming memoir about life with a disability!
Arnold Beisser grew up with two life goals: To be a doctor and to be a national tennis champion.At 23, he achieved his first goal; at 24, his second.The year was 1950. Soon after his tennis victory, en route to basic training that would have brought him to Korea as an army doctor, he developed a high fever and was brought to a military hospital.Within 24 hours, he was paralyzed from the neck down.As Beisser puts it, one moment he was a doctor; suddenly he was a patient, requiring an iron lung to breathe.He had contracted polio. This outstanding book examines the funny, sad and philosophical aspects of life with a disability and its social consequences.Particularly fascinating are Beisser's stories of the stigma many people attach to disability.His courtship and marriage, as well as his career as a psychiatrist treating professional athletes, make for compelling reading. Anyone who has struggled in life - because of disability or any other tribulation - will be permanently enriched by this unforgettable memoir. ... Read more

Book Description

Though still the leading cause of death, coronary heart disease is now killing half as many people in the U.S. as in the 1960s, partly because of innovative treatments like bypass surgery, balloon angioplasty, and thrombolytic drugs. This book tells the stories of the bold researchers who developed such treatments and explores the tough ethical questions raised by the big money being made in modern cardiology.

Klaidman shows how clinicians, engineers, and entrepreneurs have devised radically new ways to treat a diseased heart. He examines the startling extent to which financial ambition has shaped the dynamics of cardiology--now a multi-billion dollar medical/academic/industrial/governmental hybrid--and the inevitable conflicts of interest such ambition creates. Can a patient's needs come first when market share and profits skew the focus away from medical prudence? Can clinical trials be both free of bias and fast enough to keep up with the flood of new drugs and high-tech devices? Klaidman tackles these questions using real cases, often in the context of wrenching bedside decisions.

Immensely readable and packed with vivid detail, Saving the Heart explores the past, present and swiftly developing future of a high-stakes medical specialty. And it weaves into the fast moving narrative advice on how to make the right treatment choices and identify the best cardiologists and surgeons. If you are one of the 14 million Americans who suffers from coronary disease, Saving the Heart could save your life. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Good read, but...
I am a medical student/researcher with plans to become a cardiac surgeon or cardiologist. I enjoyed learning some of the history of the Cleveland Clinic and am personally involved in some of the new developments that the author mentioned in the last chapter. My only problem is that the book was not representative of american cardiology or cardiac surgery as a whole. It seems that the author did all of his research in Ohio and the Northeast, whereas significant advances have taken place in other parts of the country (U. of Alabama, Mayo, Texas Medical Center). Two of the most famous cardiac surgeons the world has known - Michael Debakey and Denton Cooley were only mentioned in a few short sentences. The reader gets the impression that some less important surgeons (that happen to work at the Cleveland Clinic) invented cardiac bypass surgery when it was actually the work of hundreds. In the last chapter, the author mentions a technique called OCT. Yes, this technique shows promise (I work with it) but it was only mentioned because someone at Harvard is working on it. I can think of 10 examples of techniques that show as much promise. I wish writers that wanted to tell the world about American medicine would search all of America before they sat down to write. In sum, it was readable but had some holes that made me feel incomplete after I read it.

HEARTily recommended
Stephen Klaidman has provided us with a very interesting, easy reading book that I recommend to anyone who has a heart condition or is interested in the subject. The major portion of the book discloses chronologically how heart conditions were treated from its earliest practitioners to the present day. Biographical sketches of medical developers, practitioners, entrepreneurs, etc. provide human interest to the emerging history.

All major surgical developments, most of which occurred in the twentieth century, are explained in detail. The struggles of medical pioneers to gain acceptance of what at the time were radical innovations are amply explored. Among these innovations are angiography (imaging technology), heart-lung machine, coronary bypass surgery (with and without the heart-lung machine), angioplasty, and minimally invasive bypass surgery.

Hi-tech heart surgery-an extremely complex and difficult subject-is explained for the layman to understand. The benefits and problems of each of the current procedures are explained.

Klaidman explores hi-tech surgical instruments, a highly profitable multi-billion dollar business. His biographical profiles of some developers (doctor-engineer-inventors) and entrepreneurs disclose how the competitive race of developers to market first and the rivalry of entrepreneurs for market share may be detrimental to the best interests of patients.

None of the many present sophisticated treatments provide a cure! They just alleviate symptoms. The pioneers of today are searching for cures. Their approaches are described and are not only fascinating but also innovative.

The final chapter discusses the ethical questions raised by our current medical system: conflicts of interest between practitioners with financial stakes in various treatments; competition between advocates of various treatment options; competition between various surgical equipment manufacturers for market share; the pressure to reduce costs by HMOs; etc.

If there is one fault to the book, it is that the title "Saving the Heart: The Battle to Conquer Coronary Disease" led me to believe that it would be more comprehensive. The drugs-nitroglycerin, Coumadin, beta-blockers, calcium channel blockers, statins--were mentioned only as they pertained to a topic then being explored, not in the detail the surgical treatments were given. Not even mentioned are life style changes--diet, exercise and meditation--that Dean Ornish has proposed. A book on these topics written as well as this one would definitely be welcomed.

But for what this book does it does it so well a five star rating is most appropriate. ... Read more

Book Description

Amazon.com

When the author began taking Prozac in 1988 she was 26 and had already struggled for over a decade with hospitalizations, suicide attempts, anorexia, and self-mutilation resulting from a variety of mental illnesses, obsessive-compulsive disorder the most recent among them. The newly released drug liberated her from debilitating anxiety and pain even as it raised unsettling questions about her own identity, as she had always been defined by her afflictions. "The world as I had known it my whole life did not seem to exist," writes Slater in a characteristically incisive sentence. She was happier, but she found it difficult to write without the inner voices that had sparked her fevered creativity; even the philosophy books she had once loved now seemed irrelevant to her newly healthy state.With utter candor (even about her dampened sexuality) and a surprising amount of humor, Slater chronicles the ups and downs of life on Prozac. A nightmarish relapse when the dosage suddenly proves inadequate ("Prozac poop-out") ultimately helps her discover inner resources to combat her illness in conjunction with the medication. She finds new love and a better understanding of her past; she avoids the equally unrealistic extremes of Prozac boosters who ignore the drug's costs and doomsayers who depict it creating a generation of zombies. Slater's balanced final assessment is voiced, as usual, in exact, lyrical prose: "This is Prozac's burden and gift, keeping me alive to the most human of questions, bringing me forward, bringing me back, swaddling and unswaddling me, pushing me to ask which wrappings are real." --Wendy Smith ... Read more

Reviews (38)

effective, honest, scary
well written.scary details about mental illness.both scary w/ respect to what i might see in myself and what exceeds greatly in a dystopic fashion what i see in myself.is a testament to how well prozac can work, and in that fashion, this memoir is quite effective and honest, although some may call it "over salted" (as Hamlet didn't want his plays to be like over salted dishes.)

A Worthy Addition To The Genre
Lauren Slater's 1999 memoir Prozac Diary is a worthy addition to the "women and madness" genre or for the millions currently taking antidepressants.What makes Slater's book a standout, though, is that it's the experience of one of the first people to use Prozac for depression. Slater writes her diary ten years after she first started taking the drug regularly in 1988, so we get to read of the long-term affects of daily dosing and how the drug changed her life over time.What was most interesting about Slater's story is how she had to learn to live life as a no-longer-depressed person.Her entire life, depression and its consequences dominated her life, gave her life meaning and routine, and defined who she was.When the "Zac" started working, she struggled to develop a new sense of herself, separate and apart from the depressed Lauren.

For me, the problem was that there wasn't enough experience there; something felt missing from the story. Perhaps it was the editor's fault. Or maybe my expectations were incorrect from the start.Slater's history is briefly given: lifelong struggles with depression and other forms of mental illness, a history of hospitalizations and attempts at various therapies, none of which were successful until Prozac in 1988.Perhaps I wanted to know more or I wanted the story to be told in a different style. I can't put my finger on it, but for this reader there was just something missing.Slater's writing style is poetic, but it was sometimes a distraction.

I highly recommend the book to those interested in antidepressants for any reason, whether it's history of Prozac's rise to prominence (what some call the aspirin of our age), how it affects people over the short and long-term, or simple voyeurism into the mind and life of someone classified as mentally ill.Lauren Slater truly benefited from this drug, and while many people think Prozac is tossed around too freely these days, she is an excellent example of whom this drug was originally developed for.It's staggering and sad to think how many lives could have been saved if we'd had this drug fifty years ago.

Prozac Diary is a slim read that can be devoured in one day by the voracious reader.Definitely worth the time for those of us living in this Age of Anxiety.

Truly one of my favorite books
Prozac Diary is more than another book about antidepressants; it chronicles one woman's journey to accept herself, her past, her illness and its treatment.For those who haven't experienced this, the book will probably be boring.For those who have, it's like finding a friend.

A different view, but not for everyone...
Last night, I finished the book Prozac Diary by Lauren Slater.Since I started taking fluoxetine (generic form of Prozac) a few months ago for dysthymia, I figured it would be interesting to read of some experiences of others who have used the drug.

Slater was one of the first to start using Prozac in 1988 and talks about her 10 year "relationship" with the drug.She had some serious mental disturbances, and taking Prozac was yet another attempt to deal with them.She chronicles the changes in her personality, the highs and lows of those changes, and how she dealt with the effect called "Prozac poop-out" when the drug ceases to work after an extended period of time.On the positive side, she went on to become an accomplished psychologist after being a drifter for the first part of her life.On the down side, she still struggles with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCP) and feels that in some ways the Prozac has suppressed a number of internal parts of her personality.

For me, I couldn't relate to much of what the author wrote.For one, there's a vast difference between low-level depression (dysthymia) and OCP/self-mutilation.I could go back to my "old" self and function ok.I just don't want to...:-)She can't.Also, her style of writing is very "artistic" for lack of a better term.Readers who are in touch with emotional writing will relate, but those looking for a clinical examination and discussion won't find it here.If you look deep enough, you can see some themes that might make sense (Prozac as a personality/intellectual "steroid"), but for me the writing gets in the way of that.

If you struggle with Prozac, this might be a good read for you in order to get a different viewpoint.Just don't judge all Prozac users by this book.

Overwritten
The main fault I find with this book is the way it is written. The author uses too many metaphors, which I found annoyingly abstract. I had a sense that the author wanted to write in a catchy way so that it would sell. There is no way I can read her mind when she wrote the book but it just didn't seem frank. It was almost as if she was thinking "Nothing in here should sound too dull or boring or no one will want to read it". She seemed to go overboard with the colorful images - every paragraph was written (in a way that a student might try to spice up a creative writing paper in order to get an A), but paradoxically her effect *was* quite boring, in a way I can't describe. It would have been better if she was told from the outset to eliminate all poetry and flowery phrases and just share what her life was like. Or, perhaps her book is the unfortunate product of "what are we supposed to think when we want our illness to be understood by the public" -- as the catchier something sounds the more likely it will get noticed (as in a glossy ad). I do think it would take a gifted writer in order to get noticed in the first place, especially in a subject as obscure and little-understood (in most peoples' perceptions) as 'depression'. It would be very hard to sell ourselves in our success-oriented culture (USA), unless it is a giant act of heroism (in the conventional sense of the word) or an extreme anomaly or exaggeration of sorts (Perhaps if Laura Slater had two heads along with her taking Prozac she could be more optimistic about her chances :-). Depression is a very banal illness -- something that is more likely to go unnoticed or seem 'self-absorbed' if expressed in a completely candid way.

I can only speculate why Slater overdid herself in this book "See? My experience with depression is not so dull or boring. I can ENTERTAIN you with my flowery prose". There were a number of times that I would have wanted her to get into the specifics of her day-to-day experience - I wanted to know what she was feeling, her thoughts, particularly the ones that we depressives wouldn't dare share with anyone else - the ones that most haunt and embarrass us. Instead I felt dissatisfied with all the stuff that was very catchy but didn't seem to quite fit. She seemed to be trying to make rainbows with her prose when the reality might have been a bit of grey. ... Read more

Book Description

"About this issue of aging, I want to make a terribly important point. People decide to get old. I've seen them do it. It's as if they've said 'Right, that's it, now I'm going to get old.' Then they become old. Why they do this, I don't know. Maybe they like to be depAndent. But I do think it's terribly important that people not make that inner decision. Because then they sit around and they're old. It's easy not to do it, in fact. It's not about staying young but about not getting old."--Doris Lessing

On Women Turning 70 is a celebration-of success, love, relationships, self-of life. Its sixteen intimate portraits of women in their seventies are a testament to women everywhere that life can and must be lived to its fullest. The artists, social activists, actors, scientists, journalists, academics, poets, and novelists we meet are wise, vital, and impertinent, and all are disarmingly honest. Through their stories, these vibrant women share a depth of wisdom and knowledge acquired after more than seventy years of experience and living. And they haven't stopped living yet.

Liz Smith, the acclaimed newspaperwoman, achieved her extraordinary success just as she was about to retire.

Leah Friedman started work on her Ph.D. the year before she turned seventy.

Harvard professor Elinor Gadon claims to have more energy than women forty years her junior.

Betty Friedan, the mother of the feminist movement, keeps her spirit and curiosity alive by trying something new every week.

Artist Betye Saar remarks on her colorfully dyed hair, "If I want my hair purple, it's purple."

Sociologist Lee Robbins fell in love and married again when she was seventy-five.

Just as were her previous best-selling books on women turning forty, fifty, and sixty, this newest addition to the decade series of books from Cathleen Rountree is proof that aging is a passionate, powerful, and transformative process to be honored and celebrated. We are reminded that age is not ... Read more

Reviews (1)

This book will make you WANT to be 70 - I kid you not!
Incredible book - fun to read, I read it in my 40s and it served to light the way to how I want to age (in a serious and realistic and fun way - not something superficial like wearing purple or being ornery). Should definitely be brought back into print as we baby boomers NEED this kind of wisdom... Letty Cottin Pogrebins Getting Over Getting Older is also good - she nailed that what throws the whole game is being able to handle our loss/losses. That this is what separates the Great Elders from, well, the older folks none of us wants to become...

i wasn't as inspired by the On Women Getting 40, 50, 60 in the series - don't know if it's because these 70ish women were/are such amazing human beings - or if 70 is a better stage in life ... so I'd check them out of the local library - or BUY them for the local library to have on hand... but THIS BOOK YOU WANT TO OWN and refer to and pass around and buy for others! Made me love the prospect of Old Age and showed me women I could emulate. Thanks, Cathleen - a book that should live forever - it's that definitive. Teens and young people should read it - they'd benefit from the wisdom of these "happening chicks"! An attractive preview of how the Endgame can be if you want to make it --- from women who hardly had everything breaking their way throughout life. You close the book thinking "ain't life grand even when it ain't grand?!" ... Read more

Book Description

Don't say a word. Bobby Barnes was ten the day his father shot himself, and the first lesson he learned about it was that he should never tell a soul because people might reject him. From that day forward, he hid his secret behind a series of masks--the mask of the Eagle Scout, the wise doctor, community and church leader--and feared that one day his mask would be torn off and he would be naked amid his humiliation and self-doubt.This is the story of a man who achieved the outward signs of success but yearned for inner peace. It took Bob Barnes many years and an unexpected turn of events to discover himself and realize the true meaning of his life. Read his story, and you will learn that doctors are human; they are susceptible to emotional pain and doubts about their profession. Read his story, and learn something about yourself.

" ... a deeply moving account of someone coming to grips with a painful past." - Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

" ... should prove helpful to many people." - Frederick Buechner

Book Description

Every 60 seconds someone has a stroke.

Stroke hits people of all ages.

Stroke:Brian-Assault is the story of one woman's experience of an aneurysm stroke. The book chronicles the years following her stroke and provides techniques she used in her recovery. Five years after her stroke, Ms. DePaz went back to graduate school and completed her MBA degree.

This book is for people who love or work with someone who has suffered a stroke. It is also for people who have the tenacity and desire to affect their own stroke recovery. Frame of mind is very important - focus on the future instead of mourning what's been lost, and make efforts, no matter how small, that bring back independence. ... Read more

Reviews (36)

April Fool's Day: A modern Love Story
I bought this book when we lived in Australia from 1993/1994. I have since read the book over and over again and have lent it to family and friends under the strict mandate that they must return it to me upon completion. This is the most moving book I have ever read and it will be one that I will keep forever. I cried, I laughed, I cheered and I was inspired by Damon's courage and determination to not only live a normal life but to overcome the stigma associated with HIV/AIDs. Bryce Courtney has written a beautiful testimonally to his son's life. I hope every parent loves their child as much as the Courtney's did to not only let him live his life but to also allow him to die with dignity. His girlfriend, Celeste, was also amazing. How many of us could stand by our significant others knowing what she did about the ultimate outcome.

This book is a must read on everyone's list, I am only sorry that it is out of print.

A Real Masterpiece
April Fool's Day is the most moving book I've read this year. I find it really important that Courtenay decided to share such a personal thing to share with us. Although Damon died when he was only 24, I believe he was very lucky to have known really love (I wish every man had a loyal and wonderful girlfriend like Celeste) and have had constant support from his parents and brothers. Despite the acute and neverending pain he was in all the time, I believe, Damon was very strong, stronger than most of the people I've met or heard of, because he didn't want anyone to pity him for his illness. He tried everything he could to lead a normal life and has made me aware that nothing in this world is more important than health. Thus we should treasure every single minute in our lives. Bryce Courtenay is one of the best authors, and if there are better authors than him I'm afraid I haven't read them yet. Thank you.

You will cry while reading this book, for it's all truth.
I am a fan of Bryce Courtenay, and have read all his books. This one tells the true story of his last son, Damon, who was born with haemophilia and went through a very hard life, still one full of love and joy. I found myself crying for what happened to Damon, from the purple head episode in hospital to the AIDS he caught during a blood transfusion. And I do completely agree with what Damon said, whatever your problem is, HEALTH is a gift, the most precious one we possess, together with LOVE. The book is about love against the odds, the prejudice, the injustice of a health and political system in Australia in the 1980s; it is full of details and vivid images, and I can imagine how hard it was for the author to write about his own experience, and the suffering in trying to explain in a clear way what exactly happened to him and his family those days. Everyone who has been through a quite serious illness will love this book, as I did. Thanks, Bryce.

A little overrated, but still a wonderful, touching book
Before you bash me for not giving this book 5 stars, please listen to me first.

I truly loved this book. Bryce's family and the suffering that his son, Damon, went through nearly broke my heart and it was vividly written with plenty of emotion.

On the downside, the book was at least 30 pages too long. There were unnessecary parts, such as going on about the lighthouse light in the apartmenmt window and Damon's junk-bucket car that really got to me because they were repeated and dragged out too much for my liking. Also, the graphic descriptions of Damon's injuries and infections are not really something good to read with you lunch.

Also, I found the book to be a little bit overrated.

I don't consider it a masterpiece like "The Power of One" but it's definitely not a cold fish like Courtenay's "The Potato Factory," which bored me to tears. I'd rate it at about a 7.5/10 or 8/10, putting it in the same league as "Tandia."

One book you will never forget...keep a kleenex handy!
This is BC's non-fiction novel that tells the story of his son Damon - in heart-wrenching detail - about his plight with AIDS. Oh, and lest I forget, AIDS that was injected into him by the Australian medical community, thanks to their lax policies on blood donorship.

For those not up on BC, a short history - BC was under a deadline to produce TANDIA (the "Power of One" sequel), and many fans were lukewarm about Tandia - well, it was because everything you read in 'April Fools day' was going on while he had to finish it!

Back to this novel - it is a must-read for anyone with a curiosity about what a family goes through in the face of tragedy, and one that doesn't mind LIVING through the REAL life drama and frustration of a father and mother doing EVERYTHING they can to save their son dying of a disease. It got this grown man some major lumps in my throat, fists on the table, and some tears here and there - I cannot say that about anything I have ever read before in my life. Bryce really puts all his heart and soul to make you, the reader, feel his anger, pain, helplessness and sorrow about someone you will never know. This is a major literary achievement for one of the most brilliant authors of our time.

As I have said in some of my other BC reviews - it is a shame that he does not get more 'exposure' in the US. My wife and I have read everything he has ever done, and not 1 page is a dud amongst the thousands he has written - and we can name thousands of duds out there right now on your supermarket shelves... ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Illuminating story of the lady of the lamp
This biography of Florence Nightingale is a detailed and well-written story of one of the world's most remarkable women.

Florence Nightingale was born into an English aristocratic family. She was spoiled and difficult, yet had a sense early in her life that she had been picked by God to do something special. Against her family's wishes she went into nursing, then an activity mostly practiced by prostitutes and drunkards. She trained in a Protestant institution in Germany, a Catholic one in France, and then directed a London home for distressed gentlewomen. In 1851 she went to the Crimea where she became the famous and romanticized "lady of the lamp".

When she returned from the Crimea she continued to work, building on her discoveries of gross inefficiency in the administration of the army hospitals. She toiled at the task of reorganizing delivery of health care in the British army. She directed efforts to improve sanitation in India, and for several decades was the expert on questions of health in India, although she never actually left England again. She was an ongoing consultant on hospital construction. She established a nursing school. In middle age she declared herself to be an individual and rarely left her bedroom. Nevertheless she continued her (almost) Sisyphean labors and wrote many books and reports on matters of public health and nursing.

She was in no sense the sweet, gentle person that people imagined the "lady of the lamp" to be. She was bad tempered and dictatorial. She was deeply attached to morality and authority. Although she did much to make nursing a profession, she was not interested in womens rights and opposed the idea of female suffrage. She never accepted the germ theory (a new idea in the 1870's), although she was always a supporter of ventilation (even when it was not helpful, as in India).

Nevertheless, she had the intellectual flexibility to understand quickly the enormous importance of statistics to public health. She may have been the first person to use pictorial descriptions of statistics. She established, using statistics again, the connection between high volumes of births and maternal mortality.

This is a long book. In his essay on Florence Nightingale Lytton Strachey covers the same material in a much briefer manner. Yet Woodham Smiths extensive descriptions of Nightingale's tenacious work with royal commissions, the repeated struggles with bureaucracies and the vulnerability of her work to changes of government convey to the reader the magnitude of her work. It seems fitting that Nightingale's strength and perseverance be documented in great detail and that the reader spend many hours with Woodham Smith in reviewing Nightingale's Herculean efforts to clean out the Augean stables of bureaucratic neglect. Wandering easily through Strachey's breezy and ironic prose doesn't convince the reader of Nightingale's fortitude.

A major reason for the appeal of this book is the wit of Nightingale herself and her many correspondents. Woodham-Smith quotes liberally from much of her copious correspondence, much of which is pithy and amusing. She was bitter, whiny, full of self-pity, and hyperbolic in a way that makes for wonderful reading. As she grew older she became more gracious, but still retained a sharp pen.

Highly recommended for those with an interest in the history of medicine and nursing, the Crimean war, and the development of England's military and medical institutions. ... Read more