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99 reviews for:
Fragile Lives: A Heart Surgeon's Stories of Life and Death on the Operating Table
Stephen Westaby
4.19 AVERAGE
99 reviews for:
Fragile Lives: A Heart Surgeon's Stories of Life and Death on the Operating Table
Stephen Westaby
4.19 AVERAGE
3.5 stars to this one.
The personality and feisty nature of the author shows through in this one, which is a good thing as it helps to balance out the sometimes dry tone it can take. The stories are fascinating, but sometimes I felt a little bogged down in the terminology and getting distracted from what was going on, the person Westaby was trying to save.
It also felt a little off kilter as we came to the ending - I was left with the feeling that it was a bit abrupt, but that may just be my interpretation.
The stories really are interesting, though, and worth a read.
The personality and feisty nature of the author shows through in this one, which is a good thing as it helps to balance out the sometimes dry tone it can take. The stories are fascinating, but sometimes I felt a little bogged down in the terminology and getting distracted from what was going on, the person Westaby was trying to save.
It also felt a little off kilter as we came to the ending - I was left with the feeling that it was a bit abrupt, but that may just be my interpretation.
The stories really are interesting, though, and worth a read.
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
I love a good medical memoir and this was a good easy read. Each chapter is a case from his career, so it's broken into little case studies if you will. I would like to have a drink and dinner with the guy to hear some more but the book to me felt like a showcase of his fanciest most daredevil work. I think I wanted more focus on how the profession has changed and how technology has evolved to shape modern medicine and the innovations behind those changes which this did touch on a little but not as much as I liked, which cases shaped his career which again it touches on just not in the depth I wanted it to. I do like that he is quite honest about surgeons and objectivity and goes against the stereotype that surgeons don't have feelings. Would I read another by this guy? Absolutely, the guy is clearly a genius of his generations the book just wasn't what I wanted it to be.
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
I really enjoyed these stories. Very exciting and moving. Wish it was longer!
"I was pleased to be asleep. I didn't enjoy being on the other side of the fence. For me, it wasn't just an operation. It was the end of an era."
To be honest: there was nothing inherently wrong with Stephen Westaby's Fragile Lives. In fact, a person interested in cardiac surgery and non-fiction in general would have probably enjoyed this. But for me, nothing clicked.
I guess part of this is due to my dislike of non-fiction. I am interested in surgical stories, but I'm not utterly fascinated by them. It's the drama that keeps me coming back to Grey's Anatomy lol! So I have to chalk up part of my low rating to that fact.
But something was just off. I wasn't into the book. For all of Westaby's attempts, it was hard for me to connect with the characters. I felt bad for them, but his manner-of-fact descriptions left it more to the reader to imagine what the patients were like, in a way.
To be honest: there was nothing inherently wrong with Stephen Westaby's Fragile Lives. In fact, a person interested in cardiac surgery and non-fiction in general would have probably enjoyed this. But for me, nothing clicked.
I guess part of this is due to my dislike of non-fiction. I am interested in surgical stories, but I'm not utterly fascinated by them. It's the drama that keeps me coming back to Grey's Anatomy lol! So I have to chalk up part of my low rating to that fact.
But something was just off. I wasn't into the book. For all of Westaby's attempts, it was hard for me to connect with the characters. I felt bad for them, but his manner-of-fact descriptions left it more to the reader to imagine what the patients were like, in a way.
Anyone who reads my blog will know that I rarely, if ever, review non-fiction. It is definitely not my usual genre, but when I saw it pop up on Twitter recently, I was suitably intrigued. I am so SO GLAD I got the chance to read and review Fragile Lives.
Fragile Lives is a memoir written by Stephen Westaby, one of the most well known cardiac surgeons and hugely prolific in his chosen field. A trailblazer from very early on in his career, he continued to pave the way for the use of new and unknown cardiac treatments and apparatus.
I started it Monday morning, and by Monday night I was a ball of emotions upon finishing it. Every chapter is a case story, and every case is heartbreaking yet life-affirming, if that makes sense. I found myself close to tears on more than one occasion on Monday, knowing that these are real people and they were meeting Westaby at possibly the worst moment of their lives.
The details in Fragile Lives are extremely in depth, especially with regards to the surgeries and various diseases/injuries that are discussed in the book. While it was descriptive, it was not by any means difficult to follow. It was very interesting to read about the anatomy of the heart and the various pathologies Westaby writes about.
I can’t do this book justice with my words. It was truly excellent to read. I was compelled to read it, trapped in the intensity of the chapters. When I had to put it down, I immediately wished I was reading it again. That is always a sign of a great book. If you like medicine, with a large dose of humanity, then pick up Fragile Lives.
Highly recommended!
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Fragile Lives is a memoir written by Stephen Westaby, one of the most well known cardiac surgeons and hugely prolific in his chosen field. A trailblazer from very early on in his career, he continued to pave the way for the use of new and unknown cardiac treatments and apparatus.
I started it Monday morning, and by Monday night I was a ball of emotions upon finishing it. Every chapter is a case story, and every case is heartbreaking yet life-affirming, if that makes sense. I found myself close to tears on more than one occasion on Monday, knowing that these are real people and they were meeting Westaby at possibly the worst moment of their lives.
The details in Fragile Lives are extremely in depth, especially with regards to the surgeries and various diseases/injuries that are discussed in the book. While it was descriptive, it was not by any means difficult to follow. It was very interesting to read about the anatomy of the heart and the various pathologies Westaby writes about.
I can’t do this book justice with my words. It was truly excellent to read. I was compelled to read it, trapped in the intensity of the chapters. When I had to put it down, I immediately wished I was reading it again. That is always a sign of a great book. If you like medicine, with a large dose of humanity, then pick up Fragile Lives.
Highly recommended!
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A NON-FICTION book about SURGERY? - Has ME written ALL OVER IT!
I was so excited to read this and I'm glad that this book completed my 2017 reading challenge! The cases were interesting + engaging and I found it to be a fast-paced read. HOWEVER, one thing that I didn't like was how in the Afterword he mentions that he has a fanclub of young men, aspiring to be heart surgeons - I WISH more FEMALES WERE HEART SURGEONS (*cough* Cristina Yang *cough*). ALSO, surgeons, as well as OTHER professionals working in health care need to be educated on psychology! They definitely need to have empathy, high emotional intelligence, strong coping skills, etc. It was disturbing for me to read that their coping strategies were a bar near the hospital and alcohol (to drown sorrows, stress, etc.) and that they would come into the hospital to operate/work cases under the influence of alcohol. I'm sorry, but in what world is this OK? I feel like we're still struggling to understand how important it is to have strong mental health, as much as physical health. These are my personal observations from reading this book.
I was so excited to read this and I'm glad that this book completed my 2017 reading challenge! The cases were interesting + engaging and I found it to be a fast-paced read. HOWEVER, one thing that I didn't like was how in the Afterword he mentions that he has a fanclub of young men, aspiring to be heart surgeons - I WISH more FEMALES WERE HEART SURGEONS (*cough* Cristina Yang *cough*). ALSO, surgeons, as well as OTHER professionals working in health care need to be educated on psychology! They definitely need to have empathy, high emotional intelligence, strong coping skills, etc. It was disturbing for me to read that their coping strategies were a bar near the hospital and alcohol (to drown sorrows, stress, etc.) and that they would come into the hospital to operate/work cases under the influence of alcohol. I'm sorry, but in what world is this OK? I feel like we're still struggling to understand how important it is to have strong mental health, as much as physical health. These are my personal observations from reading this book.