Reviews - When the Air Hits Your Brain: Tales from Neurosurgery

205 reviews for:

When the Air Hits Your Brain: Tales from Neurosurgery

What an emotional journey this was. I loved the stories Vertosick shared, and the way he described the people he met with warmth and empathy. He chose to focus mostly on his mistakes, and I find that honorable. He writes beautifully, with interesting metaphors and humor. I also learnt a lot, which is also a plus.

flappy's review against another edition

4.25

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

laurenlethbridge's review against another edition

3.5

emotional informative fast-paced

thundergoose's review against another edition

5.0

This book was very illuminating and humbling. It is a thrilling read for understanding disease and the pain it causes. Very enriching and quite entertaining, this book really inspired me and I highly recommend it to everybody. Some of the surgeries have graphic descriptions, but if that does not bother you it will be a memorable one that will linger with you. Some of the cases in the book nearly brought me to tears. However, books like these allow us to embrace our emotional selves. They bring us to a deeper human connection and a much greater appreciation for life.

mpetrera's review against another edition

4.5

emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Medical memoirs are tough, they can easily get way too dry or way too detailed. This was a perfect combination of reflective piece (going through the toughest years of training), while also being an outstanding memoir on the experiences that shapes the authors personality. It moved at an excellent pace and each of the stories was able to play into the much larger theme of ‘surgical psychopathy,’ the beating down of all emotional strength throughout surgical training. He seems like an extremely genuine and humble person from his work and it shows through these stories.

jocelynh's review against another edition

4.5

dark emotional informative medium-paced

What can I say? I find medical memoirs fascinating, and this book did not disappoint. A lot of emotionally devastating cases, brutal accidents, and gnarly situations. Dr. Vertosick sometimes takes a bit of a cavalier tone with regard to his patients/coworkers, but I can't really judge too much given all the death and horror he's had to deal with in his profession. You do what you gotta do to cope.

gremlynn's review against another edition

4.5

emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

As someone going through a lot of brain problems and who will probably be undergoing brain surgery... This was maybe not the best book for me to listen to on the drives to and from my surgeon's office. But that doesn't mean it wasn't informative and interesting! I enjoyed getting to hear some of what happens on the other side of the knife, and it gave me a little more empathy and perspective during what has been at best a very frustrating part of my life.