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madisonlou's review
dark
emotional
inspiring
slow-paced
2.75
I picked this up because I had many friends from college become doctors. I wanted insight on the journey of medical school and what the training puts you through. I appreciated the author’s honest, emotional, and frankly hard to hear experience of medical residency. Add in his vulnerable reveal of personal mental health struggles and that made the book…….hard to want to pick up and read. It contained valuable insight to a poc’s experience in medicine and lessons we should learn from that experience. It is a story that absolutely deserves to be told. Dr Chin-Que embodies empathy in an inspiring example of a great character arc. But ultimately I had to sludge through this book. It simply did not draw me in to read it. ((check trigger warnings))
Content Warnings
Moderate: Self harm and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Medical content
elliedegarmo's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
gmd316's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.5
Quite challenging at times but a really great approach to a memoir- feels blunt and honest and lyrical
adelinelee's review
dark
funny
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
4.5
Picked up this book on a whim at a used book store, and it turned out to be an incredible read. There are chapters with such vivid storytelling of experiences working as a resident that it feels like an episode of a medical show (which makes sense considering the author has been a story editor for Grey's Anatomy), and then there are chapters that give you no choice but to reflect on life, on yourself, and on the racism and failures of society. Sometimes I *couldn't* put the book down, other times I *had* to put it down.
The writing style changes quite a bit, from first-person memoir narration to internal-monologue conversations, letters, poetry, and even screenplay-style. At times this can make one part feel disconnected from the rest, but overall it was something I enjoyed. Highly recommend for someone interested in stories about the medical profession, about personal growth through failures, and about learning who you are both because and in spite of your familial relationships and societal constructs (but check content warnings).
The writing style changes quite a bit, from first-person memoir narration to internal-monologue conversations, letters, poetry, and even screenplay-style. At times this can make one part feel disconnected from the rest, but overall it was something I enjoyed. Highly recommend for someone interested in stories about the medical profession, about personal growth through failures, and about learning who you are both because and in spite of your familial relationships and societal constructs (but check content warnings).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Medical content
Moderate: Mental illness, Racism, Self harm, Alcohol, and Cursing
poeticsinglemama's review
I couldn't stand the back and forth dialogue with himself, it was driving me crazy!
mountain_adventures's review
dark
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
4.0
This memoir is written in an usual style. The writer talks to himself and answers with his own self critic in his head frequently. Then, he sprinkles in bad poetry. At other times, he narrates his story like most memoirs. This is a wild ride.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Medical trauma, Medical content, Toxic friendship, Alcoholism, and Toxic relationship
restlessunicorn's review
dark
funny
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
3.5
Interesting, but at times disjointed. Lost steam towards the end. Loved the insight into his training and his personal trauma and experiences.
samanthajfiles's review
4.0
This book is his outlet of his thoughts- his diary but also his conversations with his own inner critic. The story of a black doctor and the lessons he has learned as he struggled in residency after being matched to an ENT speciality in Michigan, poor coping mechanisms for the stress he felt as a new doctor, barely making it through med school, a broken father influence and how he thought he would grow up to be the same, the struggles of mental health, what it is like to be a black man in a white room, and so much more. Overall, I enjoyed reading and enjoyed the stories of his life/experiences in medicine.
contains stories of: self harm, suicidal thoughts, sex/drugs/alcohol, racist language
contains stories of: self harm, suicidal thoughts, sex/drugs/alcohol, racist language