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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
I just didn’t really like this author - I think a memoir needs to either have a very interesting or a very likable subject, and this one was neither. I would have liked to have read about her life trajectory, which seemed fascinating from the little bits she sprinkled in. Instead it relied on anecdotes about medical cases she had been involved in, which would have been fine if she didn’t also sprinkle in the personal bits without ever giving the reader a chance to connect with her on a personal level - it seems like she often chose the anecdotes to pat herself on the back. It’s just straddling two different types of memoir, and was a little unsuccessful at both for me.
I guess memoir is still the best genre for this, but it felt more like a series of real life short stories. They were all interesting and would be perfect for anyone who wants to get into healthcare, but I never really saw the connection to the author’s life, which seemed more like a loosely paralleled aside to the main action.
This book is beautifully written, with descriptions that make you feel like you are there. The only reason I didn’t love it was because it got very spiritual and was a bit too much for me.
This rating feels harsh but this book was not for me. A narrative retelling via vignettes of individual patients seen by an ER doctor. Each patient story is tied back in to a lesson she has learned. I will readily admit I am just not wired for books that have any sort of self help angle so I was very turned off by this part. She does shine in the few times she really digs in to the systemic racism built into our medical system and for those snippets I appreciated her writing.
I rarely dislike a book that I finished but the tone of this author throughout this book felt preachy and arrogant. To be fair, I'm triggered by uncaring doctors who apply their biases to making clinical decisions. It's something I've encountered in my personal life as a disabled woman and something I research professionally as a reason that health inequities persist. Throughout the book Dr. Harper advises us of her wisdom in the intuition she believes to have about people. Through the addition of her physical descriptors of people, it's clear that her intuition is largely influenced by her beliefs about a person based on things like appearance, manner of behavior, etc. While I'm aware that this is simply part of the job of an ER doctor-making snap judgments to decide how to help a patient who might not even be conscious-Dr. Harper didn't seem to see the potential pitfalls and dangers of this.
The interjections of her personal life seemed unfinished and redundant. She is a strong writer and I enjoyed her style if not her content. I am glad I finished the book so that I could feel more confident in my conclusions and could give what I feel is a fair review.
A few specific notes: Dr. Harper's insight leads her to "not be surprised" when a patient's father is charged with abuse after an x-ray found multiple healing fractures. Dr. Harper lists a range of fairly far-out diagnoses or causes of the fractures other than abuse that she considered before rendering her insight-driven conclusion. She didn't, however, mention her knowledge of Osteogenesis Imperfecta, my bone condition-which causes fractures from little to no trauma. While it's a rare condition, it's frightening to think that yet another ER doctor doesn't consider it when ruling out abuse.
Long before this case bothered me for more personal reasons, however, Dr. Harper also admits to making a patient wait longer because she found a note in his chart that he was abusive. Minor spoiler in that she eventually shares her remorse for this act and goes on in an apologetic tone for a bit. She doesn't suggest she apologized to the patient and given the large ego that she describes in her interactions, I'm sure she didn't. Even with remorse, I couldn't drop my anger at her arrogance and entitlement after I read this early admission. Again, I'm sure it's influenced by the hours-days combined-I've spent waiting and waiting for doctors for as long as I can remember (and before that for my mother). To think that a provider would intentionally draw out one's wait in a punitive way is infuriating. I had hoped after this early story/chapter, I'd come back around to appreciate Dr. Haper's story but I did not. I found she lacked insight into her own accountability in situations. I hope her yoga and meditation somehow helps with this because I'm not sure I'd want to be her patient. Sadly, as an ER patient, I wouldn't have a choice.
What is great about this book? Dr. Harper's openness to identifying racism as it plays out in the ER or the healthcare setting. This is definitely an important contribution to the literature. I wish there was more intersectionality in her reflections. She seems to be the perpetrator of microaggressions as well as the recipient.
I don't recommend this book to anyone who doesn't enjoy being angry while reading. Those in medical training might find some of the lessons important to learn-if not from Dr. Harper's example but with your own self-reflection.
The interjections of her personal life seemed unfinished and redundant. She is a strong writer and I enjoyed her style if not her content. I am glad I finished the book so that I could feel more confident in my conclusions and could give what I feel is a fair review.
A few specific notes: Dr. Harper's insight leads her to "not be surprised" when a patient's father is charged with abuse after an x-ray found multiple healing fractures. Dr. Harper lists a range of fairly far-out diagnoses or causes of the fractures other than abuse that she considered before rendering her insight-driven conclusion. She didn't, however, mention her knowledge of Osteogenesis Imperfecta, my bone condition-which causes fractures from little to no trauma. While it's a rare condition, it's frightening to think that yet another ER doctor doesn't consider it when ruling out abuse.
Long before this case bothered me for more personal reasons, however, Dr. Harper also admits to making a patient wait longer because she found a note in his chart that he was abusive. Minor spoiler in that she eventually shares her remorse for this act and goes on in an apologetic tone for a bit. She doesn't suggest she apologized to the patient and given the large ego that she describes in her interactions, I'm sure she didn't. Even with remorse, I couldn't drop my anger at her arrogance and entitlement after I read this early admission. Again, I'm sure it's influenced by the hours-days combined-I've spent waiting and waiting for doctors for as long as I can remember (and before that for my mother). To think that a provider would intentionally draw out one's wait in a punitive way is infuriating. I had hoped after this early story/chapter, I'd come back around to appreciate Dr. Haper's story but I did not. I found she lacked insight into her own accountability in situations. I hope her yoga and meditation somehow helps with this because I'm not sure I'd want to be her patient. Sadly, as an ER patient, I wouldn't have a choice.
What is great about this book? Dr. Harper's openness to identifying racism as it plays out in the ER or the healthcare setting. This is definitely an important contribution to the literature. I wish there was more intersectionality in her reflections. She seems to be the perpetrator of microaggressions as well as the recipient.
I don't recommend this book to anyone who doesn't enjoy being angry while reading. Those in medical training might find some of the lessons important to learn-if not from Dr. Harper's example but with your own self-reflection.
challenging
emotional
fast-paced
This memoir has so much potential. Overall, its stories and themes were powerful. The overarching story—the author’s journey through struggles, pain, and questioning to forgiveness, growth, and acceptance—carried well throughout the book.
My criticisms, though, are in the book itself.
First, I wanted more backstory in the “breaking(s).” The healing journey would be much more relatable to the reader if we had a better understanding of the actual brokenness. The author’s discussion of her breakup with the cop, for example, felt flat. She said, to a degree, why the breakup was so damaging, but the reader did not feel it.
Second, the “lessons” were painfully obvious. Remember “The Great Gatsby” movie with Leonardo DeCaprio? Where all the beautiful imagery and symbolism of the book was on steroids and painfully obvious? That’s what this book felt like.
And the dialogue parts were a real struggle. I understand their purpose, but I did not find them effective. Again, “show, don’t tell” can really go a long way with writing.
I also have some issue with the presentation of addiction throughout the book. Addiction at times is presented as someone not caring about themself, suggesting a simplistic take on addiction and how to overcome it. I would have hoped that addiction would have been portrayed more as the disease it is instead of a symptom of weak will.
I wanted to love this. I really did. I have an affinity for ER doctors and feel that my work back when I was a newer public defender was the legal equivalent of ER medicine. We worked with the same populations. We addressed different aspects of the same issues. But I did not feel that connection here.
I wish she had a better editor because I really feel slight tweaks would have made this book such a better—and more powerful and effective—read.
My criticisms, though, are in the book itself.
First, I wanted more backstory in the “breaking(s).” The healing journey would be much more relatable to the reader if we had a better understanding of the actual brokenness. The author’s discussion of her breakup with the cop, for example, felt flat. She said, to a degree, why the breakup was so damaging, but the reader did not feel it.
Second, the “lessons” were painfully obvious. Remember “The Great Gatsby” movie with Leonardo DeCaprio? Where all the beautiful imagery and symbolism of the book was on steroids and painfully obvious? That’s what this book felt like.
And the dialogue parts were a real struggle. I understand their purpose, but I did not find them effective. Again, “show, don’t tell” can really go a long way with writing.
I also have some issue with the presentation of addiction throughout the book. Addiction at times is presented as someone not caring about themself, suggesting a simplistic take on addiction and how to overcome it. I would have hoped that addiction would have been portrayed more as the disease it is instead of a symptom of weak will.
I wanted to love this. I really did. I have an affinity for ER doctors and feel that my work back when I was a newer public defender was the legal equivalent of ER medicine. We worked with the same populations. We addressed different aspects of the same issues. But I did not feel that connection here.
I wish she had a better editor because I really feel slight tweaks would have made this book such a better—and more powerful and effective—read.
Great title. Love the genre of memoir, but the writing style (you can tell this is a doctor telling us her story if that makes sense) coupled with the author’s self-congratulatory way of patting herself on the back every few pages made me want to abandon this one more Ryan once. I held on thinking there’d be some sort of huge revelatory experience. Spoiler alert: there wasn’t.
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Where to begin? Transformative, thought provoking, insightful, relatable, inspiring, captivating…a reminder of our power through pain. Michele reflects on her own life, and the glimpses of her patients lives, in a delicate, yet deeply raw way in this memoir that is truly a work of art.
Lovely writing, spiritual musings, reflections on racism, a push to grow and improve, and lots of medical jargon. A beautiful book, but one which missed me a bit, as I am not a doctor and I am not as spiritually evolved. I cling more to my earthly loves, like people, and I would not have been able to bear the challenges she did with no friends, family, or lovers to hold me.