Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

The Beauty in Breaking: A Memoir by Michele Harper

25 reviews

samarakroeger's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

3.0

a fairly run of the mill memoir that took a preachy turn towards the end. 

Dr. Harper tries to interweave her traumatic upbringing with vignettes about her ER patients but spends too much time lecturing on the beauty of yoga and not enough on meaningful self-reflection. I thought she was leaning too heavily on the inevitable emotions of the ER (like dead babies) to carry the heft of the memoir. It didn’t really work. 

There’s still plenty of interesting material to engage in, though, so I’m not mad about finally reading it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Cancer, Rape, Medical trauma, Abortion, Domestic abuse, Death, Gun violence, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Terminal illness

luckyonesoph's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring reflective fast-paced

3.5

A really solid medical memoir! I really appreciated how Dr. Harper talked through her decision-making, and the dynamics between all the staff members at emergency departments. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma and Medical content

Moderate: Sexual assault, Gun violence, and Sexual violence

effortlesslybookishbre_'s review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Death, Medical content, and Mental illness

autumnflorence's review

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Drug use, Death, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Physical abuse

d0505's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Medical content, and Gun violence

Moderate: Racism, Rape, Child abuse, Terminal illness, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

amandalorianxo's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

I did the audio route and despite narrator not being the doctor herself, I enjoyed learning the more “hard truths” about life as an ER doctor. I also was saddened by the fact that the hospitals still treat their female, bipoc and other marginalized people poorly. This worth a listen if you want something that isn’t Grey’s Anatomy esque. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content and Medical trauma

Minor: Racism and Blood

sofipitch's review

dark hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.5

Harper bears witness and gives voice to how societies failure often brings patients to her as an ER doctor. This book was not only surprisingly hopeful but after everything Harper herself has gone through and then seen you really end up hopeful yourself.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Medical trauma, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, and Police brutality

Moderate: Racism, Physical abuse, Cancer, Gun violence, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Bullying, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Addiction, Abortion, and Alcoholism

jendif's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, Medical content, and Child death

Moderate: Racism, Sexism, and Child abuse

Minor: Sexual assault, Rape, Abortion, and Suicide

katiejohns's review

emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Child abuse, Medical content, Cancer, and Medical trauma

sarahlizbooks's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative reflective sad fast-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content

Moderate: Death, Drug abuse, Addiction, Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault