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A review by jolyne
Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death and Brain Surgery by Henry Marsh
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
To be honest, I loved it. There are so many valid criticisms about this book — specifically about how he talks about his patients and how frankly he confronts the mistakes of his past — so I understand why plenty of people DNF from finding his personality borderline detestable. I must say though, that when reading a memoir about someone at the end of their intense and complicated career, I would much rather feel as though I am traversing their genuine reflections (however disturbing) than feel like I’m wading through a revisionist novel that reimagines the author in the most self-congratulatory light imaginable.
Of course, it gets intense. It’s uncomfortable to read about how a medical professional regards his patients and to be faced with a lack of compassion that we typically expect doctors to have, but that’s also a story that has to be told. As people who are not surgeons, many of us just choose to place our confidence in the doctors that we’re told to have faith in. It’s interesting to then be placed on the other side of the looking glass and forced to confront the unspoken truths that we try to avoid thinking about, and Marsh makes for a funny and sardonic guide. Elaborating on how there’s almost a certain necessary level of sociopathy that brain surgeons need in order to be able to stomach operating on such uncertain cases, he also takes time to regard his colleagues who aren’t in neurosurgery with what feels like a sense of envy, love, and respect, saying that they were much too nice to ever succeed in his field.
As somebody who reads a lot of non-fiction, I also always appreciate when the writing style opts for being accesible instead of being ridiculously indulgent (we get it guys, you’re smart and have a lot to say blah blah). This is a book that I would be comfortable recommending to most people, in part because of how conversational Marsh’s writing is but mostly for the gripping content.
Of course, it gets intense. It’s uncomfortable to read about how a medical professional regards his patients and to be faced with a lack of compassion that we typically expect doctors to have, but that’s also a story that has to be told. As people who are not surgeons, many of us just choose to place our confidence in the doctors that we’re told to have faith in. It’s interesting to then be placed on the other side of the looking glass and forced to confront the unspoken truths that we try to avoid thinking about, and Marsh makes for a funny and sardonic guide. Elaborating on how there’s almost a certain necessary level of sociopathy that brain surgeons need in order to be able to stomach operating on such uncertain cases, he also takes time to regard his colleagues who aren’t in neurosurgery with what feels like a sense of envy, love, and respect, saying that they were much too nice to ever succeed in his field.
As somebody who reads a lot of non-fiction, I also always appreciate when the writing style opts for being accesible instead of being ridiculously indulgent (we get it guys, you’re smart and have a lot to say blah blah). This is a book that I would be comfortable recommending to most people, in part because of how conversational Marsh’s writing is but mostly for the gripping content.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Terminal illness, Cancer, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Grief, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Medical content, and Mental illness
Moderate: Suicide, Fatphobia, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Alcoholism, and Drug use