A review by eleanor_t
You Can Stop Humming Now: A Doctor's Stories of Life, Death, and in Between by Daniela Lamas

2.0

Maybe it's me. I stopped reading this book about 2 anecdotes in. It's like romance/suspense books--so few authors do it as well as Mary Stewart, that they're just not worth reading. Having inhaled (over and over) Oliver Sacks' and Atul Gawande's books, this one is just.not.there. IMO, she could be, someday. There's talent here--it's a gift to not only be able to retain the humanity of medicine, but also to be able to convey it to laypeople in ways that demonstrate the poignancy without the sheer terror that comes with so much illness. IMO, she needed a more ruthless editor. The stories I read were repetitive in some of their content; they need tightening. But there is also this: I'm too old and jaded in healthcare to bring the appropriate level of awe to these stories. I found myself critiquing the actual plans of care... ye gods. Spare me that. So, give it a go. You may love it. I may try again another time. She should keep writing, but be ruthless in her editing.