Very human memoir from a neurosurgeon nearing retirement who tells stories from his experiences of doing (and deciding against) brain surgery. He’s expressive, emotional and even poetic about the beauty and hardship of neurosurgery: p.8 “There is a fine, surgical poetry to (the names of the parts of the brain) which, combined with the beautiful optics of a modern, counterbalanced microscope, makes (pineal gland tumor surgery) one of the most wonderful of neurosurgical operations – if all goes well, that is.” p. 14, observing his first brain surgery: “I had the strange feeling that this was what I had wanted to do all my life … it was love at first sight.” p.25: “I have not yet lost that naive enthusiasm with which I watched that first aneurysm operation 30 years ago. I feel like a medieval knight mounting his horse and setting off in pursuit of a mythical beast.” Marsh also recreates many conversations with patients, giving his own emotional backstory – “His anxiety made me more nervous as I tried to reassure him” “I wasn’t sure she was really taking seriously the risks of the operation, but in the end it was her decision.” He’s brutally honest about his own shortcomings and failures, breaking down the barrier between physicians and patients in healthy and illuminating ways.
Chapters are short and self-contained, making it easy to assign 10-12 pps for a topical reading in many kinds of courses: interpersonal communication, relationships, health communication, medical student life. The particular conditions recede in importance; what matters are the human beings, their relationships, communication and love for medicine. This is well-written enough to be a model for creative writing courses.
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Details
Language: English
Type of Story: Book
Medium: written
Contributed by: Health Story Hub Team ( health-storyhub@uiowa.edu )
Citation:
Marsh, H. (2014). Do no harm: Stories of life, death and brain surgery. Weidenfeld & Nicolson.