Henry Marsh (2) (1950–)

This book focuses on how the doctor becomes a patient himself with advanced stage prostate cancer. In general, most medical professionals make the worst patients and I can make this declaration as a medical professional myself. There always a struggle with the vulnerability of being the patient after years of helping others. It's easier to see the struggles in others probably more so to avoid acknowledging our own issues.

I understand Dr Marsh's mindset of thinking like a doctor after retirement and then as a patient. It's not just an occupation but a part of your identity. I don't think it necessary for me to read his other books to understand that this one is deeply reflective on his unique and unexpected position in life as a cancer patient. There are many advances in medicine over the years and being a patient allows a perspective that one might not otherwise imagine. Denial is a powerful coping mechanism which ultimately fails us in the end. Although, I found his writing to be overanalytical I respect his dedication and need to share his life experience. I have read many books about the transformation that can occur when a doctor, particularly a surgeon, becomes a cancer patient. There is a tremendous amount of humility knowing that we all share the same destiny.

I know my review is rather critical but I did say that medical professionals make the worst patients as well as critical thinkers.

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for allowing me access to this digital book for review. I provide an honest and unbiased review. All opinions are expressly my own.… (mehr)

An odd book describing in detail brain surgery operations with risky outcomes, and the experience of the surgeon behind the work. The person, author, is by far a perfect human but is forced to act in a role that is beyond the everyday, and expect to be responsible for all sorts of trouble for his patients as alternative to death. You get something strange from this book, a sense of big themes of life, how culture handles them, the humanity of disease and the strange machine that wraps around the medical profession.… (mehr)

I found Marsh's book captivating, though sometimes hard to read. Not just because the stories he tells deal with the harsh reality of life-threatening conditions but because witnessing his flawed actions is, frankly, off-putting. We all want to think of doctors, and surgeons in particular, as being infallible paragons of virtue and perfect decision-making. Yet, recognizing they're as human and flawed as the rest of us is terrifying.

My favourite chapter was the last one, where Marsh described his views on death, end-of-life care, and what it really means to die "a good death." I also appreciated his take on practicing medicine in Nepal. The parts set in Ukraine were more challenging to read - perhaps because I was born in Romania, and some of the descriptions hit a little too close to home.

Overall, I found this a complex, interesting, thought-provoking book, one I'm glad to have read.… (mehr)