Archive for February 2016
Decline: Unsafe At Any Speed
I’m rereading Atul Gawande’s wonderful book Being Mortal, in preparation for a panel discussion that I’m participating in this April. Gawande talks about the decline that everyone undergoes as they advance in age, and how at some point, the decline simply overwhelms our ability to adapt, and we can no longer care for ourselves. I’ve…
Read MoreTwo Literary Lights Go Dark
Friday was a day of loss in the world of literature with the deaths of Harper Lee and Umberto Eco. Lee was the famously reclusive author of one of the world’s most beloved novels, To Kill A Mockingbird, which skyrocketed to the top of the bestseller list and became an award-winning motion picture almost immediately.…
Read MoreWhat’s Hurricane Got To Do With It?
My second novel, Back Side Of A Hurricane, is currently being shopped to publishers. When people ask me about it, I usually hear something like, “Oh, it isn’t about medicine? I thought you wrote medical stories.” Well, no–I write stories. Some are medical, some not. “Hurricane” is primarily about the relationship between fathers and their…
Read MoreThe Verities Are The Purview Of The Humanities
Dr. Paul Kalanathi was a successful neurosurgeon when, at the age of 35, he learned he had metastatic lung cancer. As he made the transformation from doctor to patient, he recorded his thoughts and feelings about what the journey through health care toward death meant for him. His book, When Breath Becomes Air, is receiving…
Read MoreFacing An Uncertain Future
I spent the last few days teaching a group of physicians who have made the commitment to acquire an advanced degree in business administration, in order to better face the challenges of the future of healthcare delivery in America. As if the rapid changes in science and technology did not present enough difficulties to busy…
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