Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death, and Brain Surgery
Ratings14
Average rating3.9
15
Ratings14
Average rating3.9
A New York Times Bestseller Shortlisted for both the Guardian First Book Prize and the Costa Book Award Longlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction A Finalist for the Pol Roger Duff Cooper Prize A Finalist for the Wellcome Book Prize A Financial Times Best Book of the Year An Economist Best Book of the Year A Washington Post Notable Book of the Year What is it like to be a brain surgeon? How does it feel to hold someone's life in your hands, to cut into the stuff that creates thought, feeling, and reason? How do you live with the consequences of performing a potentially lifesaving operation when it all goes wrong? In neurosurgery, more than in any other branch of medicine, the doctor's oath to "do no harm" holds a bitter irony. Operations on the brain carry grave risks. Every day, leading neurosurgeon Henry Marsh must make agonizing decisions, often in the face of great urgency and uncertainty. If you believe that brain surgery is a precise and exquisite craft, practiced by calm and detached doctors, this gripping, brutally honest account will make you think again. With astonishing compassion and candor, Marsh reveals the fierce joy of operating, the profoundly moving triumphs, the harrowing disasters, the haunting regrets, and the moments of black humor that characterize a brain surgeon's life. Do No Harm provides unforgettable insight into the countless human dramas that take place in a busy modern hospital. Above all, it is a lesson in the need for hope when faced with life's most difficult decisions.
Reviews with the most likes.
I don't think I have ever cried so much while reading a non-fiction book.
Side note: My Kindle told me to review this book after finishing it. Seeing as I am now having to write this on Goodreads I can safely say, Amazon you suck.
Neurosurgery has been my favorite specialty since I delved into the world of medicine. I was initially fascinated by how neurons functioned, astonished at the idea that chemistry and physics were influencing our thoughts. All of this led me to appreciate the incredible complexity of life (There is even an excerpt from the book that discusses this).
This book sustains my admiration for our most remarkable system. Each chapter explores either a past injury or a potential one. Mr. Marsh's thoughtfulness, coupled with the realistic portrayal of challenges, enhances the credibility of the narrative. It demonstrates how to apply effective medical practices on a daily basis, taking into account the desires of the patient and making decisions based on the best available evidence. The inclusion of disease and condition titles with etymology in each chapter heightened my expectations.
If you have the opportunity to listen to the audiobook, I highly recommend it. Jim Barcly's British accent adds an extra layer of authenticity to the narrative.
I enjoyed this, but I think the summary does this book a disservice. It's not really about hope, it's more one man's struggle to provide adequate healthcare in a system designed to fight you the entire way. Unless you find bureaucracy hopeful, I guess.
There's not really much to summarize here. Henry Marsh was a neurosurgeon within the NHS, and while I'm not familiar with the name, I gather he was a pretty good one too. This book is him looking back on his career, highlighting some of the more notable cases along the way, while also providing insight and philosophizing about the many rules and regulations set up ostensibly to improve care, but really were just to cut costs and make things more difficult. He does quite a bit of ruminating on the cases that didn't go so well, and it's refreshing to see someone confront and admit their mistakes, especially when they're as impactful as these were. Nobody's perfect.
I guess the only thing that bothered me a little about this book is that it hops around so much, even within chapters. It isn't told sequentially/chronologically, but rather case-by-case, and even within the case he sometimes goes back and forth in time discussing various related points/stories. I didn't mind so much because I enjoyed what he had to say on whatever he was talking about, but someone else who better appreciates a linear story might have problems.
All in all, a very readable, enjoyable book.
