Drawn to true stories of challenge and triumph, especially if they are set in a medical milieu? Care about improving the health care system? Love good writing that makes you stop and think about your own life? In this series, I'll share some of my favourite and most thought-provoking books on health, healing, and the system around it all. If you are lucky enough to have a local independent bookseller, please consider sourcing these books directly.
A gripping and troubling story of a young journalist’s descent into what looks like madness and epilepsy. In a matter of days, Susannah Cahalan went from being one of the most promising new writers at the New York Post to being a violent, psychotic, “difficult” patient—until one particular doctor took the time to consider all the symptoms and to talk directly to her.
An ICU nurse leaves the hospital to explore the world of homecare—tending to people where they live—and found it to be exciting, challenging, fulfilling and fascinating. Comparing the homecare world to what she perceives as the world of waste and excessive use of technology, the author asks a series of provocative questions, all starting with ‘why’.
This is a wonderful collection of stories put together by a wide variety of staff who work for Kaiser Permanente. The stories capture experiences which have both touched and transformed these providers and helped them understand the importance of listening, serving and understanding.
Even being the CEO of KPMG, one of the world’s largest accounting firms, couldn’t keep Eugene O’Kelly from a sudden diagnosis of brain cancer. This is his unforgettable story of the four months between his diagnosis and death—the choices he made about how to use his time and energy, and his reflections on life, love, success, and the search for meaning.