When I found this book, I was very excited to take part in a neurosurgeon's seven years of residence. It's an easy and fairly short read, which discusses various stages of residency and various types of neurosurgery, interspersed with the author's biographical anecdotes and remembrances. Some stories are sad, some funny, some weird, but they're all interesting. The narrative does jump around quite a bit, and it's not the deepest of stories (don't expect a neurosurgery version of Oliver Sacks), but absolutely enjoyable if you have an interest in "doctor books." Note, though, that this is primarily about a neurosurgeon's life, so if you want descriptions of cases and patient follow-up, you'll want to try something else.

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Tofu will never look the same again after reading this novel. That is because the author, Katrina Firlik, compares the consistency of brain matter to tofu.

Having been relatively healthy my entire life, I don't have much inside knowledge on the inner workings of a hospital. I thought this book would be an interesting way to find out more. It ended up being a charming memoir, that at times was quite gripping.

The novel is very well written, and was an absolute breeze to read. This took me by surprise, as it is a book about neurosurgery. An impressive first novel from the author, I eagerly await her next.

I don't know about you, but I find myself running to WebMD every time I have a headache, and then self diagnosing myself with some deadly ailment. I also love to watch the Discovery Health channel. Especially shows like "Mystery Diagnosis" or "Trauma: Life in the E.R.". It comes as no surprise that my favorite prime time drama is "Grey's Anatomy". It is absolutely fascinating to see these obscure medical cases, and how the doctors work to resolve them. People must trust their lives in their doctors hands. In the midst of a life changing medical crisis a patient must have faith in a total stranger.

This book gives a glimpse into the lives of surgeons. They are people just like you and me. Although what the patient is facing may be life altering for them, we find that more often than not, its not life altering for the doctors. It is purely their job. The decisions they make are with their heads, not their hearts. Part of becoming a doctor is learning how to keep their hearts from interfering with their heads, as we learn in this novel.

The author is very confident in her ability and skill within her field. She is one of less than 5000 neurosurgeons in the country, less than 5% of which are female. Although her confidence can be construed as cockiness at times, my general impression of her was in a positive light.

Whats it about?

Katrina Firlik is a talented and highly esteemed neurosurgeon. She writes this memoir of her time post-medical school. The tales span nearly a decade, covering her time as an intern, all the way to Chief Resident of Neurosurgery at a prestigious Connecticut Hospital. The novel is filled with cases she encountered, each one as interesting and amazing as the last. She also briefly covers the history of Neurosurgery as well as the future, which features "brainlifts". You have to read it to believe it!

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Firlik reveals how she became and neurosurgeon and why. Her writing illustrate her contempt for drunk drivers, smokers and those who choose not to wear safety belts. She has managed to beautifully adapt to seeing heart-breaking cases day in and day out.

some favorite passages;

"I do understand the emotions of those who would oppose such use of rodents in medical research, but I am swayed far more by the emotions of a family gathered around the bedside of a stroke victim, wondering why nothing more could be done.

Our journals are roughly divided into two major sections: clinical papers, based on real patients, and laboratory research papers, which are often laced with super-specialized jargon. The latter is the less popular section. I had an interesting conversation with the editor of one of these esteemed neurosurgery journals several years ago. He admitted that even he didn’t understand many of the laboratory research papers, but they certainly looked impressive in the journal, and that was important.

While the hospital became my home during the worst stretches of my residency, even the smallest forays out into society got me all excited. I absolutely loved going to the grocery store. Here were all sorts of people around me, not immediately worried about their health, exercising their freedom to walk up and down the aisles with no care other than what type of ice cream they wanted to buy. That was beautiful.

It’s clear that the brain can accommodate quite nicely to the overbearing presence of a malformation, but can the mind be trained to accommodate just as well? When inaction is the best action, how do you prevent fear itself from becoming an illness? Does the fear simply wear out, or does it have to be forced out?

Most people believe in religious teachings simply because they were brought up with them from an early age, not because they critically examine the fundamentals and concluded that they made sense. Culture and tradition often trump good common sense. From the view-point of a Nature-based believer, then, traditional religion can lead to false hope or false comfort starting at an early age. Think of the ramifications. How many people sell themselves short on life because they expect great things after death? Life is not a dress rehearsal. You have to enjoy it, make the most of it, while your neurons are still buzzing with live connections.

At first I was incredulous—the explanation was too simple—but then I realized that it all made sense. If you mess with a kid’s sleep every night, year after year, she’s going to become a certain type of person. The disease will actually mold her. If you fix the disease, then the true person, submerged for so long in a fog of seizures and chronic sleep deprivation, can finally blossom into her true self. ( )

The book had some interesting bits here and there, but there was very little detail about the patient's lives, which would have made it much more engrossing. ( )

Dr. Firlik tells of becoming a neurosurgeon, why she chose that specialty, and stories of patients she treated. Although it is sometimes a bit gory, it is interesting to hear about the medical school and residency process and to have some better information about the brain itself and how it behaves. Ethical questions, medical choices, stress, the decision-making process, and so on are all part of the story. ( )