Date of Completion: 16/02/21
‘Do No Harm’ is a staple in lists of recommended reading for prospective medics as it offers an insight into the humanity of doctors. The book is centred around the medical speciality of neurosurgery as this is the role of its author, Henry Marsh.
Each chapter is named after a particular word or medical term and followed with an accompanying definition. For the most part, the word was a neurological condition and was often linked to the story set to unfold in the chapter. This was an attribute of the book that I loved as someone with an interest in neurology.
Angor animi – the sense of being in the act of dying, differing from the fear of death or the desire for death.
The pacing of the book varied from chapter to chapter depending on the story being covered. This meant there were chapters I tore through, as I was fascinated by the story being told. Other chapters, I struggled to complete in one sitting as the stories were not particularly intriguing.
There were also stories which surprised me, particularly those dealing with healthcare systems in foreign countries and breaking bad news (such as in Chapters 5 & 11). They made me pause and reflect on what I can learn from the scenario and how to apply it to my life.
It can be very difficult to find the balance between optimism and realism
Perhaps the advent of more recent medical books such as ‘This is gonna hurt‘ (check out Just JJ’s review) mean that I have come to expect a certain level of comedic input, but this was lacking in ‘Do No harm’. Whilst I enjoyed the read, I did not always feel a pull to pick it up. It felt more like a collection of sometimes fragmented stories rather than a smooth journey or introduction to the humanity of medicine. Overall, I thought it was alright – not bad, not great – 3 stars.
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