(book review)

Life is not always good and happy. Sometimes, even the most experienced professionals can make mistakes. Sometimes, even “human heroes” can do nothing. The book “Do no harm: stories of life, death and brain surgery” is exactly about how variable life can be. Author, Henry Marsh, the star of world neurosurgery, tells us about his experience. He is a hero from time to time, but he is also a loser in other situations.

The first time I found this book was 6 years ago. I decided to skip school and go to the bookish café, At that time, I wanted to become a forensic expert, so when I saw a medical nonfiction book, I decided to read it a little… and didn`t notice how two hours had passed. The language and the stories captivated me completely. The entire text is imbued with sarcasm and irony, which is really like a coping mechanism for saving your brain when you are a doctor.

The book is not big, its only three hundred pages. And through all these pages we see stories from Henry Marshs life. Most of them are about his work with patients, but there are also some about his family and moments when he, the well-respected doctor, becomes one of the patients.

Maybe one of the most beautiful things in this book, why Im in love with it, is that Mr. Marsh doesnt tell us dry facts, all his stories are filled with love and excitement about his work. From the very beginning, we understand how deeply in love he is with neurosurgery. Just listen to how he describes one of his operations: “This moment still fascinates me. I feel like a medieval knight, riding a horse, going in search of a fabulous monster. The appearance of the brain is fascinating – brighter, more expressive, much more perfect than the surrounding world…” And all these exciting words are combined with scientific terms, which makes the book even more thrilling, cause you find out a lot of new information.

This book is unique, because the author does not try to look perfect; he is only telling the truth. He is trying to show in this book, that “Doctors are the same people as everyone else. Many things that happen in hospitals are the result of a game of fate; success or failure is often beyond the control of the doctors.” And his honest stories about his mistakes or situations when he could not do anything to help, even if wanted, makes you look at medicine and surgeons in a slightly different way.

In conclusion, my rating for this book is 9.5 out of 10. I want to recommend it to anyone who loves medical topics. I am sure that you will be as delighted with the book as I am. BUT, in the book there are many detailed brain dissection scenes, so please consider this fact before reading.

With love, Natalia