5 comments about Ice Bound: A Doctor's Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole.

1. The book was worth every penny and it was sent in a timely manner.



2. This book is the story of Dr. Nielsen's time working at the south pole. It is full of anecdotes of everyday events that gave me a feeling for what life must be like in such a remote place.
   
   It reminded me a lot of science fiction and especially Kim Stanley Robinson's Red Mars. Robinson has another book on Antarctica that is said to be very similar to Red Mars. It's uncanny how similar Dr. Nielsen's account is to science fiction stories about space colonization.
   
   Maybe the idea of life on the frontier brings out these themes. The difficulty of life makes people work together and abandon some of the petty problems from home. That gives people a new perspective on the culture of their home.
   
   This story also made me consider how psychologically hard cancer must be. Dr. Nielsen says being in Antarctica in some ways made it easier because she didn't have to deal with daily ups and downs as the results of many tests came back. They only had the most basic diagnostic equipment in Antarctica.
   
   Nielsen is honest about her fear of her illness and the pain of being alienated from her kids. Although it's unlikely because of her history of cancer, I hope the powers that be approve her for more work in remote locations.



3. This book provides the "behind the scenes" details of the experience of Jerri Nielsen who was diagnosed with and forced to treat her own breast cancer using non-medical personnel while she was the only doctor stationed at the South Pole during polar winter. Much of the book is about her experience of life at the pole and her relationships with her fellow "Polies".
   
   As someone who began reading this with very little knowledge of the South Pole station, I most enjoyed the information about what life is like there for the brave and crazy folks who opt to winter-over at the coldest place on earth. They are unreachable by even the most advanced aviation because jet fuel turns to Jell-o in the horrifically cold weather they experience. It was interesting to hear description of what they wore, where they slept, how they kept warm, how they entertained themselves and how they remained connected to the outside world. At the time of Dr. Nielsen's employment (1999), they only had a satellite available for a few hours a day to exchange emails and contact with their friends and family. One interesting tidbit of information, while then-President Clinton visited New Zealand all usage of the satellite was reserved for him. I know so much about this because the book includes many emails. These are edited for length but otherwise replicated in their entirety. It becomes tiresome to read other people's email including To, From, Subject etc., but in some ways provides the only true insight the book offers into the experience.
   
   My personal response to this book is that I just don't feel that Dr. Nielsen is a reliable narrator about her personal or interior life. Whether this is her fault or that of her co-author, I cannot say. I felt that she chose to take a stance as both victim and hero as opposed to just a regular old person in a horrible situation. Her descriptions of her relationships with her estranged children and ex-husband strike me as disproportionately favorable to her as do the descriptions of her childhood, parents etc. It may not be true that she considers herself either a victim or hero, but that is what I felt the "voice" used in the book implied. It feels somehow like she is being less than honest about her internal experience of the events described or rather that her level of honesty and experience has somehow been retarded so that she is having the emotional experiences that someone would normally have much earlier in their life than at 47 years old. When compared to a memoir written by someone like Mary Karr or Jeannette Walls or even Roseanne Barr, there is a noticeable lack of honest reflection and self-awareness that should have been addressed by an editor or the co-author who, one assumes, is a professional writer. There was a great deal of telling in a narrative that should have been laden with insight, feeling and action. This absence is particularly noticeable when reading the emails from Dr. Nielsen's oncologist, Dr. Kathy Miller, which are filled with empathy, decency and passion. They give her a distinct "self" that no other person in the book has including Dr. Nielsen herself.
   
   I can only recommend this book as an introduction to life at the South Pole. I intend to find other, better books to increase my knowledge of that fascinating place and the people who work there.



4. Jerri Nielsen's Ice Bound came highly recommended to me. While it initially began well, it soon became obvious that the author had a lot of growing up to do. Unfortunately, the South Pole experience didn't seem to speed up the process. She is so caught up in her interpretation of events that she fails to understand or see what others are telling or showing her. I wonder if this is at the core of her family problems. The final straw for me was after reading her doctor's email assuring her that her chances for longevity were still very possible, and she immediately writes to her own family and tells them just the opposite. The fact that she had the nerve to continue scaring her family and misrepresent the doctor's analysis made me lose any sympathy I might have had for her. Jerri's mom, however, must be quite a lady, as evident by her remarks comparing her daughter's perspective on her ice family to cult. Now, I'd like to read a book about her mom, but forget the daughter!



5. I was prepared to love this, but ended up disliking it for several reasons.
   
   Her voice is gruff and sounded good at first, but the pacing and reading started grating on my nerves by the end of the second CD. Like most cases, it would have been better to hire a professional reader.
   
   More importantly, I felt Dr. Nielson is an extremely emotionally immature person. She rails against her ungrateful children who "abandoned" her and her sociopathic ex-husband (who supposedly stranged a dog in front of her, and used to drive against traffic to intimidate her). At the same time, she paints herself as an innocent, noting only briefly she had an affair because she basically emotionally had to....of course, this sounds a bit crazy. Even assuming what she says about her husband is true, any time someone is hooked up with psychos for decades, something is a little wrong with them, too. I felt her complaints about her ex and children made her look worse and made me question her own emotional stability.
   
   At the same time, she describes her adventures at the Pole the same way I think a teenager would. She struck me as self absorbed, narcissistic and dramatic. There appears to be an enormous amount of socializing there, with all sorts of stupid parties all the time, movie nights, coffee clatches, etc. Also, I kid you not when I say that every single person and almost every single room, city, area, and numerous objects, etc. at the Pole has an annoying nickname. Another example? She develops an overt crush on someone married and doesn't hide it.
   
   Finally, I had thought she actually did the lumpectomy herself. All she does is a needle biopsy!!! I have experienced a breast needle biopsy and while I certainly had the benefit of a topical anesthetic (which I don't think she did), it was not a big deal. After that, she is air dropped chemo, and then does IVs of chemo, with assistance via satellite each time, and a friend to help do it. Then, she is airlifted out.
   
   Frankly, the pilots who air dropped the chemo and then airlifted her out (at the earliest, coldest time the pole had ever been flown to) are the real heroes here.
   
   If you want to read about self medical procedures, I would suggest the kid who cut his right arm off while hiking in Utah. I haven't read it but I saw the Tom Brokaw special about it, and it was very solid. It's interesting how the parents ultimately found the kid....

No comments about The Fertility Doctor: John Rock and the Reproductive Revolution.

5 comments about Song of Haiti.

1. Song of Haiti is an absolutely awesome book! As a nurse who has done mission work in Haiti, I found this book authentic, a true inspiration, as well as a compelling, indepth view of the lives of many dedicated and compassionate people. Barry Paris' work describes the country and the people in beautiful and fullfilling language. Oftentimes, I felt as if I were in Haiti again experiencing the amazing, hard-working and loving people of the country. I've never before read a biography with such griping prose. I looked forward to my time to read because I became more and more interested in the life of every person described - be it Dr. Mellon and Gwen or Albert Schweitzer, or the nurses and doctors and friends with whom they shared their lives. I believe this is the way that biographical work should be written. Song of Haiti is thorough in that it covers the entirety of Dr. Mellon's life, touching on his downfalls as well as his high acheivements. I found that the realism with which the story is told is excellent and believable. The many everyday encounters and adventures are interesting and mesmerizing - it makes a person want to travel and experience the third world for all of the beauty and intensity it offers. I recommend this book to everyone, regardless of your interest in medicine, mission work, or biography. It is amazing.



2. The book has two distinct sections. The first 100 pages is a report on the Mellon family lifestyle, and how a rich maverick Mellon got to Haiti. The rest of the book details Dr. and Mrs. Mellon's founding of a hospital and civil engineering projects in central Haiti.
   An important finding is that the Mellon's hospital was founded on the humanitarian premise, "Reverence for life." Taken from Dr. Sweitzer's work in Africa, life refers not only to human life, but also plant and animal. This little detail is critical to understanding the book. Many missions to Haiti are Christian, while Dr. Mellon's hospital is distinctly humanistic primarily as presented in the book.
   As all books on Haiti fairly present, doing anything in Haiti is hard, and without American financial support, very little work done lasts. The hospital Dr. Mellon founded did well as long as he provided two of the four million dollars needed to run it. His civil engineering projects, in which he was much more interested than medicine (he actually only practiced medicine 3 years), all crumbled when turned over to the Haitians. Many other cottage industries met the same fate.
   The book thus captures the Haitian dilemna, how to serve in Haiti and lift up the Haitians to be self sufficient. If Dr. Mellon's millions couldn't do it, how can any of us with less money at our disposal. Never the less, we go to Haiti because we cannot not go, nor can we not go back after going once.
   An excellent book about how a real rich guy did his best to follow his heart, not his accountant's advice, and another book about how a strong wife really does the grunt work while her husband plays with big boy's toys.



3. The life of William Larimer Mellon is an example of the life Americans should dream for themselves and those they love dearly. For one who majored in biology and gave it up for 18 years in auditing the paralells to Mellon's change of career and motivations struck me deeply. On witnessing the WTC disaster personally (a few hundred yards away) man should strive for something in life and go for it. Barry Paris well written account of a life inspired by Dr. Schweitzer is highly recommended to all readers committed to God and American morals and values. If readers have a noble vision the price of this book is totally insiginificant to the highest rewards you will gather from reading it.



4. Truly an engaging read that reminds us that we can choose to turn our lives around at any time. Larimer Mellon did just that at age 37, first going to medical school, then founding a hospital in Deschapelles, Haiti, that is running to this very day. The author does well to follow their project and show how their lives were intertwined by others similarly interested in Albert Schweitzer's ethos. This idea of "Reverence for Life" has led to the existence, in the middle of poorest rural Haiti, of a thriving band of expatriates, native Haitians, short-term volunteers, and visitors of various sorts dedicated to humanistic ideals. Hospital Albert Schweitzer lives on, and you can be a part of it if you choose.



5. Having just finished reading Song of Haiti, I can say that Larry and Gwen Mellon were great Americans whose work should be better known and widely honored...on American streets, on our stamps, on our money. We should all be proud to stand on a hilltop and scream, "at least one over-privileged American did the right thing!"
   
   It's interesting to contrast Larry Mellon with George W. Bush, who was born with a similar set of privileges. Both men were products of wealthy northeastern families; both men were drawn to the rugged simplicity of the western cowboy lifestyle as a sort of antidote to the culture of the northeastern establishment.
   
   But the similarities end there. After fulfilling his cowboy phase, Mellon turned the page, studied tropical medicine, and spent over thirty years improving the lives of the people of Haiti. In addition to building a great hospital, he used his ranching knowledge to build wells and irrigation systems throughout the Artibonite Valley. Bush by contrast more or less grew up a cowboy, then applied a certain brand of cowboy thinking to national and international politics.
   
   It's shocking that Mellon's contributions are not better known. Let's hope that every time someone is crazy enough to want to name an airport or freeway after George W. Bush, it gets named instead after Larimer Mellon, the real national hero.

No comments about Curandero: A Life in Mexican Folk Healing.

4 comments about Climb Back from Cancer: A Survivor and Caregiver's Inspirational Journey.

1. Whether it's cancer your fighting, or another of lifes challenges, this book is an inspiration to take control of the issue and work it through to success. These authors have dug deep to recollect their inner feelings while journeying together to the edge and back. This book is a an easy conversational read giving valuable view points of the patient and care-giver. Don't just buy it for yourself, give it to someone you care about.



2. This impact of this book and the hope it can give to both patients and loved ones is breathtaking.



3. This fascinating book, written by Alan Hobson (a leukemia survivor) and his wife and caregiver, Cecilia Hobson, is a must read for cancer patients and their caregivers. What helps make this book unique are the analogies Alan makes between his battle with cancer and his three attempts to climb Mt. Everest - a goal he reached on his last attempt.
   The authors alternate writing chapters describing their very personal responses to Alan's life-threatening illness. The result is an inspirational, educational and very well written account which includes 10 Tools for Survivors and 10 Tools for Caregivers. These tools could be helpful to those facing any life-threatening illness.
   
   (Submitted by Dr. Al Ritsema, retired University Counseling Psychologist and primary caregiver for his wife, Wilma, a survivor of a major stroke in 1996)



4. For many, the thought of cancer seems like an insurmountable obstacle. This book tells of two people who refused to believe that could be true.
   
   Anger, fear, sadness, joy and love are all integral characters in this story. This is truly one of the most inspirational stories I've ever read.

5 comments about Cradled All the While: The Unexpected Gifts of a Mother's Death.

1. As the author of this beautifully written book says, "The curtain between life and death is a gossamer veil." With insight and honesty, Sara Corse gazes through this gossamer veil as she recounts her experiences caring for her mother, dying of cancer. Part memoir, part reflection on the meaning of life and death, this book mainly gives a moving account of her mother's last months, but through the use of flashbacks and discursions, Corse shows how the tenderness and pain of this final illness are woven into the larger complexities of a mother-daughter relationship. Corse understands the anguish of losing a parent in the context of her own sometimes anguished struggle for a personal identity and a meaningful faith. For those facing the death of a loved one, this book will be a comfort and a help. For anyone seeking understanding in the presence of the mystery of death, this book will be a deep river of wisdom.



2. I found this to be a beautifully written book. To be able to take care of the dying is a tremendous gift, a blessing, and Sara found unexpected grace and healing in it. I found it only made me appreciate my mother even more. I wanted to tell her how important it was to me to be able to take care of her now that she is older, and she mustn't prevent me from doing so. If your relationship with your mom is troubled, all the more reason to read this book. Most of us don't want to face the inevitable, but when we do, some surprising things can happen. An excellent book for anyone with a mother...particularly someone in midlife with an older parent. Thank you Sara, for this book.



3. When I recently picked up this book again to re-read it, what I remembered best about it were the author's impressive honesty and the insights that gave me into my relations with my own mother.
   
   This time I was struck by how gracefully she handles the language and tells her story. Ever since my Jane Austen kick a few years ago I have found myself putting down books that I believed had something to say because I didn't like the way they were saying it. Not so here. This book is thought-provoking, and it is also a pleasure to read (but not if you're looking for something light-hearted!). I think it would appeal to a wider audience than those especially drawn to it for its focus on grief and on mother-daughter relations. I hope the author will write more.



4. "My mother's final gift to me was given when she was beyond believing that she had anything left to offer anyone, and was received when I was long past expecting anything from her." Thus ends the prologue to the author's moving personal account of her mother's cancer experience, and the way in which the illness transformed their relationship over time. In this memoir, Dr. Corse intertwines flashbacks from her own life with the unfolding story of her mother's illness, illuminating the complex web of family relationships within which she struggles to understand and cope with her mother's dying. Memoirs about personal loss run the risk of leaving the reader feeling depleted or emotionally manipulated. Dr. Corse's book does neither. Her book is about the redemptive and transformative power of caring for a dying parent, leaving the reader feeling hopeful and inspired. This book is for anyone with a disappointing relationship with a parent who has died or is dying, and for everyone who seeks grace and healing in their relationships throughout life. The reader's guide, available free at www.councilforrelationships.org/articles/staying-centered_2-20-06.htm, offers a vehicle for reflecting on and discussing the book's themes related to dying, caring, and healing. The guide is organized according to topic, referencing specific sections in the book, and contains thought-provoking questions suitable for book clubs and for students in psychology, psychiatry, pastoral counseling, social work, nursing, and religion.



5. This book is a moving account of Sara Corse's mother's death not as a moment in time, but as a culmination of life's journey. It is wonderful to see someone be able to look past the stress and burden of caring for a dying person and realize the emotional rewards. Sara is down to earth about her and her mother's relationship and demonstrates that you do not need a perfect relationship to fully appreciate one another. There are many ways that this book can touch the reader: daughters can relate to the many dimensions of a mother-daughter relationship; caregivers can be inspired by Sara's fortitude; those who lost a loved one can learn a way to fill a void. Death is a very difficult subject to discuss and the fact that this book presents it in such a beautiful way is a gift in itself.

5 comments about Reasonable People: A Memoir of Autism and Adoption: On the Meaning of Family and the Politics of Neurological Difference.

1. This book will bring tears of acknowledgement and smiles of joy for those families who grapple with some of the these same issues. I truly believe the universe brings certain people together......Ralph, Emily, and DJ are three of those. It is time the world changes the perception of competence and what can be accomplished in believing that, right from the beginning. Ralph is a talented, thoughtful writer, and our family thanks him, and all the Savarese family for opening their lives up for this incredible story.



2. This is a brilliant, moving memoir that I would recommend to any reader. Despite the seriousness of its topics, this is a page-turner that you will not be able to put down (I read it non-stop in two days, as did my mother!). As someone with no experience or knowledge of autism, I found Savarese's book to be incredibly informative on many levels and lucidly written. But more than that, Reasonable People asks provocative questions about how we define family, community, and inclusion.
   
   A must read!



3. Savarese's book on autism is a paradigm-altering read. In this memoir he recalls all that went through the transition of his young adopted boy as a noncumunicative "thing" (as seen by society), to a poetic activist. This book is more than a history of one family, it is also a commentary on our foster care system, how we treat those with disabilities and our education system. It also discusses the difficulty in changing scientific paradigms.
   
   Although Savarese's prose and simile often get in the way - making the reading more difficult as you try to decipher some of the esoteric analogies - they are often very humorous, in a story filled with the tragedy of a boy tossed into society's dumpster. It is a story of sexual abuse, physical abuse and neglect. It is the story of a child abandoned and mistreated that is then rescued by his loving, adoptive parents. What I found very interesting about Savarese's far left agenda, is that he recognizes the problems that we have had in addressing how to care for orphaned children and that neither the left nor the right have any really good solutions. The solutions are found in the path that the Savarese's took - personal involvement and dedication to the weakest in our society.
   
   Unfortunately, after reading of the untold sacrifices made by the Savarese's, I would come to question whether any of us have the charity and strength to do what they have done.
   
   This book was difficult to put down and hard to pick up to read. The pain suffered by DJ (their autistic boy) made it difficult to pick up while the odyssey of DJ from a "non-person" to a powerful and strong advocate-kid via facilitated communication is amazing. I often felt like I was reading about an alien that had visited the earth.



4. This is a very interesting read. I am a mother of 5 children 2 of whome have autism and I have read many books on the subject. This story was like none that I have ever read before. I would have to say that the author and his wife have done the most amazing job of parenting this little boy and they must be truly wonderful people. Emily, DJ's mother must be so knowledgeable and so kind and patient. She is such an inspiration. DJ's father also impressed me, with his determination to give DJ the life he is entitled to. It is a wonderful story which touches on so many interesting and rarely spoken about topics in regard to disabilites. I was delighted to reach the end of the book and see just how much DJ had improved, and to know that the outcome of a little boy's life has been changed so dramatically for the better thanks to the kindness of two very special people.
   
   I did how ever find some of this book very hard to read, the shocking abuse that DJ suffered in foster care, before his wonderful parents adopted him - I found this very disturbing and distressing. I also felt that the author goes off on a few tangents about his theories and quotes several other authors in great detail which I found a bit boring and hard to read.
   
   Overall it was an amazing book.



5. To be sure, this book is a compelling and engaging story and you feel tremendous admiration for Savarese and his wife, in their attempts to connect with their adopted son, DJ, who is profoundly autistic. However, there is so much more in the book than just that story, and I thought much of it was distracting. The poetry quotations, the interjections about Savarese's terrible relationship with his pompous and autocratic father, the recaps of the back-and-forth exchanges with DJ's biological father and his new wife (who Savarese despises), etc. etc. I enjoyed reading this book but all in all, I felt there was just too MUCH here. It read more like a stream-of-consciousness emotional outpouring by the author than a story with an organized and compact narrative. Savarese is a brilliant man and a talented author, no doubt, but a deft editing hand was needed here, and that didn't happen. Quite a bit of the extraneous information was marginally relevant to the story, but the narrative would have been stronger without all the other "stuff" thrown in. There are amazing, poignant moments in this book - the subplot about baby Charlie just broke my heart, as a mother - but I think DJ's story would have been better served by tighter storytelling and less interjection of Saverese's own editorial opinion and personal history. Still very much worth reading, and ultimately an amazing story. I did appreciate Savarese's discussions of the frustrations and exasperations of living with DJ, alongside the discussions of the triumphs. Savarese and his wife are truly amazing individuals who could teach us all a few lessons about love and acceptance.

4 comments about I Have America Surrounded: A Biography of Timothy Leary.

1. i have america surrounded- truly a great book to read about one of the cultural icons of the 20th century



2. Harvard psychologist, LSD guru, and transhumanist pioneer Timothy Leary was found of saying, "There are 24 Timothy Leary's" and "You get the Timothy Leary you deserve." John Higg's insightful biography "I Have America Surrounded" reads like a mystery novel focusing on Timothy Leary, the fugitive. Higg's explores in depth the events of Leary's escape from prison and adventures on the run beginning in 1970 after announcing that he would face Ronald Reagan in the race for Governor of California.
   
   Unlike Robert Greenfield's recent bio-tabloid or Leary's auto-biography "Flashbacks," "I Have America Surrounded" is a much more complete story of a fascinating, flawed, and yet undeniably brilliant mind. Higgs explores the motivations, misteps, and impact of Leary's works and life with insight from many of the people who were closest to Leary at the time including Brian Barritt, Michael Horowitz, and Joanna Harcourt-Smith.
   
   If you are looking for Timothy Leary 101, this is it. I can't recommend this book highly enough and look forward to hearing reviews from other readers.



3. British biographer John Higgs draws upon previously unavailable archive of documents in "I Have America Surrounded: The Life Of Timothy Leary", new biography of Timothy Leary, the brilliant Harvard University psychologist who was one of the leading proponents of using psychedelic drugs like LSD to expand the mind's perception. A figure of controversy who has achieved an almost cult-like status in the history of the 1960s drug culture - and the man who coined the phrase `tune in, turn on, drop out' as a mantra of that era - Leary conducted research that led to changes in popular American culture as reflected in its music, cyber-culture, the Mind-Body-Soul movement, and clinical psychological profiling. Very highly recommended reading and an appropriate addition to academic and community library American Biography collections, "I Have America Surrounded" is a compelling, informed, and informative biography of one of the key figures in the `hippie' cultural movement that stamped the baby boomer coming-of-age experience on and off the college campus.



4. Unlike the Greenfield biography, this bio is told from the perspective of an insider to 21st century psychedelic culture. Higgs explores the many contributions that this flawed man made both to the methodology and history of psychedelics, but also the lasting contributions he made in the fields of psychological testing, the human potential movement, the personal computer, and the decade of the sixties.
   
   You are likely to come away from this book convinced that everything good about the sixties was due to Leary, and if it had not been for Leary that decade would have probably been a much darker and more violent time.
   
   Leary's serious flaws, the many people he disappointed, his many failures and drop-outs, and later collaboration with federal law enforcement are covered extensively. This biography is critical yet balanced, something that cannot be said of other biographies (including Leary's own).

5 comments about Mozart and the Whale: An Asperger's Love Story.

1. After seeing the movie and meeting Jerry and Mary Newport really wanted and needed the book. Usually like books over the movies. So glad to have and I am reading it right now. Good to have it.



2. "Mozart and the Whale" is the story of two people with Asperger's. Despite their areas of competence and even brilliance (Jerry and mathematics), they fail to rise above entry-level jobs such as taxi-driver, librarian assistant, cashier, etc. due to being held back by lacking normal career drive and planning, unpredictable and uncontrollable rages, inability to form normal social relationships and emotional connections, not answering the phone at times, and self-focus, as well as inappropriate job behavior.
   
   The authors take us through their early lives, meeting and marrying, splitting, and finally joining up again. The bad news is that both come close to suicide, and the good news is that they eventually find happiness together.
   
   What is the solution? Jerry suggests understanding adults during one's early life are very helpful, but that marrying Asperger's people together is not a solution - eg. the male/female ratio is about 4:1.
   
   My "frustration" with the book? That so much is lost due to a slightly different DNA, internal brain wiring and/or chemical balance.



3. 
   Very good book, well written, would recommend it to anyone who someone with autism. AAA+++



4. The best way to learn about Aspergers is from what AS people have for sharing! Jerry and Mary share their love story in a way unlike any romance novel you'll find to read. As soon as I began reading this book, I could not put it down until I finished it! It made me laugh, cry, think, and sigh. Never was I bored for even a moment!
   
   What makes this story extra special is that even though Jerry and Mary Newport are both AS people, they provide AS perspectives from their own side. Mary is much more accepting of the unique traits AS gives her than Jerry is. Regardless of this difference between them, they both can understand, appreciate, and accept each another. This is more than what they get from most other people.
   
   The book "Mozart and the Whale" is much better than the movie. The movie is entertaining but the book does a much better job of portraying what AS is like, along with it being more entertaining to read than the movie is to watch.
   
   I was blessed with the opportunity to spend some time with both Jerry and Mary Newport in person after I read their book. They were exactly as I imagined them to be. That must mean their real personalities shine through in this story!



5. This is a wonderful autobiographical account of two individuals who suffered with Aspergers all their lives and did not know what was wrong with them. They are not diagnosed until later life. These stories take us from their childhood up to present, their marriage, divorce, and remarriage. I really enjoyed this book although it was depressing at times. I was taking a class in autism and this book helped me see how much suffering a individual with autism must go through on a daily basis.

5 comments about The Man with the Iron Tattoo and Other True Tales of Uncommon Wisdom: What Our Patients Have Taught Us about Love, Faith and Healing.

1. In this book, two neurologists recall memorable cases in their practices and events in their personal lives where their patients taught them valuable lessons about life. The stories reveal very human and humorous aspects of these eminent physicians' personalities. Some of the accounts are sad, others almost incredible, and still others will have you chuckling and shaking your head. In many chapters, the spotlight shines on the patients - not on the doctors. This is a unique book with stories you will want to share with family and friends.



2. I must caution readers that this review may be biased - Dr. John Castaldo has been a close personal friend for over 20 years.
   
   To me the book is more than stories of love, faith and healing. It's the story of two human beings who, as they become more skilled as physicians, struggle to become more human, in a profession that is simultaneously life-and-death, and often dehumanizing.
   
   I visited John daily while his son David was in the hospital. I remember the hundreds of cuts on David's body, and the grief expressed by John and his family. But I also remember his determination that David would recover.
   
   This is not a superstar ("look at all the great things I did") type of book. There are successes mixed with sadness, and perhaps failures. But that is the human drama of life. The book is worth buying and reading.



3. I bought this book after reading an excerpt of the story about David in Catholic Digest. This is a very enjoyable book and definitely should be read by health care providers.
   Greg .. a dentist



4. Excellent reading, should be required for any one entering the medical profession. These stories explain why we go into medicine



5. I learned about this book after reading about Dr Castaldo's son's accident in Catholic Digest. I ordered the book and once I started reading the book I couldn't put it down. A must read book. I'm passing it on to my daughter who is going into the medical field. It renews one's faith in doctors who really do care. Lorraine Schoedler, Allentown, PA