In this poignant memoir, Michele Harper writes about the abusive household in which she was raised as part of a wealthy African-American family. Her upbringing led her to want to help other people heal. She goes to Harvard for undergraduate work and then attends the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University. She marries and divorces before she finishes her final residency and then dedicates her time to being a healer and the most ethical emergency room doctor possible. She spends considerable time self-healing and finding balance in her own life, from the Japanese art of Kintsukuroi to yoga and the use of incense. She is always seeking to love herself and be at peace with her own body and spirit as she attends to others.
After the initial narrative about her journey to the world of medicine, each subsequent chapter focuses on a particular patient who made an impression on her. In many cases, she learned lessons from the patient she decided to spotlight. Still, the incidents often reaffirmed what she already knew and provided entertaining and thought-provoking information for the reader. I gained many insights into the world of medicine. I confirmed my beliefs about the sometimes indecipherable differences between physical and mental health that provide continual challenges for the medical profession and society.
I loved Michele Harper’s writing. She communicated passion for her profession and compassion for her patients. She also tackled serious issues such as institutional racism and classism with anecdotes that enhanced my awareness. Michele Harper also qualifies other nuances of inequities inherent in the United States culture. Her beautiful prose gives real-life examples of the microaggressions and blatant racism that people of color face in America’s institutions. I was particularly struck by Lauren, a clueless resident doctor reporting to Dr. Harper, who phoned the hospital’s ethics department because she didn’t believe a Black patient who was under arrest by the police should be allowed to opt out of his treatment.
