An Imperfect Healer

Larry Kramer

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ISBN: 9781988286907

An Imperfect Healer

The Gifts of a Medical Life

  Author:   Larry Kramer    
  Publisher:  Pottersfield Press

“She said she would pray for me. I asked her why. She said she prayed for many people. I asked her why. Stooped and frail, she wore the lassitude of ninety-seven years as transparently as she wore the pale blue wool sweater that seemed to grow from her shoulders. I had seen her before in the hurried and harried rounds I make here. My progress notes say repeatedly, ‘No problems reported.’ But today I took the time to listen.”

Every patient tells a story. Drawing on a forty-year medical career, Dr. Larry Kramer has written about some of the people he has met along the way. The stories chronicle love and loss, tragedy and comedy, and empathetically observe patients who live and die, some with courage and some with fear. These accounts frame the story of one physician’s life and how it was shaped, changed, and guided by those he encountered every day. The young, the old, the happy, the sad, and the suffering all bring gifts beyond measure.

Narratives of medicine are increasingly recognized as key components of the therapeutic experience. The Journal of the American Medical Association suggested in 2001, “Narrative medicine can examine and illuminate four of medicine’s central narrative situations: physician and patient, physician and self, physician and colleagues, and physician and society.” It enables patients, physicians, and others to be moved by stories of illness. Thus we share a common humanity. We all have stories. Our heroes are among us.

Details and Specs
ISBN associated with this title: 9781988286907
Item PC0299
PublisherPottersfield Press
PublisherPottersfield Press
Published on July 24 2019
Language eng
Pages 196
Format Paperback
Dimensions8.5(in) x 5.5(in)
Shipping weight248(g)
Status ACTIVE TITLE
Larry Kramer is a retired family physician living in Brantford, Ontario. After graduating from the University of Western Ontario in 1973, he spent his medical career as a GP in a small town, then as a hospitalist in a larger centre. His articles have appeared in many magazines, including The Medical Post.