Fragile Lives

Goodreads Description

An incredible memoir from one of the world’s most eminent heart surgeons and some of the most remarkable and poignant cases he’s worked on.

Grim Reaper sits on the heart surgeon’s shoulder. A slip of the hand and life ebbs away.

The balance between life and death is so delicate, and the heart surgeon walks that rope between the two. In the operating room there is no time for doubt. It is flesh, blood, rib-retractors and pumping the vital organ with your bare hand to squeeze the life back into it. An off-day can have dire consequences – this job has a steep learning curve, and the cost is measured in human life. Cardiac surgery is not for the faint of heart.

Professor Stephen Westaby took chances and pushed the boundaries of heart surgery. He saved hundreds of lives over the course of a thirty-five year career and now, in his astounding memoir, Westaby details some of his most remarkable and poignant cases – such as the baby who had suffered multiple heart attacks by six months old, a woman who lived the nightmare of locked-in syndrome, and a man whose life was powered by a battery for eight years.

A powerful, important and incredibly moving book, Fragile Lives offers an exceptional insight into the exhilarating and sometimes tragic world of heart surgery, and how it feels to hold someone’s life in your hands.

My Review

Here's the thing Bookworms: In my next life I'll be coming back as a doctor or some sort of surgeon. I'm so fascinated by all things medical that it simply can't be any other way. So, when I first heard about this book, I knew that I had to read it.

This book is the true story of a heart surgeon. It isn't so much a story about his personal progression, but rather a collection of various stories about his most interesting cases over the years. I was genuinely fascinated by just about each and every story. The author draws the reader in to each case and the difficulties that he faced while trying to save these people's lives.

The stories contained within the covers of this book can be rather heart wrenching at times. In fact, I had already shed my first tear by the time I'd reached page 55. So maybe I'm just mushy inside, but really, the story of a 2 year old South African boy from Cape Town just tore at my heart strings. So yes, be prepared for a few upsetting moments, but I don't see how a book about life and death on an operating table can be anything but.

The other thing to note about this book is that it obviously contains medical terms that some readers may find a little bit technical at times. All of the stories also contain quite detailed descriptions of the operations, which different parts of the heart / body were affected and what needed to be done to help these patients. The author focuses on the operations but also on the stories behind the operations. There are some diagrams in the book to help the reader understand certain procedures and organs. There is also a glossary at the back of the book to help keep track of all the medical jargon which most of us aren't familiar with.

In this book you'll read about the right atrium, the left ventricle, the aorta and so on. But don't be put off by this. This book still reads like a story and not a medical text book. I must be honest and say that I do think you need to have a fair amount of interest in the medical profession, as this book can be fairly technical at times and fairly detailed.

My criticisms of this book are few, but they do exist. I thought that the book was possibly a bit longer than it needed to be, as I was starting to lose a little interest towards the end. Also, it did eventually get a slightly monotonous, as many of the operations are similar, without being identical. I really enjoyed this book though, despite my criticisms. A very solid 3 stars from me!

My Rating: * * *

Publication Date: April 2017 (South Africa)

Genre: Autobiography

Format: Paperback

Source: Review copy received from the publisher. Many thanks to author, Professor Stephen Westaby and Jonathan Ball Publishers in South Africa my copy. It was my pleasure to read and review this book.