The Stories of Neuroscience

I recently finished reading When The Air Hits Your Brain by Frank Vertosick.

*POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT* Rating: 3/5 stars

"The story of one man's evolution from naive and ambitious young intern to world-class neurosurgeon. With poignant insight and humor, Frank Vertosick Jr., MD, describes some of the greatest challenges of his career, including a six-week-old infant with a tumor in her brain, a young man struck down in his prime by paraplegia, and a minister with a .22-caliber bullet lodged in his skull. Told through intimate portraits of Vertosick’s patients and unsparing yet fascinatingly detailed descriptions of surgical procedures, When the Air Hits Your Brain ―the culmination of decades spent struggling to learn an unforgiving craft―illuminates both the mysteries of the mind and the realities of the operating room."

I had deeply mixed feelings about this book.

Some of the stories were heart-wrenching - and I'm saying this as a person who has experienced a lot of loss and relishes gross, gritty, and emotional stories. Others were just plain interesting.

I'm not sure whether the author and his colleagues actually were insufferable, pompous assholes, or if he just wrote them that way. I almost abandoned this book half-finished because of their callousness, especially towards chronic pain patients. I realize that these stories occurred decades ago, but that doesn't make the callousness any easier to listen to.

Check out When Air Hits Your Brain, and understand the intensity of neuroscience.

Happy Reading :)