COMPLICATIONS by Atul Gawande

Complications by Atul Gawande (Picador, 2002)

This fast-reading collection of nonfiction articles are true, gripping stories that reveal the uncertainty and imperfections of medical science and were written at the end of the Boston-based author’s eight year surgical residency. The Fallibility of Doctors addresses the importance of practice, the reality of human error and burnout and when good doctors go bad and the culture of medicine, especially the unspoken moral burden of practicing on people. The Mysteries of Medicine addresses the nature of pain and nausea, palliative medicine, blushing and hunger & obesity while the Analysis of Certainty Itself addresses autopsies, SIDS and the obligation to share medical knowledge to inform a contemporary patient base. The book is well-paced, and the information is offered in magazine-like bite-sized portions, ideal for the interested layperson (8.5/10).