Do You Ever Think About Breathing?
Everyone breathes. Mostly not well. That’s commentary from James Nestor, author of Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art. As part of my involvement in Lifestyle Medicine, I’ve become interested in mindfulness meditation and breathwork as methods of stress management. And who couldn’t use that these days?! Nestor, a journalist, was referred to a breathing class…
My Next Step, as seen through Ego is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday
Ryan Holiday is a strategist and writer. He left college at 19 but has been successful in marketing and as an author, including The Obstacle is the Way, which has a cult following among NFL coaches, athletes, political leaders and others. In Ego is the Enemy, he tells his own story as, “Success. Failure. And back…
Thriving with Chronic Illness – A Mind Unraveled by Kurt Eichenwald
As a physician who took care of people with debilitating chronic illnesses, I was often inspired by their determination to not let their illness define their lives. I think that’s why this book resonates with me. Although it was painful to read his story, Kurt Eichenwald’s experience of being diagnosed with epilepsy in his late teens,…
Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May
We were in the middle of last year’s long covid winter when I heard Katherine May interviewed on NPR and I became intrigued enough to read her book, which I loved. By the time I wrote the review, it was spring and I was feeling optimistic, the need for recommending Wintering fading. However, here we…
A Book Review: Talking to Strangers, by Malcolm Gladwell
Unless we live in a small town, we are unlikely to know everyone that we come in contact with. We are often forced to make decisions on how to interact with a stranger without knowing anything about them, and the consequences can be devastating. Malcolm Gladwell struggles to understand the recent police shootings of African Americans,…
In Shock, by Dr. Rana Awdish, A Book Review
It’s 5pm on a Monday and I’m sitting in a conference room with attending physicians and residents, listening to a mandated “Faculty Development” lecture on how to give proper feedback. I hear words thrown around, such as “timely feedback,” the “feedback sandwich,” “adult learners,” “professionalism,” “communication,” and “learning goals.” We are asked to role play, give and receive…
The Unwinding of the Miracle, by Julie Yip-Williams
“They say that youth is wasted on the young. Now, as I approach my final days, I realize that health is wasted on the healthy, and life is wasted on the living. I never understood that until now, as I prepare in earnest to leave this life.” Of all the powerful statements in Julie Yip William’s moving…
The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson – a Pulitzer Prize winner
A couple of months ago I read a book review of Michelle Obama’s book, “Becoming” written by Isabel Wilkerson. Ms. Wilkerson’s review referenced the Great Migration of African Americans from the Southern US to the North, when talking about Obama’s family, who raised her in Chicago. Wilkerson’s writing was so interesting, that I bought HER…
Mentoring Matters
“Show me a successful individual and I’ll show you someone who had real positive influences in his or her life. I don’t care what you do for a living—if you do it well I’m sure there was someone cheering you on or showing you the way. A mentor.” Denzel Washington A mentor can be defined…
Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou
I took the advice of one of my patients and read this fascinating book which details the background of a promising Silicon Valley startup, Theranos. When I first heard of the company in the glowing Wall Street Journal article, Elizabeth Holmes: A Breakthrough Instant Diagnosis dated September 8, 2013, I was wondering why another company had not developed this…