Open Heart

Open Heart
Title Open Heart PDF eBook
Author Stephen Westaby
Publisher Basic Books
Pages 271
Release 2017-06-20
Genre Medical
ISBN 0465094848

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In gripping prose, one of the world's leading cardiac surgeons lays bare both the wonder and the horror of a life spent a heartbeat away from death When Stephen Westaby witnessed a patient die on the table during open-heart surgery for the first time, he was struck by the quiet, determined way the surgeons walked away. As he soon understood, this detachment is a crucial survival strategy in a profession where death is only a heartbeat away. In Open Heart, Westaby reflects on over 11,000 surgeries, showing us why the procedures have never become routine and will never be. With astonishing compassion, he recounts harrowing and sometimes hopeful stories from his operating room: we meet a pulseless man who lives with an electric heart pump, an expecting mother who refuses surgery unless the doctors let her pregnancy reach full term, and a baby who gets a heart transplant-only to die once it's in place. For readers of Atul Gawande's Being Mortal and of Henry Marsh's Do No Harm, Open Heart offers a soul-baring account of a life spent in constant confrontation with death.

Fragile Lives

Fragile Lives
Title Fragile Lives PDF eBook
Author Arlette Farge
Publisher Harvard University Press
Pages 328
Release 1993
Genre History
ISBN 9780674316379

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The rich and complex texture of working-class neighborhoods in eighteenth-century Paris comes vibrantly alive in this collage of the experiences of ordinary people--men and women, rich and poor, masters and servants, neighbors and colleagues. Exploring three arenas of conflict and solidarity--the home, the workplace, and the street--Arlette Farge offers the reader an intimate social history, bringing long-dead citizens and vanished social groups back to life with sensitivity and perception.

A Fragile Life

A Fragile Life
Title A Fragile Life PDF eBook
Author Todd May
Publisher University of Chicago Press
Pages 230
Release 2017-03
Genre Philosophy
ISBN 022643995X

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It is perhaps our noblest cause, and certainly one of our oldest: to end suffering. Think of the Buddha, Chuang Tzu, or Marcus Aurelius: stoically composed figures impervious to the torments of the wider world, living their lives in complete serenity—and teaching us how to do the same. After all, isn’t a life free from suffering the ideal? Isn’t it what so many of us seek? Absolutely not, argues Todd May in this provocative but compassionate book. In a moving examination of life and the trials that beset it, he shows that our fragility, our ability to suffer, is actually one of the most important aspects of our humanity. May starts with a simple but hard truth: suffering is inevitable. At the most basic level, we suffer physically—a sprained ankle or a bad back. But we also suffer insults and indifference. We suffer from overburdened schedules and unforeseen circumstances, from moral dilemmas and emotional heartaches. Even just thinking about our own mortality—the fact that we only live one life—can lead us to tremendous suffering. No wonder philosophies such as Buddhism, Taosim, Stoicism, and even Epicureanism—all of which counsel us to rise above these plights—have had appeal over the centuries. May highlights the tremendous value of these philosophies and the ways they can guide us toward better lives, but he also exposes a major drawback to their tenets: such invulnerability is too emotionally disengaged from the world, leading us to place too great a distance between ourselves and our experience. Rather than seeking absolute immunity, he argues most of us just want to hurt less and learn how to embrace and accept what suffering we do endure in a meaningful way. Offering a guide on how to positively engage suffering, May ultimately lays out a new way of thinking about how we exist in the world, one that reassures us that our suffering, rather than a failure of physical or psychological resilience, is a powerful and essential part of life itself.

This Fragile Life

This Fragile Life
Title This Fragile Life PDF eBook
Author Charlotte Pierce-Baker
Publisher Chicago Review Press
Pages 260
Release 2012-06-01
Genre Psychology
ISBN 1613741111

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Charlotte Pierce-Baker did everything right when raising her son, providing not only emotional support but the best education possible. At age twenty-five, he was pursuing a postgraduate degree and seemingly in control of his life. She never imagined her high-achieving son would wind up handcuffed, dirty, and in jail. The moving story of an African American family facing the challenge of bipolar disorder, This Fragile Life provides insight into mental disorders as well as family dynamics. Pierce-Baker traces the evolution of her son's illness and, in looking back, realizes she mistook warning signs for typical child and teen behavior. Hospitalizations, calls in the night, alcohol and drug relapses, pleas for money, and continuous disputes, her son's journey was long, arduous, and almost fatal. This Fragile Life weaves a fascinating story of mental illness, race, family, the drive of African Americans to succeed, and a mother's love for her son.

Fragile Lives

Fragile Lives
Title Fragile Lives PDF eBook
Author Jane A. Adams
Publisher Severn House Publishers Ltd
Pages 191
Release 2015-06-01
Genre Fiction
ISBN 178010684X

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A Rina Martin Mystery When a body is washed up on a beach, it's assumed it must be Edward Parker, who fell from a cliff a couple of weeks before. But it is discovered to be that of Pat Duggan, son of local nightclub owner, Jimmy. Pat had been abducted twice. And, to complicate matters, the missing Edward Parker worked for Jimmy Duggan and disappeared at the same time as Duggan's son. Coincidence? Mac and Rina don't think so . . .

A Fragile Stone

A Fragile Stone
Title A Fragile Stone PDF eBook
Author Michael Card
Publisher InterVarsity Press
Pages 193
Release 2009-08-20
Genre Biography & Autobiography
ISBN 0830874232

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A Fragile Stone explores the dynamic life of the apostle Peter, revisiting well-known passages and revealing unexpected insights. Author Michael Card sketches out Peter’s life, showing how the impetuous fisherman of the Gospels was transformed into the pivotal leader of the early church.

Our Fragile Lives

Our Fragile Lives
Title Our Fragile Lives PDF eBook
Author Marilyn Glenn
Publisher Strategic Book Publishing
Pages 394
Release 2011-12-20
Genre Family & Relationships
ISBN 1618973789

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A human drama set in the East Midlands and Cornwall England. It tells the tale of a family and the trials and tribulations that they are faced with. It tells of how a decision made with the very best of intentions isn't always the best decision. It shows us that the benefit of foresight would be a useful gift but regretting in hindsight is a pointless exercise.--- When Tom and Grace Harrison discover that their mentally challenged nubile daughter is pregnant, their world is shattered. Sixteen year old Verity denies having had sexual relations with her boyfriend Paul and begs her parents not to tell him. Her parents remain in the dark regarding the father of Verity's child but with the help of the rest of the family a plan is put into action. The plan will benefit Verity's childless sister June; but at what cost? Lives will be lost, relationships will be tested as secrets and lies threaten to surface at any moment. The fragility of life and fatal actions are a constant theme. Despite the serious subject, the story isn't lacking in humour; ensuring what I believe is an enjoyable read.