THINGS THAT MATTER

Intensive care specialist Dr David Galler reflects on life and death through his fascinating stories of working in emergency medicine.

In this highly articulate, down to earth, generous and thoughtful book, Dr David Galler tells stories of life and death from his position as head of intensive care at a busy city hospital. Weaving his own personal stories throughout—including the death of his parents— David frames a number of chapters around key organs such as the heart, brain and kidneys talking about their physical nature as well as their importance emotionally and holistically. He discusses wider issues, like difficult conversations with patients and the doctor-patient relationship in general, as well as broader topics like organ donation. While Things That Matter isn't sentimental or mawkish, neither is it clincial. It's an intelligent read, and an eye-opener for those not in the medical world. David doesn't shy away from the political either, and covers topics like treating people, not diseases; where medicine has gone wrong and how we might fix it; and when doing less can be more. DR DAVID GALLER is an Intensive Care specialist—he works both in Intensive Care and also outside of ICU as part of the emergency response team. He deals daily with critically ill and critically injured people; with organ support; with resuscitation, ongoing support and palliative care. He works at Middlemore Hospital in South Auckland, and is currently on a year's leave in Samoa, volunteering in the local hospital among other things.