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Mohrbooks Literary Agency
Sebastian Ritscher
Original language
English
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YOU CAN STOP HUMMING NOW

Daniela Lamas

A Doctor's Stories on the Edge Between Life and Death

A critical care doctor asks the question: What is life like for those patients who have been saved by advances in technology but still teeter on the border between sickness and health?
Modern medicine is a world that glimmers with promising technology and cutting edge research. To the public, the stories begin with sirens and culminate in survival and death. But these are only the most visible narratives. As a critical care doctor treating people at their sickest in twelve-hour increments, Dr Daniela Lamas is fascinated by a different story - what is life like for the people who survive?

You Can Stop Humming Now begins with Lamas's memories of medical internship, when she replies to a Facebook friend request from a dying patient and became captivated by his photos of life before illness. From that starting point, Dr Lamas takes readers on a journey through the nether regions between sickness and health: men and women living with partial artificial hearts who must plug themselves into a wall socket each night; kidney transplant recipients who navigate life-long relationships with organ donors they found on Facebook; and young adults with cystic fibrosis who survive to adulthood they didn't think they would see. These are just some of the narratives of the people who come out the other side.

You Can Stop Humming Now will appeal to readers who are fascinated by medical advance, but, more broadly, the book should be read by anyone who is curious about the grey areas in medicine and the nuances of life after survival - readers who are willing to see the uncertainty, humanity and ultimately the great promise at the edge of modern medicine.
Available products
Book

Published 2018-03-27 by Little Brown

Book

Published 2018-03-27 by Little Brown

Comments

[Lamas's] empathetic, beautifully crafted accounts from inside the ICU recall the work of Atul Gawande.

This thoughtful, reflective, and beautifully rendered book examines the costs of modern medicine. Readers who enjoy books by Oliver Sacks and Atul Gawande, or Paul Kalanithi's When Breath Becomes Air will find this volume moving and provocative.

Chinese (simplified): Cheers ; Polish: Jagiellonian University Press ; UK: Little, Brown UK

Heart-rending and inspiring, and it is evident that Lamas is deeply moved by the consequences of the actions she and other doctors take every day. An enthralling reminder that behind every medical advance are the people whose lives it affects and that their stories have impact.

Lamas weaves a thoughtful and beautiful narrative... The author wonderfully captures the lives of those who've completed treatment and adjusted to a new existence.

Lamas somehow manages to be both clinical and compassionate and beautifully conveys how the line between life and death is not always clear and that we must consider recovery and quality of life when making medical decisions. An important read for anyone involved with, affected by, or curious about critical care medicine.