When the Phone Rings, My Bed Shakes: The Memoirs of a Deaf Doctor - Hardcover

Zazove, Philip

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1563680246 ISBN 13: 9781563680243

Publisher: Gallaudet University Press, 1993

Synopsis

Born almost totally deaf, Philip Zazove has spent his entire life beating the odds first by excelling in public schools during an era when most deaf children went to special schools, then by aspiring to become a medical doctor. When the Phone Rings, My Bed Shakes is the remarkable story of his determination and achievement in realizing his dreams.

       Despite his stellar record at Northwestern University, Zazove was rejected by a host of medical schools. This only caused him to press harder, which won him acceptance at Rutgers University. He transferred to Washington University in St. Louis where, again against all advice, he decided to specialize in family practice. In vignettes of his patients, some amusing, others moving, he reveals the dedication and humanity that have made him a respected and well-loved doctor. His story will inspire all who read it.

About this title

About the Author

Philip Zazove, M.D. is on the faculty of the Family Practice Department of the University of Michigan Medical School.

From the Back Cover

At the age of four, Philip Zazove was speaking to his father, who turned away to replace some books on a shelf. "Daddy", Philip cried, "look at me when I talk!" His father replied, and Philip said, "What did you say, Daddy?" His father turned around and repeated what he'd just said, "Philip, I don't have to look at you to hear you". "Yes, you do. How else could you hear me?" The question led to extensive tests that confirmed that, except for minimal hearing in the lowest range, Zazove was essentially deaf. Yet, he went on to lead a very active childhood, excelling in academics and athletics, even though he had to overcome barriers and wage battles every step of the way. In a time when interpreters and notetakers were nonexistent, Zazove compiled an exemplary record in high school and at Northwestern University in preparation of achieving his lifelong dream. Having decided to follow in his parents' footsteps, both of whom were physicians, he intended to become a doctor himself. Despite his achievements in college, Zazove discovered that medical schools were not ready to welcome him with open arms. After enduring one rejection after another based upon his deafness and living with the frustration of seeing classmates with poorer records accepted at the same schools, he finally won entrance to Rutgers University Medical School. Again, he became one of the leaders in his class, making up for not hearing most of what was said in rounds with furious study, observation, and extra hard work. When the Phone Rings, My Bed Shakes in its very title hints at the kind of challenges that such ordinary things as hearing an alarm clock can present to a deaf person. On his way to becoming a respectedfamily practitioner (more new ground broken against the advice of his faculty), Zazove developed keen sensitivity to how his patients felt about their illnesses. Throughout his book, he relates anecdotes about his patients that evoke the full range of emotions related to life and death matters. Zazove's warmth and concern for his many patients occupy center stage for Zazove, understating his remarkable accomplishments both big and small to overcome deafness as merely the necessary means to be able to help people as a family doctor. His unassuming style makes When the Phone Rings, My Bed Shakes a thoroughly enjoyable and enriching journey that also demonstrates that deaf people can do everything if given the chance by a hearing society.

Reviews

Zazove, deaf since birth, uses a bed-shaking device each morning to wake up. This inspiring first-person narrative tells how he overcame his handicap to establish a thriving practice and a family first in Utah, and eventually in Michigan. Zazove attended Rutgers Medical School and earned his M.D. degree from Washington University. Although he seems to have compensated admirably for his disability, Zazove conveys his apprehensions and notes the constant efforts needed to understand others, particularly professors, patients and children who are unaware of his need to read lips. He portrays his patients--including some amusing eccentrics--vividly. However, unnecessary details, and distractingly verbatim dialogues diminish the impact of the memoir.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

In this chatty, appealing memoir (whose title refers to the mechanical device that wakes the author up for phone calls or as an alarm clock), Dr. Zazove, who is deaf, recounts how he overcame the odds and realized a lifelong dream to become a family doctor by gaining entrance to medical school--and then completing his M.D. Zazove believes that his deafness has contributed to his humanity, leading him into family practice and helping him to focus on individual patients. This personal account of his struggles reveals his inspiration, dedication, and warmth. For all collections.
- Emily Ferren, Carroll Cty. P.L., Westminster, Md.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Gallaudet University Press
• Publication date: 1993
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1563680246
• ISBN 13: 9781563680243
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 295