A forty-four-year-old physician describes how he survived an often fatal cardiac condition, and discusses his struggle to become a doctor, raise a family, and his value of life despite adversity
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
New Jersey native Dr. Robert Pensack is a physician, psychiatrist, former general practitioner, and emergency room doctor. He received his Bachelor of Arts and Medical degrees from the University of Colorado and lives with his family in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.
Dwight Arnan Williams is a critically acclaimed author of several works of nonfiction and fiction. He resides in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.
The haunting story of a man's struggle to survive with a terribly damaged heart. As a youngster, Pensack was diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a progressive disease of the heart muscle and a condition that had killed his mother when he was only five. Assisted here by Williams, a skilled writer, Pensack reveals how his condition has shaped his life from the day of his mother's death to his recent heart transplant at the age of 42. Opening with a harrowing scene in which he very nearly died on his kitchen floor in front of his own three-year-old son, Pensack's story is given immediacy by being told in the first person and the present tense, and it is given impact by the frankness with which he shares the intimate details of the trauma he suffered not only in body but in spirit. As a young man, he imagined that if he could become a doctor he would somehow be able to cure himself, and he set about learning everything he could about his heart condition. In medical school, however, he found himself identifying not with doctors but with corpses and patients. His repeated brushes with death unhinged him emotionally, leaving him at times terrified, isolated, out of touch with reality, and virtually unable to function. Pensack recounts how he eventually came to recognize the symptoms of post-traumatic-stress disorder and to understand that, for him, a particularly severe level of stress would always be a fact of life. When he finally did become a doctor, he chose not cardiology but psychiatry. Pensack's story is filled with vivid descriptions of clinical procedures performed on his body, but more memorable is what he reveals about how living close to death affects the mind. Packs a powerful punch. -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Shipping:
US$ 5.85
Within U.S.A.
Seller: Neil Shillington: Bookdealer/Booksearch, Hobe sound, FL, U.S.A.
Paperback. Condition: Good. 0.8 x 9 x 5.5 Inches; 315 pages. Seller Inventory # 107720
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: ThriftBooks-Atlanta, AUSTELL, GA, U.S.A.
Mass Market Paperback. Condition: Good. No Jacket. Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 0.85. Seller Inventory # G1573225002I3N00
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Books End Bookshop, Syracuse, NY, U.S.A.
Mass Market Paperback. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: None. Inside of covers and pages age-toned. Seller Inventory # 152369
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Montclair Book Center, Montclair, NJ, U.S.A.
Trade Paperback. Condition: USED Good. Seller Inventory # 541370
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Irish Booksellers, Portland, ME, U.S.A.
Condition: Good. SHIPS FROM USA. Used books have different signs of use and do not include supplemental materials such as CDs, Dvds, Access Codes, charts or any other extra material. All used books might have various degrees of writing, highliting and wear and tear and possibly be an ex-library with the usual stickers and stamps. Dust Jackets are not guaranteed and when still present, they will have various degrees of tear and damage. All images are Stock Photos, not of the actual item. book. Seller Inventory # 50-1573225002-G
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Marlowes Books and Music, Ferny Grove, QLD, Australia
Paperback. Condition: Very Good. Reprint. 317 pages. Book is in Very good condition throughout. At Fifteen Pensack Was Diagnosed With A Heart Condition. He Became A Doctor To Try And Find A Cure (HCM). Seller Inventory # 146072
Quantity: 1 available