A moving depiction of resilience and transcending medical struggles.
An ophthalmologist’s memoir derives life lessons from the treatment of the visually impaired.
As an eminent ophthalmologist who practiced at Duke and Yale, Shields performed incredibly delicate surgeries, often saving his patients’ sight from the ravages of glaucoma and other conditions. In his new book, he pulls off another notable feat—fashioning an eloquent, moving memoir that is as much about what his patients gave him as what he gave them. “[T]here is something else beyond the treatment of disease that I have learned in my practice,” he writes. What exactly that “something” is becomes apparent as Shields tells the remarkable stories of about two dozen visually impaired patients, each endowed with “a vision that transcends the physical realm.” Among them is Benjamin, a boy whose sight Shields is unable to save from childhood glaucoma but whose down-to-earth father makes the author realize the importance of doing his best every day. From a blind elderly patient who can still enjoy nature, Shields learns that “there is a light within us that no darkness can put out as long as we allow it to shine.” Perhaps most memorable is Martha, a 3-foot-tall woman who builds happiness around the parts of her body she’s proud of, most of all her eyes, even while coping with retinal detachments. “She always remained true to her philosophy for happy living,” Shields writes. The author also fills his memoir with insights into the medical system, countries he visits, including China and Lithuania, and celebrity patients, such as jazz legend Dave Brubeck and actor Rex Harrison. “I say, I cahn’t understand a word that chap is saying!” Harrison protests in “his finest Higgins-esque manner,” as a group of doctors discuss his eye condition. Shields’ keen eye for detail about everything from surgical procedures to the natural beauty of the Smoky Mountains gives him a “renewed sense of wonder and gratitude for the gift of clear vision.”
A moving depiction of resilience and transcending medical struggles.Pub Date: Oct. 19, 2012
ISBN: 978-1449770969
Page Count: 430
Publisher: Westbow Press
Review Posted Online: March 19, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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