Candid, insightful, and actionable health care advice.
A physician urges her colleagues to add a human touch to their patient relationships in this guide.
A dermatologist and professor of dermatology and pathology at Yale University, Ko confesses in the introduction that she “failed spectacularly” when one of her new patients “was not willing to step into my examination room ever again.” Revealing this vulnerability is sure to grab the attention of fellow doctors who “may be poor diagnosticians or communicators but think that they are very skilled.” This is one of several intimate personal stories, including the author’s heart-wrenching account of her 2-year-old son’s diagnosis of profound deafness. Her experience enabled Ko to see physicians from a patient’s perspective—a valuable asset in writing a book that focuses on “relationship-centered care.” In some respects, the author’s message to doctors who attend to patients is utterly simple: Be more human. But in scientific fashion, she backs up that exhortation with carefully researched information about metacognition (“thinking about your thinking”), cognitive bias, communication between physicians and patients, and the importance of perceptions. The engaging text is supported by relevant examples, separately highlighted anecdotes, suggested exercises, and further reading, creating a comprehensive volume. Ko’s discussion of perceptions is especially intriguing: The author explores in considerable depth what a physician sees, hears, and feels about a patient and demonstrates how the interplay of these three areas can improve the doctor-patient relationship. For each area (visual, auditory, and emotion perception), Ko offers an overview, examples, and, most importantly, explains “how this applies to doctors and patients.” Much of the material is instructive, but it is also motivational. For example, about failure, the author observes: “Ultimately, failure teaches you the most, shining a light on what can be worked on for continued forward progress.” Discussing diagnosis and treatment, Ko notes “there is also a psychosocial aspect of patient care, and this was never overtly taught to me, although it was the reason that I wanted to become a doctor.” The author admirably weaves her own story together with objective facts to make her treatise highly readable.
Candid, insightful, and actionable health care advice. (appendix)Pub Date: Oct. 29, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-36-776945-1
Page Count: 294
Publisher: Routledge
Review Posted Online: June 25, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A virtuoso performance and an ode to an undervalued medium created by two talented artists.
The veteran actor, comedian, and banjo player teams up with the acclaimed illustrator to create a unique book of cartoons that communicates their personalities.
Martin, also a prolific author, has always been intrigued by the cartoons strewn throughout the pages of the New Yorker. So when he was presented with the opportunity to work with Bliss, who has been a staff cartoonist at the magazine since 1997, he seized the moment. “The idea of a one-panel image with or without a caption mystified me,” he writes. “I felt like, yeah, sometimes I’m funny, but there are these other weird freaks who are actually funny.” Once the duo agreed to work together, they established their creative process, which consisted of working forward and backward: “Forwards was me conceiving of several cartoon images and captions, and Harry would select his favorites; backwards was Harry sending me sketched or fully drawn cartoons for dialogue or banners.” Sometimes, he writes, “the perfect joke occurs two seconds before deadline.” There are several cartoons depicting this method, including a humorous multipanel piece highlighting their first meeting called “They Meet,” in which Martin thinks to himself, “He’ll never be able to translate my delicate and finely honed droll notions.” In the next panel, Bliss thinks, “I’m sure he won’t understand that the comic art form is way more subtle than his blunt-force humor.” The team collaborated for a year and created 150 cartoons featuring an array of topics, “from dogs and cats to outer space and art museums.” A witty creation of a bovine family sitting down to a gourmet meal and one of Dumbo getting his comeuppance highlight the duo’s comedic talent. What also makes this project successful is the team’s keen understanding of human behavior as viewed through their unconventional comedic minds.
A virtuoso performance and an ode to an undervalued medium created by two talented artists.Pub Date: Nov. 17, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-26289-9
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Celadon Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2020
PERSPECTIVES
A frank and funny but uneven essay collection about neurodiversity.
An experimental, illustrated essay collection that questions neurotypical definitions of what is normal.
From a young age, writer and comedian Myers has been different. In addition to coping with obsessive compulsive disorder and panic attacks, she struggled to read basic social cues. During a round of seven minutes in heaven—a game in which two players spend seven minutes in a closet and are expected to kiss—Myers misread the romantic advances of her best friend and longtime crush, Marley. In Paris, she accidentally invited a sex worker to join her friends for “board games and beer,” thinking he was simply a random stranger who happened to be hitting on her. In community college, a stranger’s request for a pen spiraled her into a panic attack but resulted in a tentative friendship. When the author moved to Australia, she began taking notes on her colleagues in an effort to know them better. As the author says to her co-worker, Tabitha, “there are unspoken social contracts within a workplace that—by some miracle—everyone else already understands, and I don’t….When things Go Without Saying, they Never Get Said, and sometimes people need you to Say Those Things So They Understand What The Hell Is Going On.” At its best, Myers’ prose is vulnerable and humorous, capturing characterization in small but consequential life moments, and her illustrations beautifully complement the text. Unfortunately, the author’s tendency toward unnecessary capitalization and experimental forms is often unsuccessful, breaking the book’s otherwise steady rhythm.
A frank and funny but uneven essay collection about neurodiversity.Pub Date: Oct. 28, 2025
ISBN: 9780063381308
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2025
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
