A thorough and frank resource for prostate-surgery patients and their caregivers.
Smith, a prostate cancer survivor, offers a detailed road map through the physical and emotional aftermath of prostate surgery.
The author says that he set out to write something that he wished he’d had after his own prostatectomy procedure: a comprehensive resource for him and his caregivers. In these pages, he presents a thorough guide, including an explanation of prostate surgery, timelines for the procedure and its aftermath, sexual recovery, emotional well-being, long-term physical recovery, and the many complications that might arise. Along the way, the author presents practical advice, including suggestions on how to deal with symptoms and side effects. Smith tackles expected subjects, such as reclaiming one’s quality of life, dealing with anxiety and depression, and managing expectations, with a mix of personal experience and deep research: “I never imagined I’d become an expert on prostatectomy recovery, but life has a way of forcing education upon us when we least expect it,” he writes. Some elements may not be found in other guides on the topic, such as a step-by-step look at what happens in the operating room, what he calls “realistic expectations” for recovery, what one should and shouldn’t feel when engaging one’s pelvic floor muscles, and tips for handling “scanxiety”—the inevitable worry about a recurrence. Smith’s straightforward approach is useful, particularly when dealing directly and honestly with such fraught subjects as erectile dysfunction and incontinence. He documents his research well throughout, and the way he handles his many footnotes (144 of them) is unobtrusive and key to the book’s readability. Overall, Smith has succeeded in creating a comprehensive but comprehensible guidebook on a topic that, by another author, could have been too dense for its own good.
A thorough and frank resource for prostate-surgery patients and their caregivers.Pub Date: Dec. 16, 2025
ISBN: 9798993955377
Page Count: 179
Publisher: PJ Publishing
Review Posted Online: June 30, 2026
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A funny, respectful sendup of the unpredictable responses to a widespread plague.
In this farcical novel, a 14th-century blacksmith searches for part of a holy relic that could stop the devastating Black Death.
A plague dubbed the Great Mortality sweeps through France in 1350. People in blacksmith Jake’s village take preventative measures, from isolating to waving hands in front of their faces (“to keep the bad air away”). Sadly, the plague strikes and kills many villagers. A local priest, certain that Jake, as a Mortality survivor, is “in God’s favor,” sends him on a quest. He’s to recover half of St. Ambrose’s toenail that someone stole two years ago. Surely making the toenail whole again will put an end to the plague. Jake heads to Montpellier to track down the priest who supposedly bought the relic from the thief. Along the way, he finds traveling companions: Cassandra, the pope’s No. 3, and Isaac, a Jewish chief financier. The trio meets a motley batch of folks touting shocking ways to fight the Mortality, including performing daily flagellations and murdering Jews, whom many blame for the plague. But as Jake and his friends soon learn, apparently nothing works. Lazris unmistakably lambastes reactions to the Covid-19 pandemic, which he openly discusses in his preface. His biggest targets, it seems, are those advocating anti-Asian hostility; in this book, people are convinced, without evidence, that Jews are poisoning wells. But even the most spiteful characters come across as absurd or silly in this surprisingly lighthearted, engaging comedy. At the same time, endless plague-centric conversations spark copious dialogue scenes without much action. Still, these provide much of the humor—for example, amusingly misplaced contemporary dialect and profanity. The author calls this a “3-D book”—12 songs he wrote accompany the chapters. He includes lyrics, and readers can listen to the folksy songs (performed by other artists) on his website or a streaming service.
A funny, respectful sendup of the unpredictable responses to a widespread plague.Pub Date: Jan. 12, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-66781-413-1
Page Count: 278
Publisher: BookBaby
Review Posted Online: Nov. 30, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An in-depth, engaging look at the making of a physician.
A debut literary novel focuses on a young doctor in Texas.
At the outset of Albedo’s story, the year is 1932. Neva Pettibone, who has endured six stillborn births, is in labor again. The attending doctor is not really a licensed physician at all. Zebulon “Doc” Callaway is a pharmacist who practices medicine illegally. Nevertheless, Doc’s patients are glad to have him. When Neva gives birth, the infant is alive, albeit with a number of health problems. The baby will be named Ivy. She will spend her adult life as a ward of the state. Fast-forward several years, and Doc’s grandson Chase Callaway is in medical school. Chase is a bright young man with a photographic memory. He works part time at Matherville State Mental Hospital, where Ivy happens to live. Readers follow along as Chase experiences highs and lows in his pursuit of becoming a doctor. Whether Chase is dealing with the suicide of a classmate, the death of a patient, an ornery instructor, or simply the fact that he has been awake for one too many hours, he seems determined to come out on top. All the while, he manages to strike up a friendship of sorts with Ivy. Chase’s quest to become a physician proves a spectacularly detailed affair. This is particularly true with regard to medical concepts. Readers will learn about a bilateral syndactyly, a triple valve replacement, and the stresses of a medical residency program. And when Chase has his doubts about both the attitudes of the medical establishment and his own place in it, an insightful portrait is created. But other details can distract readers from the main journey. Many characters, such as Chase’s fellow medical student Porter Piscotel, are provided extensive backstories that do not add much to the main narrative. Do readers need to know about Porter’s time in the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets to understand his cocky, no-nonsense attitude? The story is more engrossing when it concentrates on the many mountains Chase needs to climb.
An in-depth, engaging look at the making of a physician.Pub Date: May 13, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-944715-83-0
Page Count: 350
Publisher: Black Rose Writing
Review Posted Online: June 29, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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