THE WHITE COAT DIARIES

A young resident at a Philadelphia hospital learns what it takes to be a medical professional in this debut novel by Sinha, who's a physician herself.

When the story begins, Norah Kapadia is a newly minted doctor from New Jersey who is just beginning as an intern at Philadelphia General Hospital. It's a prestigious residency placement, and as she starts her three-year stint she must scramble to transform her stellar academic credentials into real-world medical skills. Her father, a pediatrician, died when she was 10, and her longing to better understand him has driven her hyperfocus on academics and becoming a doctor ever since. Thus, Norah unexpectedly finds herself a woman in her mid-20s who has been kissed precisely once; she's spread too thin as she tries to take care of herself and her career, defend her choices against her aging mother’s cultural expectations about Indian womanhood, and help her brother with their family obligations. The story follows Norah and the ins- and outs of the personal and professional lives of the doctors she works with. As in the TV shows ER and Scrubs, the hospital is a soap opera of life, death, friendships, casual sex, love, mistakes, and humor. However, in this thoughtful, well-written story, those elements are simply the backdrop to Norah’s self-exploration as she works to turn herself into a confident woman and an ethical doctor.

An absorbing novel that follows the maturation of a strong, determined woman who—despite missteps—becomes who she wants to be.