Emergency Room Book

This book took me through the whole gamut of emotions. Some of the stories were horrible and heartbreakingly tragic, others were funny, some were moving, some made me angry at the state of healthcare in our country (although this book was written in the 90s so things may be different now) It wasn't an easy book to read. Children dying, suicides, etc. . I like how they broke the stories up and didn't have just the depressing stories. That made the book a little easier to handle. You get a look into the minds of the doctors who try to save lives in the ER. For one thing, you learn their feelings and realize that even though it may seem like one would have to harden themselves to do the job they do, many of them still feel sadness, grief, and disappointment when the patient dies. Of course, they have to harden themselves to a certain extent, but they still care. And they still have the same insecurities and doubts as another person, especially in the first years of residency when they are still observing and learning. Some of the stories are a little unsettling, because you're feeling, you know, there but for the grace of God go I - anybody can have a heart attack, get hit by a car, etc. and end up in the hospital emergency room with doctors fighting to save their life. I don't usually read books like this and I probably won't read another one for a long time - they tend to get to me and make me upset - but I'm glad I read this one. Hard as it was at times, it was a really fascinating book