Doctors are considered Gods as they are a veritable treasure trove of insights into the mysteries of human existence. The book is an insightful account from a surgeon with over 30 years of experience in England. Through his book, author Dr Jay weaves a tale of his medical experience and encounters in a narrative tone which is compelling and rich, and each of the patient’s short biographies is treated with solid medical ethics that we expect from doctors. A knife-wielding surgeon, this man went through the trouble of dissecting 30 years of his experience to scope out nuggets of wisdom from his medical odyssey. A one-sit read, Dr Jay’s ‘Your Lives In Our Hands’, sheds light on the strange, and sometimes tragic, circumstances that doctors face during medical diagnosis and treatment.
The author has also made it a point to keep it as lucid as possible, rendering it palatable to the layman. The book is an attempt by the doctor-writer to stress upon the responsibility that doctors shoulder every day. The stories of a child with a head injury, a boy who was kicked by a pony, a gentleman who had internal strangulation of the small intestine, and a young woman who fell off a horse are just a few pieces that make the book a compelling read.
Dr Jay has proven beyond the shadow of doubt that doctors can be good writers too. The medical ethics of a woman using the hospital like a babysitting service and the day when two surgeons almost came to blows after a squabble find mention in this book.
Beyond a doctor’s dilemma and some pleasant aspects of a life as surgeon, there’s plenty the book can teach us. It drives home a great message that though doctors often put on a brave face in front of the relatives of their patients, they are also human beings who go through emotional turmoil when their patients suffer.