Sandeep Jauhar

I must admit that I found this book fascinating with Jauhar's complete honesty about his relationships with his father....and his siblings as his father was dying with and from Alzheimer's...but that doesn't really cover it. It really was frightening, too, with how accurately he essentially walked all the way around the problems with dementia...for everyone involved, from caretakers, doctors, and with the person with dementia, especially. It's a tough book to read simply because there are just no answers. You know, as with anyone involved, where you are heading but the path is exhausting over time and only headed in a very negative direction.… (mais)

2.5 stars

There is a bit of good in this book. Jauhar attempts to point out what's ailing the current system of medical care. (For example, unnecessary testing/procedures because that's how doctors make their money, lack of communication between specialist doctors, the frantic pace that causes patients to be treated poorly/improperly, etc.) I can agree with most of what he included on that subject.

However, Jauhar also does a lot of whining about how doctors don't get paid enough. He states they are making half of what they used to before "managed care." Possibly true, but does that really mean they're not making enough? He laments how he and his wife are struggling just to get by... but then mentions that his wife, also a doctor, is not working. And his 3-year-old is in a private nursery school because the local public schools are oh-so-bad. And his 3-year-old is in soccer. And then they have another baby and their 2-bedroom apartment is just way too small for them and their 2 very young children. So they have to move to a 3-bedroom house that they can only afford with help from his father-in-law. Cable TV was listed as a necessary expense. Blah, blah, blah.

He's apparently never known what it's like to truly struggle financially, and it's always ingratiating to hear someone claim to be an "every man" when they cannot even comprehend what that encompasses.

In addition to this, his writing style annoyed me a little. It felt too "written." And he kept using the word cranium when talking about holding his son's head in his hands. I could understand using the word in an actual medical/scientific setting, but to describe a moment between father and son? Really?

There is mention of recreational drugs being used (by Jauhar and friends) and a fair amount of language.

I appreciate that he included some stories that didn't always reflect well on him but I also sometimes got the sense that he was unaware of just how poorly they reflected - that his apparent humility here and there was completely by accident.

And finally, despite its short length, it still was a bit repetitive and could have been shorter.… (mais)

I found this memoir to be insightful, despairing, sad, strong, and heartbreaking. Jauhur chronicles his father's battle against Alzheimer's, and all the difficulties that come with the diagnosis in America--namely costs. The struggle to find, provide, and afford appropriate care is incredibly difficult; adding in laws about decision-making, power of attorney, control of finances, and driving; as well as the attempts to wander and refusal to eat that commonly occur at some stage of the disease.

As doctors, Jauhur and his brother both thought they knew the medical system, but even they were overwhelmed. They were fortunate to have well-paying jobs and parents who had their affairs in order--and they and their sister were largely on the same page about care. They had money, they lucked out with a fabulous caregiver--and still they struggled emotionally and practically.

Sprinkled throughout the book Jauhar includes chapters about Alzheimer's disease itself. The history and understanding of it, diagnoses and treatments. These chapters got a little too science-y for me, but they were still interesting. I found this book to be well put together, with history, memories, events, frustrations, and so forth very well balanced to create a book that is a memoir, a history, and a warning.

Jauhar did his own narration, and it was very good.… (mais)

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

I am a big fan of the author and his writing, and HEART did not disappoint. There were many facts about the heart (some obscure, some not) interspersed throughout the book to complement patient stories. We read about the author as a young boy and his personal desire to work in cardiology, stemming from the story of a relative’s death during his formative years. The author comes across as a caring and knowledgeable doctor with a kind bedside manner – there are no veiled frustrations or jabs at ornery patients, as I have read in other medical books.

One of the best things about the book is that it’s part history, part medicine, part almost-gory-but-not-overly-done, and part philosophy. Each chapter can stand alone and be read a few days apart without having to remember the plot or which patient he is discussing. Thoughtful illustrations are added to underscore the meaning of the chapters, and footnotes are added to provide explanations or information without slowing down the flow of the narrative. The book strikes a great balance of science and interesting plot without slowing down the narrative with a lot of detail that the average reader without a medical background wouldn’t understand. For someone like me, with a medical background, there were also enough facts to keep me interested. Some books minimize details to make it easy for the reader; Jauhar does not do that. This makes his books fascinating and eminently readable.… (mais)