This was an excellent book showcasing the importance of public health. It's amazing how many different things can be viewed as a public health issue. Dr. Wen has made great strides in furthering public health throughout her career and continues to do so. ( )

This eminently readable memoir (actually, probably an autobiography) chronicles the first 35+ years of Dr. Wen’s life -- her early childhood in crowded Shanghai; the abject poverty of her growing-up years as an immigrant to the US; and then her successes and setbacks (none of which I'd characterize as failures) in medical school and research, patient care, public-health policy, president of Planned Parenthood, and TV commentary amid Covid. I stand in awe of her perseverance and positivity. ( )

In this book--a mix of memoir, autobiography, and public health--Wen describes her journey to the field of public health. From immigrant on a visa to the daughter of a man who wins asylum, through school, college, med school, and then pubic health. With ER clinical experience, she becomes the Baltimore health commissioner, then the director of Planned Parenthood, and then a CNN medical analyst. She also discusses the difficulties of starting a family and

I very much enjoyed the early chapters (through her childhood and schooling). The Baltimore section dragged a bit for me, as it turned into "and then we....and then I...". The Planned Parenthood section was quite interesting, as she explains why she was not a good fit and how complicated their internal organization is. When she gets to COVID and being a TV analyst, it picked up again.

I think this book would be especially interesting to anyone considering the field of public health, or those truly fascinated by the field itself. (As opposed to someone like me, who is generally interested in just about anything.) ( )

Dr. Wen has a distinct family history which contributes to her passion for public health. She tells her story well and puts her experience in context as she relates the public health crises of the past few decades. ( )

I picked up this book because Dr. Wen got her start in the same early college program (Early Entrance at Cal State Los Angeles) as one of my friends from back in North Carolina. Both are now doctors, and this memoir takes us through Wen's upbringing, schooling, and many high-profile career moves. She is perhaps best known for serving briefly as the president of Planned Parenthood but was also the Baltimore City Health Commissioner under two mayors, and there are chapters covering all of these life stops and more. Reasonably inspiring, especially for high achievers that know any sterling resume inevitably has many rough patches behind the scenes. ( )