A Family of Doctors - Paperback

by David Hellerstein M. D. (Author)

In this poignant, deeply moving book, Dr. David Hellerstein traces five generations of American medicine--from the Civil War to the present day--as seen through the eyes of his unforgettable family. The great adventure of medical progress comes alive as Dr. Hellerstein captures the physician's frustrations and failures in the early battles against tuberculosis and heart disease, the passion and excitement surrounding the development of cardiac catherization and defibrillation, and the profound changes in the physician's role following the revolution in medical technology. A heartfelt portrait of hope and heroism, A FAMILY OF DOCTORS takes us inside the art of healing, and the meaning of medicine today. "REMARKABLE...Hellerstein has written a family history expanded to give a running overview of medical progress in the United States during the careers of each generation involved...As a chronicle of a varied, public-spirited and strong-willed American family, this book is both valuable and, at its best, genuinely moving." --Cleveland Plain Dealer

Author Biography

Dr. David Hellerstein is a writer and physician. A Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center, he conducts research on treatment of mood disorders and brain imaging. His books include A Family of Doctors (memoir), Heal Your Brain (nonfiction), and the novels Loving Touches and Stone Babies. Awarded the Pushcart Prize and several MacDowell Colony fellowships, his writing has appeared in the New York Times, the NY Times Magazine, Harper's, North American Review, and Fiction; he blogs for Psychologytoday.com