Harper herself claims no simple solution, knowing she has to navigate her own fraught path forward too. Harper highlights the continued ripple effects of systematic racial bias and other forms of discrimination in healthcare and beyond. These carefully curated thoughts about her patient encounters challenge readers to critically think about the culture of blame and stigma towards those facing complex circumstances, an idea expressed succinctly by an ER social worker in the book: “When at war, the rules are different.” Dr. If we’re lucky, we’re touched at every station along the journey, and if nothing else, then at the end.” (137-138) It isn’t fair on many accounts it simply is…All deserve the chance to speak and be heard and be touched. The other, while painfully tough, can deliver what it promises: If you can navigate that path, you’ve developed the skills to scale Everest. One path, seemingly smooth, can make it nearly impossible for us to see the ditches and gullies along the way. Some begin the journey on flat, grassy meadows and others at the base of a very steep mountain.

“I suppose it’s a matter of faith whether or not we choose our starting ground before we’re born into this life. From the perspective of an African-American female physician, the author shares her reflections on heartbreaking interactions with young patients, like Gabriel and Jeremiah, both of whom she treats for head trauma: In often invisible ways, society inflicts lasting and generational trauma that tends to be outside of individual control, especially for historically underserved populations. Harper continues to meditate on her life’s milestones, including divorce, residency graduation and new leadership roles in the clinical world, she paints a sobering reality of her patients’ lives. Harper impresses upon readers the extraordinary privileges of being a healer, as well as the difficulties of stewarding the distressing stories accompanying that role.Īs Dr. In navigating this career of service, she regularly draws upon her resiliency to confront violence when caring for gunshot victims, responding to code blues, or de-escalating threatening patient behavior.

The beauty of breaking