As I Live and Breathe: Notes of a Patient-Doctor [Paperback]

Jamie Weisman (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0865476691 | ISBN-13: 978-0865476691 | Publication Date: June 11, 2003

“A gorgeously written primer for anyone who has ever been (or ever will be) a patient . . . The book soars.” —The San Diego Union-Tribune

Jamie Weisman was a patient long before she was a doctor. She was born with a rare defect in her immune system that leaves her prey to a range of ailments and crises and that, because it is treatable but not curable, will keep her a patient for life. In this probing and inspiring book, she brings her sojourns on both sides of the doctor-patient divide to bear on the issues of the flesh that preoccupy us all. It is a worthy addition to the best that has been written about our physical selves, a meditation on our extraordinary powers of healing and the limitations that leave intact the miracle and tragedy of being.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"The cure for the fear of dying is living," states the author of this eloquent, thoughtful memoir. Weisman, a resident at Emory University Hospital, should know: she has a rare congenital immune deficiency. Weisman suffered through years of painful infections and operations until her condition was controlled but not cured by monthly infusions of gamma globulin and self-injections of interferon several times a week. The personal experience with illness inspired Weisman to go to medical school (her father is also a doctor), and with a novelist's eye for detail and an ear for dialogue, she provides a vivid account of how she copes with her condition and also practices medicine. At the age of 25, her face was severely distorted from repeated infections of the parotid gland, near the ear. A gifted and caring physician surgically removed this disfiguring facial mass. In a moving passage, Weisman describes how she later encountered her healer when he was dying from a brain tumor. The author is particularly good at conveying the powerlessness of the medical profession over the unpredictability of illness. Included is a haunting anecdote about Patsy, a young woman successfully recovering from a bone marrow transplant. The two had become friendly as patients when both were receiving infusions. The next time they met, Patsy was near death from a recurrence of leukemia, and Weisman was her intern. Aware that she could have easily been in Patsy's place, the author has elected to embrace life fully.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Weisman, a physician afflicted with congenital autoimmune deficiency disease (CADD) a rare defect of the immune system needs monthly blood infusions to survive. In this gripping autobiography, she selectively chooses vignettes that reveal how CADD has manifested itself in the tumultuous events of her life. From her early teens, when the disease first became apparent, through surgery for a severe facial deformity, a parotidectomy, and a variety of hospital stays and chronic illnesses, Weisman tells her own harrowing tale of life with CADD. Writing courageously as both doctor and patient, Weisman also describes her marriage, her decisions to become a physician and to have a baby, and her family and patients. Doctor-as-patient books can be very exciting, and this ranks with the best of the genre, such as David Biro's One Hundred Days and Robert Pensack's Raising Lazarus. James Swanton, Harlem Hosp. Lib., New York
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: North Point Press (June 11, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0865476691
• ISBN-13: 978-0865476691
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 4.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #251,387 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Encouraging memoirs for those going through a tough time, June 9, 2002

By 

Harold McFarland (Florida) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: As I Live and Breathe: Notes of a Patient-Doctor (Hardcover)

"As I Live and Breathe" are the memoirs and musings of Weisman, a resident at Emory University Hospital. What makes her experiences unique and of interest to others? First, she is a resident doctor with a rare congenital disorder. After suffering for years of painful infections and operations she learned to control her problem with monthly infusions and interferon injections. Here is a doctor who has been living the patient experience all her life, from her early childhood, through school and medical school and even now as a doctor.

The book discusses her dealings with her condition as well as how it affected her life choices and outlook including her decision to take control of her own destiny by becoming a doctor. A book of courage and determination in the face of obstacles, it is a light read through her life that can be inspiring to all. One thing that makes this book different from similar books of courageous people is that almost all other books have an ending. The person succeeds, the person conquers the problem and moves on, etc. In this case her condition will not be cured, it is a lesson in real life that sometimes there is no end to a problem, only courage to make it the best it can be and go on about life - a good lesson for all of us to learn.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An unsentimental look at death and life with illness, November 6, 2002

By 

K. Rodgers "krr63" (Shawnee, OK USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: As I Live and Breathe: Notes of a Patient-Doctor (Hardcover)

Weisman could successfully write about any topic; that she chose to write about medicine, death and illness is like having a friend answer a question that you don't dare ask.

The book gives a grim and graphic picture of what it is like to watch someone die from cancer. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone in the late stages of a terminal illness. There is plenty of despair in these pages.

But there is also hope. Weisman has accepted that she will never be cured, that she will always need regular gamma globulin and interferon treatments, that she may one day get lymphoma. While ill she marries, earns a medical degree, has a baby, writes a book and takes care of the dying. Her cure for the fear of death is indeed living.

This book is instructive for anyone considering medical school, for those curious about death and for those interested in the ethics, economics and diagnostic challenges of modern medicine. In the end, it is an inspiring read for most anyone.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As I live and Breathe:Notes of a Patient-Doctor By Jamie Wei, June 2, 2002

By 

Laura Turpin (Anchorage, Alaska United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: As I Live and Breathe: Notes of a Patient-Doctor (Hardcover)

I greatly enjoyed reading Dr. Weisman's book. It is one of those rare books that I couldn't put down. Its an insightful look into the dificult life of a patient with a rare disease while she is viewing it both from a patients point of view and a physician's view point.
Her story shows the compassion of some physicians and the painful indifferences of other physicians.
As a health care worker, I admire the way she opened her life so that others might learn and benefit from her experience. I would suggest this book to any patient, family or friend with a life threatening disease. It is a must read for health care workers as a view into the difficulties our patients must face.