About this Book

It is through writing that many doctors have plumbed the depths and
richness of their experiences and, in turn, used this to explore their
patients’ inner lives.

The Pen and the Stethoscope is a unique collection of
fiction and non-fiction by doctor–writers that gives us a fascinating
look behind the doctor’s mask, and gets inside the minds of those who
deal with enormous existential issues and traumatic situations on a
daily basis.

These stories canvass emotional experiences acutely felt by doctors:
an awareness of our mortality, of how humanity interplays with medicine,
of the weight of responsibility carried by the profession. They bring
into sharp focus, in many cases, the point of view of the patient,
illuminating the experience of grief, trauma, illness, and ageing that
doctors witness through their work.

With a foreword by Jerome Groopman, contributors include Oliver
Sacks, Atul Gawande, Irvin Yalom, Jacinta Halloran, Abraham Verghese,
Gabriel Weston, Peter Goldsworthy, John Murray, Robert Jay Lifton,
Danielle Ofri, Perri Klass, Nick Earls, Ethan Canin, Sandeep Jauhar, and
Leah Kaminsky.