As I Live and Breathe: Notes of a Patient Doctor

I feel lucky to have been able to read this absolutely exquisite, yet at times gut wrenching, personal memoir, by a very gifted author who, it should be noted, is over twenty years younger than me. As one who has a very limited real life knowledge of medical life and death, it was an eye opener to (what sometimes seems) a completely different world. This is not only a sublime course in medical history and ethics, but a harrowing landscape of how the body can go wrong in myriad ways, and how the medical profession works its genius. The author has been through it from both sides too, and does not flinch in the telling. Not to be missed! Having read thousands of great books in nearly all fields, this is among the all-time best!

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.

I'm a doctor, and i have never before read a book that so compellingly describes both the patient experience and the frustrations of learning to practice medicine. Dr. Weisman writes personally about her dependence on and aggravation with medicine and its many, many limitations. She weaves tales of candor and passion that capture how she, of all people, can make medicine her life work, and maintain it as a source of hope for her illness, when both the people and theories of medicine have failed her time and again, often with life-threatening consquences. I recommend this book to anyone who has ever had any contact with the medical profession.

I greatly enjoyed this book, it was very informative. I also have a PID because our disorder is very rare I at times feel like I am fighting this battle all alone. The author tells her story very well, some of the same things I have gone through, but some I have not. Each person is different. I would recommend this book to anyone especially those dealing with PID patients.

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.