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A Fortunate Woman: A Country Doctor's Story
When Polly Morland is clearing out her mother’s house she finds a book that will lead her to a remarkable figure living on her own doorstep: the country doctor who works in the same remote, wooded valley she has lived in for many years. This doctor is a rarity in contemporary medicine – she knows her patients inside out, and their stories are deeply entwined with her own.
In A Fortunate Woman, with its beautiful photographs by Richard Baker, Polly Morland has written a profoundly moving love letter to a landscape, a community and, above all, to what it means to be a good doctor.
In A Fortunate Woman, with its beautiful photographs by Richard Baker, Polly Morland has written a profoundly moving love letter to a landscape, a community and, above all, to what it means to be a good doctor.
236 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2022
120 people are currently reading
1767 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 190 reviews
October 21, 2022
What a brilliant book this is - moving, gripping and at all times thought-provoking. One of the most interesting non fiction works I've read in a long time. The prose is beautiful and the way the central ideas are brought together is superb. I hadn't read Berger's book before starting this but it didn't impact on my reading. In some ways I'm glad to have come to this book first, though I will now read Berger's with great interest. I enjoyed being able to experience the story of the Fortunate Woman doctor of the title on her own terms. I was reminded of what it was like to have a family doctor where I grew up, and in a rural area too, and realised how far my experiences have moved away from this and what I have lost as a result. To say this book is timely is an understatement, but it is very timely indeed - I hope the health secretary has been sent a copy!
April 3, 2023
On the flight back from the UK after saying a last goodbye to my Mum, I read this book that I picked up from Waterstones in my hometown of Middlesbrough.
This is a story of coincidence and serendipity, of a career in front line healthcare when the NHS itself was brought to its knees and of the relationship based medicine that might have made a difference to my Mum, had it been available to her.
Polly Morland writes so poignantly and with searing accuracy.
“Summer or winter, the lightscape [through the trees] above our heads is the most subjective of all woodland sceneries, for it resides solely in the eye of the beholder. Shift left or right, tip back, lean in and the mosaic changes, the stars reconfigure. It is not so different from the human experience of loss: singular, restless, impossible to share, when all you can see is the empty space in between.”
This is a story of coincidence and serendipity, of a career in front line healthcare when the NHS itself was brought to its knees and of the relationship based medicine that might have made a difference to my Mum, had it been available to her.
Polly Morland writes so poignantly and with searing accuracy.
“Summer or winter, the lightscape [through the trees] above our heads is the most subjective of all woodland sceneries, for it resides solely in the eye of the beholder. Shift left or right, tip back, lean in and the mosaic changes, the stars reconfigure. It is not so different from the human experience of loss: singular, restless, impossible to share, when all you can see is the empty space in between.”
March 21, 2023
I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone.
January 13, 2023
This book was fabulous - its about the doctors commitment to understanding her patients and building long term relationships and how this is the foundation of her practice. It oozes of respect and humility, of humanity and hope.
I hadn't read a Fortunate Man but this didn't in any way spoil my enjoyment of this book - it stands up well in its own right.
The photographs also add depth and vividness to the story.
I would recommend this book to any GPs and also medical students everywhere. It’s a masterpiece.
I hadn't read a Fortunate Man but this didn't in any way spoil my enjoyment of this book - it stands up well in its own right.
The photographs also add depth and vividness to the story.
I would recommend this book to any GPs and also medical students everywhere. It’s a masterpiece.
April 18, 2023
A heart-warming reminder of the privilege it is to be a doctor. I hope to be half the GP that this woman is!
October 4, 2024
Tendría alrededor de ocho años cuando una madrugada sonó el timbre de mi casa. Me despertaron unos ruidos y voces que procedían de la planta baja. Asomé la cabeza desde lo alto de la escalera. Abajo, mis padres se afanaban en atender a unos hombres que hablaban angustiados mientras trataban de meter en casa a otros que estaban llenos de sangre. Creo que fue mi madre quien me obligó a entrar de nuevo y dejar de curiosear. Cerré la puerta, pero no me metí en la cama, me quedé un rato con la oreja pegada a la madera tratando de adivinar qué había pasado, hasta que me aburrí y volví a dormir. Por la mañana, al bajar las escaleras, había manchas de sangre en las paredes y el rastro llevaba hasta el garaje, al fondo del cual, mi padre tenía un pequeño dispensario médico. Lo que había pasado esa noche es que habían llevado a mi casa a los heridos en un accidente de coche. Y lo que pasó los días siguientes es que yo invitaba a cualquier compi del cole a hacer los deberes conmigo para poder enseñarles las manchas y asustarles contándoles que había visto cómo se desangraban y morían en ese suelo. Lo último era mentira, claro, pero me encantaba sentir el miedo en sus caras.
Ser hija del médico en un pueblo pequeño como Montánchez me ayudó a familiarizarme con el dolor y la sangre, con la vulnerabilidad de nuestros cuerpos. Vi lenguas seccionadas, cejas partidas, heridas por asta de toro o accidentes laborales, bebés azules a punto de morir atragantados. Aunque había consultorio médico, cuando estaba cerrado, todos venían a casa en busca de mi padre. Quizás esa cercanía fue la que me ayudó años después a no perder la calma ni asustarme cuando tuve que cubrir asesinatos, suicidios o accidentes siendo reportera.
Pero volvamos al pueblo, y al médico que fue mi padre porque ha sido en él en quien pensaba cuando leía “Una mujer afortunada. Historia de una médica rural”, de Polly Morland. Mi padre ha sido médico de pueblo, rural, durante al menos treinta años, primero en Peraleda del Zaucejo (Badajoz), luego en Montánchez (Cáceres), en una época en la que no había centros de salud, los hospitales siempre estaban lejísimos, había muy pocas ambulancias y no existían los teléfonos móviles. Mi padre era el médico de cabecera, que ahora se llama de familia, en una época en la que la gente confiaba, respetaba y quería a sus doctores, entre otras cosas porque vivían en los pueblos, formaban parte de la comunidad, y, como la doctora de este libro, conocían a sus pacientes, eran los guardianes “de sus historias, testigo, a lo largo de los años y una generación tras otras de la infinita diversidad de sus vidas”. Mi padre, como esta doctora inglesa, ha sido el médico de los hijos de algunos niños a los que ayudó a nacer porque sus madres no parían en los hospitales, o porque no les daba a tiempo a llegar, o porque preferían hacerlo en casa. Y como la doctora de este libro, hadescubierto que, “a medida que el cuerpo humano despierta a su propia finitud, tanto hombres como mujeres, aumentan la frecuencia de las visitas y, en el otoño de la vida, llegan a confiar en las intervenciones y el consuelo que allí encuentran.” Porque si algo aprendí de mi padre, es que de eso va la medicina general, de hablar con la gente y escuchar lo que te cuentan: “detrás de cada cita médica se despliega, además de un historial clínico, una historia personal, una sin nuevas trayectorias de vivencias y emociones, la vida entera del paciente. En la consulta, la doctora apenas vislumbra un fragmento, un destello, tener tiempo y la oportunidad para ensamblar esos retazos a lo largo de los años, las familias y las generaciones es, para ella, una de las alegrías de su carrera de médica de familia, en una comunidad como esta.”
Dentro y fuera de las consultas, se fragua una relación entre médico y paciente en la que la mejor política es la franqueza, no mentir al paciente, aunque se dan situaciones en las que lo más importante es tranquilizar y la franqueza puede esperar. Una relación entre médico y paciente cada vez menos habitual “en el mundo de la medicina moderna, en el que muchos pacientes tienen la impresión de que es raro que les reciba dos veces el mismo médico de familia.” Un mundo moderno en el que el sistema público de salud, da igual el país al que mires, está siendo desmantelado; en el que los médicos apenas tienen tiempo para escuchar con atención a sus pacientes, para consolarles, para atenderles, de forma que en esas citas puedan combinar corazón y cerebro: “reunir, en cada una de esas citas de diez minutos, la empatía, la precisión, la colaboración en la toma de decisiones y la astucia en la gestión de riesgos requiere la capacidad de borrar la pizarra con cada encuentro. Se trata de mirar y escuchar con sumo cuidado, exprimiendo cada vestigio verbal y no verbal de significado en escasos seiscientos segundos…”
Se muere una sanidad pública para dar paso a otra más inhumana, donde las salas de espera están abarrotadas, donde a los médicos se les obliga a atender en menos de cinco minutos a sus pacientes o a jubilarse, llegados a los 65 años, contra su voluntad, obviando la importancia de tantos años de práctica: “la combinación de la experiencia clínica, años de ejercicio y la continuidad asistencial, el conocimiento de un paciente concreto a lo largo del tiempo, están intrínsecamente relacionados con la exactitud de la corazonada de un médico. Se trata de la familiaridad con el colectivo y con el individuo.”
Es importantísimo que se priorice la relación médico-paciente, es crucial para una asistencia sanitaria eficaz tanto como para la supervivencia de nuestro sistema público de salud: “Si alguien nunca ha conocido una buena relación médico-paciente, ¿por qué demonios habría de apreciarla o luchar por ella? ¿Por qué consideraría siquiera que existe alguna alternativa a la asistencia sanitaria, entendida como transacción?”
Mi padre, obligado a jubilarse, volvió a ilusionarse cuando, tras el confinamiento, pudo vestir su bata blanca y colaborar en la vacunación contra el COVID, entonces sí,los políticos que nos gobiernan, se dieron cuenta de que hacen falta más sanitarios. ¿Cuándo nos vamos a dar cuenta nosotros de lo importante que es defender lo público?
March 28, 2023
I loved this book. It has, at its core an examination of what used to be called a "family doctor" embracing the element of continuity of care. Sadly, although modern general practice (and many patients) aspires to cling to this principle, it has been eroded year on year by both the pace of life and the number of doctors per capita.
This is a contemporary look at a rural practitioner, who serves the same Gloucestershire community as the Fortunate Man of Berger's classic, but so much more emotive and visceral. She, as her predecessor (bar one), embeds herself in the community she serves and shows rather than tells the huge benefits for both patient and clinician of this cross-pollination for their health.
It is written as reportage combined with the natural world whose backdrop forms a part of the telling as much as the lives of the doctor and those she touches. It conveys such a clear sense of place which is definitely not just a backdrop but embeds a very human relationship with the natural world. The photographs of both the environment and the local population enhance all the content.
What is extraordinary is that this is written by Polly Morland, not the doctor herself. Although we are constantly reminded of this by her using "the doctor" as a third person narrative, it reads like recollections - an episodic memoir. Morland is truly impressive in inhabiting her subject, and both should be much lauded.
This is a contemporary look at a rural practitioner, who serves the same Gloucestershire community as the Fortunate Man of Berger's classic, but so much more emotive and visceral. She, as her predecessor (bar one), embeds herself in the community she serves and shows rather than tells the huge benefits for both patient and clinician of this cross-pollination for their health.
It is written as reportage combined with the natural world whose backdrop forms a part of the telling as much as the lives of the doctor and those she touches. It conveys such a clear sense of place which is definitely not just a backdrop but embeds a very human relationship with the natural world. The photographs of both the environment and the local population enhance all the content.
What is extraordinary is that this is written by Polly Morland, not the doctor herself. Although we are constantly reminded of this by her using "the doctor" as a third person narrative, it reads like recollections - an episodic memoir. Morland is truly impressive in inhabiting her subject, and both should be much lauded.
July 10, 2022
This book manages to be so many things at the same time:
- a brilliantly researched, compelling argument for protecting the family gp.
- Deeply touching insights into moments of human connection that change the course of lives…
- Extraordinarily vivid descriptions of the valley and the seasons… The way descriptions of the landscape are woven into the humanity of the characters depicted is nothing short of magical.
- it is also a profound and philosophical book.. there were lines I’ve had to note down so I don’t forget.. especially about how we value and measure time and relationships. The description of how the doctor’s empathy & authenticity builds trust and enables vulnerability has so much relevance for my own work as a psychotherapist. And the small but deeply moving insights into all those different lives…. They’ve all stayed with me they were so resonant.
I loved it.
- a brilliantly researched, compelling argument for protecting the family gp.
- Deeply touching insights into moments of human connection that change the course of lives…
- Extraordinarily vivid descriptions of the valley and the seasons… The way descriptions of the landscape are woven into the humanity of the characters depicted is nothing short of magical.
- it is also a profound and philosophical book.. there were lines I’ve had to note down so I don’t forget.. especially about how we value and measure time and relationships. The description of how the doctor’s empathy & authenticity builds trust and enables vulnerability has so much relevance for my own work as a psychotherapist. And the small but deeply moving insights into all those different lives…. They’ve all stayed with me they were so resonant.
I loved it.
June 22, 2023
This book was given as a Christmas gift, as is actually about my childhood GP! A tribute to John Berger’s ‘fortunate man’ which also informed my inspiration to become a doctor. Was a very immersive experience re-living the geography of where I grew up, the country lanes I recognised just from the narrative, the woodlands, the nursing home down the road…but jarring at points knowing that it was indeed my GP and remembering childhood memories of illness. Ultimately a beautiful personal narrative of working as a GP in our current healthcare system during the pandemic and before..
October 21, 2023
Just two stars feels a little harsh but I am trying to be more honest about my reviews and two stars is simply how I feel.
As much as the book is heart warming (sometimes) and discusses morality and ethics which I do find interesting. Overall the "messages" in the book are repetative, and I did find myself drifting from the pages, having to actively refocus on the words.
This could be a case of it just not being the book for me. However, I do feel if the writing was better I would have had a more enjoyable reading experience.
As much as the book is heart warming (sometimes) and discusses morality and ethics which I do find interesting. Overall the "messages" in the book are repetative, and I did find myself drifting from the pages, having to actively refocus on the words.
This could be a case of it just not being the book for me. However, I do feel if the writing was better I would have had a more enjoyable reading experience.
October 14, 2023
I thought this book was brilliant. In all honesty, I assumed when I first saw the title that it was a straightforward memoir by a country GP, written by her, the usual run of the mill type stuff. Little did I know it was linked to a previous book A Fortunate Man: The Story of a Country Doctor, and the GP practice in Morland's title is the same one as featured in that book.
Polly Morland writes so so well. She manages to weave the story of the GP, the landscape of St Briavels in the Forest of Dean, the history of the area, the experience of the pandemic and personalising history all into a clever web of passion, caring, empathy, interest and entertainment. There are frequent references back to John Berger's original book on the male GP that ran the St Briavels practice, effectively linking the present to the past. The real sense of community and connection shines through that is still present in many areas of the Forest.
I just loved this and really enjoyed reading it. I was trying not to read it too quickly; physically slowing myself down so I could take in and absorb all the brilliance of the writing.
This is not your average "health worker" memoir, it is so much more. It is a meditation on place, belonging, nature and history.
Highly highly recommended, my favourite read in a long time. And I'm reserving the Berger title at the library for my next visit.
Polly Morland writes so so well. She manages to weave the story of the GP, the landscape of St Briavels in the Forest of Dean, the history of the area, the experience of the pandemic and personalising history all into a clever web of passion, caring, empathy, interest and entertainment. There are frequent references back to John Berger's original book on the male GP that ran the St Briavels practice, effectively linking the present to the past. The real sense of community and connection shines through that is still present in many areas of the Forest.
I just loved this and really enjoyed reading it. I was trying not to read it too quickly; physically slowing myself down so I could take in and absorb all the brilliance of the writing.
This is not your average "health worker" memoir, it is so much more. It is a meditation on place, belonging, nature and history.
Highly highly recommended, my favourite read in a long time. And I'm reserving the Berger title at the library for my next visit.
July 10, 2025
16383903747494 estrellitas a este libro. Describe paisajes, personas y sus relaciones y yo no hago más que llorar en cada página.
"La cuestión es que ella no es una mera proveedora de servicios y ellos los usuarios de dichos servicios. Su relación no es transaccional. Ahora es una más".
"Que lo importante es ser humano y relacionarse con otros humanos con amabilidad y honradez".
"Cuando recuerda aquella tarde, y cualquier otro encuentro similar a lo largo de sus más de veinte años aqui, comprende que parte de lo que ofrece a quienes están a su cuidado es tiempo".
"La cuestión es que estamos hablando de una persona, no de un servicio. Por eso siempre llega tarde a las citas: porque le ha dedicado más tiempo del que correspondía al paciente anterior. Y, si me pregunta, eso es una virtud..."
«En nuestra sociedad», escribe, «no sabemos reconocer, medir la contribución de un médico corriente en activo. Por "medir" no quiero decir "calcular" según una escala fija, sino, más bien, tomar la medida de esa contribución».
"La cuestión es que ella no es una mera proveedora de servicios y ellos los usuarios de dichos servicios. Su relación no es transaccional. Ahora es una más".
"Que lo importante es ser humano y relacionarse con otros humanos con amabilidad y honradez".
"Cuando recuerda aquella tarde, y cualquier otro encuentro similar a lo largo de sus más de veinte años aqui, comprende que parte de lo que ofrece a quienes están a su cuidado es tiempo".
"La cuestión es que estamos hablando de una persona, no de un servicio. Por eso siempre llega tarde a las citas: porque le ha dedicado más tiempo del que correspondía al paciente anterior. Y, si me pregunta, eso es una virtud..."
«En nuestra sociedad», escribe, «no sabemos reconocer, medir la contribución de un médico corriente en activo. Por "medir" no quiero decir "calcular" según una escala fija, sino, más bien, tomar la medida de esa contribución».
October 29, 2025
I enjoyed it more than A Fortunate Man, however, I couldn’t help feeling it excessively romanticised the life of a rural GP. It felt more like an epic poem dedicated to the work of a wonderful, amazing doctor, which felt slightly unrealistic. It is amazing work, but I think would’ve been more interesting to hear the highs and lows from the GP herself - I think it would’ve felt more real and have resonated with me more. It did improve as the book went on and so 2 stars.
October 25, 2024
Más que las historias en sí de la doctora con sus pacientes, me han parecido muy interesantes todas las reflexiones que hace sobre la importancia de un cuidado continuado para lograr un conocimiento de todas las circunstancias vitales de los pacientes, ya sean sociales, familiares, laborales o de salud. Lo que es un médico de familia de toda la vida y cuyo papel se está perdiendo en estos tiempos de contratos precarios y saturación de los servicios públicos de salud por la falta de inversión. El mismo servicio de salud británico reconoce que salen más baratos trescientos millones de citas de médicos de cabecera anuales que los 23 millones de visitas a urgencias y que un año de atención general a un paciente al año es más barato q dos visitas a urgencias en el hospital. Da para darle dos vueltas y pensar por qué se desmantela la medicina de familia y quién se está llevando la pasta.
October 31, 2023
A Fortunate Woman is a non-fiction book about the life of a modern country doctor.
This book was inspired by the discovery of a long-lost book in the bookcase of the author’s mother—John Berger’s A Fortunate Man—which was itself the story of a country doctor published in the 1960s. In a series of coincidences, unbeknown to her, author Polly Morland found that she was living in the same remote valley that was the setting for A Fortunate Man. In turn she spoke to the current doctor of the valley who said that Berger’s book had been a big influence on her own choices to become a doctor. Author and doctor began to meet and talk, and the idea for a parallel book, set in modern times, came about. In this rare rural setting the doctor knows her patients well and provides a system of continual care in their community.
With lovely black and white photos of the rural area and the doctor, this was a very interesting read. Many of us are mourning the loss of a doctor and medical team who know us well and who are available when we need them. This book follows the doctor through the recent Covid-19 situation, and it was interesting to read about it through the eyes of the doctor and her team.
This was a very candid story and well worth reading. It sparked memories of my own childhood with a family doctor who knew us all, but it is also perhaps a ray of hope at a time when the National Health System seems to be floundering badly.
This book was inspired by the discovery of a long-lost book in the bookcase of the author’s mother—John Berger’s A Fortunate Man—which was itself the story of a country doctor published in the 1960s. In a series of coincidences, unbeknown to her, author Polly Morland found that she was living in the same remote valley that was the setting for A Fortunate Man. In turn she spoke to the current doctor of the valley who said that Berger’s book had been a big influence on her own choices to become a doctor. Author and doctor began to meet and talk, and the idea for a parallel book, set in modern times, came about. In this rare rural setting the doctor knows her patients well and provides a system of continual care in their community.
With lovely black and white photos of the rural area and the doctor, this was a very interesting read. Many of us are mourning the loss of a doctor and medical team who know us well and who are available when we need them. This book follows the doctor through the recent Covid-19 situation, and it was interesting to read about it through the eyes of the doctor and her team.
This was a very candid story and well worth reading. It sparked memories of my own childhood with a family doctor who knew us all, but it is also perhaps a ray of hope at a time when the National Health System seems to be floundering badly.
April 20, 2025
A masterpiece. The most moving, heart-warming, compelling, thought-provoking book I've come across. Truly a wonderful book, beautifully written and illustrated with stunning black & white pictures of the valley, a must-read.
August 6, 2023
I am just so glad I read this! What a poignant book, I am happy that I have started branching out and reading more non-fiction.
January 21, 2024
This was a beautiful reflection on medicine, relationships, nature, and humanity. The writing was stunning and after some sentences I had to stop just to take them in. I don’t often read non fiction, but if all non fiction was like this I don’t think I could put the genre down.
April 11, 2023
I enjoyed reading this and actually learned a lot. Empathy between doctors and patients goes both ways and it will be hard to forget that after reading this book.
January 20, 2024
to start with i wasn’t loving this book bc the tone is quite simpy but by the end i was fully converted, good stuff
April 25, 2025
Beautiful, poetic, moving. Abstract but still human, relatable, and engaging. A real joy to read, which is such a mark of the author’s talent given the challenging subject matter.
December 5, 2023
Very lovely read. Not normally a fan of non-fiction but really enjoyed this. Thank you for the bday pressie Paula!!
April 7, 2023
A gorgeous gorgeous meditation on primary care, pandemic, and nature ! nothing about this was groundbreaking, but it didn’t need to be — the simplicity was more than enough
Yeah, I cried at the covid bits. Sue me
Yeah, I cried at the covid bits. Sue me
April 7, 2023
An absolutely wonderful read! The way the story is put together with tales of patients, the doctors own childhood and road to landing where she is C and the general social commentary about the importance of relationships and the loss of that with your GP is simply so well done. So enjoyable!
January 4, 2025
I don’t normally go in for non fiction but found myself completely immersed in the country life. Thought provoking about how general practice should be run
March 27, 2023
A quiet, composed love letter to the art of general practice. I assumed this was written by the doctor herself, but it was actually by a journalist who observed the doctor before and during the pandemic, as she worked long hours to support her patients and the wider community.
There are accounts of meeting with patients but these do not go into much detail other than what is immediately obvious e.g. the patient complains of x, so the doctor does y. More of the book is dedicated to the community, the environment and how they both adapt to the ever changing challenges that come with living in a rural - and later, Covid-struck - area.
A pleasant enough read.
There are accounts of meeting with patients but these do not go into much detail other than what is immediately obvious e.g. the patient complains of x, so the doctor does y. More of the book is dedicated to the community, the environment and how they both adapt to the ever changing challenges that come with living in a rural - and later, Covid-struck - area.
A pleasant enough read.
May 1, 2024
Es beginnt mit einem Buch und endet mit einer Geschichte über eine bemerkenswerte Frau. Als Polly Morland das Haus ihrer Mutter ausräumt, stößt sie dabei auf ein Buch ihrer Mutter, das sie selbst auch besitzt und immer wieder gern gelesen hat: "A fortunate man", das die Geschichte eines Landarztes erzählt. Als sie in dem Buch blättert, erkennt sie eine Landschaft, durch die sie selbst an diesem Tag gefahren ist. Mehr noch: sie kennt die Ärztin, die die Praxis des Landarztes aus dem Buch übernommen hat. Polly macht sich auf den Weg, die Frau zu treffen und es bleibt nicht bei dieser einen Begegnung.
Es gibt Bücher, in denen ich mich gleich bei der ersten Seite wohl fühle und dieses hier ist definitiv eines davon. Polly Morland hat eine besondere Art, die Landschaft und auch die Menschen, die darin leben, zu beschreiben. Ich konnte sie mir von Anfang an gut vorstellen und war kaum überrascht, dass die Ärztin auf den Bildern genau so aussah, wie ich sie mir durch die Schilderung der vorgestellt hatte.
Polly Morland schreibt über eine Frau, für die ihr Beruf nicht ein Job, sondern eine Berufung ist. Die zuerst nicht den Patienten, sondern den Menschen sieht. Ihre Patienten vertrauen ihr und erzählen ihr oft mehr, als nur ihre Symptome. Aber das, was sie ihr nicht erzählen, schmerzt sie oft noch mehr, wie bei einer Patientin, bei der sie von der Misshandlung durch den Ehemann weiß, sie aber nicht darauf ansprechen kann.
Wer so viel Empathie besitzt, für die kann der Beruf auch eine Belastung sein. Aber die Ärztin hat sich Fluchtmöglichkeiten geschaffen und das nicht nur in ihrer Familie. Gerade in den Monaten der Pandemie braucht sie die mehr als nötig. Über die Monate aus der Sicht einer Medizinerin zu lesen, die einen viel breiter gefächerten Blick auf die Lage hatte, war gleichzeitig interessant und bedrückend.
Polly Morland hat in ihrem Buch die Geschichte es alten Arztes, seiner Nachfolgerin und des Tals, in dem sie praktiziert haben und noch praktizieren, miteinander verknüpft. Aber sie hat auch einen Strang von sich selbst eingeflochten und macht so die Geschichte für mich erst komplett.
Es gibt Bücher, in denen ich mich gleich bei der ersten Seite wohl fühle und dieses hier ist definitiv eines davon. Polly Morland hat eine besondere Art, die Landschaft und auch die Menschen, die darin leben, zu beschreiben. Ich konnte sie mir von Anfang an gut vorstellen und war kaum überrascht, dass die Ärztin auf den Bildern genau so aussah, wie ich sie mir durch die Schilderung der vorgestellt hatte.
Polly Morland schreibt über eine Frau, für die ihr Beruf nicht ein Job, sondern eine Berufung ist. Die zuerst nicht den Patienten, sondern den Menschen sieht. Ihre Patienten vertrauen ihr und erzählen ihr oft mehr, als nur ihre Symptome. Aber das, was sie ihr nicht erzählen, schmerzt sie oft noch mehr, wie bei einer Patientin, bei der sie von der Misshandlung durch den Ehemann weiß, sie aber nicht darauf ansprechen kann.
Wer so viel Empathie besitzt, für die kann der Beruf auch eine Belastung sein. Aber die Ärztin hat sich Fluchtmöglichkeiten geschaffen und das nicht nur in ihrer Familie. Gerade in den Monaten der Pandemie braucht sie die mehr als nötig. Über die Monate aus der Sicht einer Medizinerin zu lesen, die einen viel breiter gefächerten Blick auf die Lage hatte, war gleichzeitig interessant und bedrückend.
Polly Morland hat in ihrem Buch die Geschichte es alten Arztes, seiner Nachfolgerin und des Tals, in dem sie praktiziert haben und noch praktizieren, miteinander verknüpft. Aber sie hat auch einen Strang von sich selbst eingeflochten und macht so die Geschichte für mich erst komplett.
April 12, 2023
I absolutely loved this book, it is beautifully written and very life affirming. I personally found it nostalgic - my late Dad was a GP in a rural area and it brought back many memories - plus it is also set in the valley where I now live so the book, interspersed with descriptions of the changing seasons alongside the patients' stories, made utterly compelling reading. It is not possible to do it justice in a few sentences, but for me it was uplifting and inspiring - definitely highly recommended.
June 16, 2023
A Fortunate Woman is a gem a portrait of a country doctors life.Practicing in a small town where your patients are neighbors and friends where having to share a sad diagnosis is an even harder task.This is so beautifully written so eye opening emotionally moving.This is so special I will be gifting it to friends and will be reading more by Polly Morland love discovering a new to me author with other books she’s written that I can look forward to reading.
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