What do you think?
Rate this book
Autopsy of War: A Personal History
On the outside, John Parrish is a highly successful doctor, having risen to the top of his field as department head at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. Inside, however, he was so tortured by the memories of his tour of duty as a marine battlefield doctor in Vietnam that he was unable to live a normal life. In Autopsy of War , the author delivers an unflinching narrative chronicling his four-decade battle with the unseen enemy in his own mind as he struggled with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Parrish examines his Southern Baptist childhood and the profound influence of his father, a fire and brimstone preacher turned Navy chaplain, while offering a candid assessment of the "God and Country" ethos that leads young men to rush wide-eyed into war. He describes the unimaginable carnage and acts of cruelty he witnessed in Vietnam, experiences that shattered his world view leaving him to retreat from his family upon his return stateside. Living virtually homeless at times, he visited veteran shelters and relived the horrors of war in a series of harrowing flashbacks as he dealt with suicidal thoughts. The author writes honestly and probingly of his episodes of infidelity and battles with sex addiction. Readers follow his steady journey toward recovery and his professional contributions in the field of medicine and technology, as well as a joint program with the Boston Red Sox and Massachusetts General Hospital to aid returning veterans. Perhaps most poignantly, Parrish speaks of his quest to discover the identity of one particular solider in Vietnam he could not save―and whose memory has haunted him ever since.
Autopsy of War is a soul searching memoir that is both an intensely personal narrative and a universally relevant trip through the world of war and recovery.
Parrish examines his Southern Baptist childhood and the profound influence of his father, a fire and brimstone preacher turned Navy chaplain, while offering a candid assessment of the "God and Country" ethos that leads young men to rush wide-eyed into war. He describes the unimaginable carnage and acts of cruelty he witnessed in Vietnam, experiences that shattered his world view leaving him to retreat from his family upon his return stateside. Living virtually homeless at times, he visited veteran shelters and relived the horrors of war in a series of harrowing flashbacks as he dealt with suicidal thoughts. The author writes honestly and probingly of his episodes of infidelity and battles with sex addiction. Readers follow his steady journey toward recovery and his professional contributions in the field of medicine and technology, as well as a joint program with the Boston Red Sox and Massachusetts General Hospital to aid returning veterans. Perhaps most poignantly, Parrish speaks of his quest to discover the identity of one particular solider in Vietnam he could not save―and whose memory has haunted him ever since.
Autopsy of War is a soul searching memoir that is both an intensely personal narrative and a universally relevant trip through the world of war and recovery.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published June 5, 2012
10 people are currently reading
106 people want to read
About the author
John A. Parrish
15 books6 followersJohn A. Parrish, MD, is the cofounder and CEO of the Center for the Integration of Medicine and Innovative Technology (CIMIT) and the former director of the Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital Home Base Program. He is a distinguished professor emeritus of dermatology at Harvard Medical School and has served as chief of the department of dermatology at Massachusetts General Hospital. Parrish is also a member of the National Academy of Science’s Institute of Medicine. He is the author of Autopsy of War: A Personal History and 12, 20 & 5: A Doctor’s Year in Vietnam.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
June 7, 2012
“Autopsy of War” by John A. Parrish, M.D., published by Thomas Dunne Books.
Category – Vietnam War/Autobiography
John Parrish grew up in a Southern Baptist home, his father was a fire and brimstone preacher who became a Navy chaplain. The family spent a lot of time moving from city to city. This did not change much after the war when his father moved from church to church. John was extremely fortunate that a high school teacher gave him the needed direction to excel in school and obtain a college education. John went to Duke and obtained a medical degree. He kind of fell into a marriage that would have succeeded if he had paid more attention to his family. He became a workaholic, had little time for his wife and children. John knew that his selective service number was coming up and decided to join the Navy. After a couple of months training he was sent to Vietnam. It is hard for one to imagine what he saw and did as a triage doctor. The abject horror of seeing young men missing their limbs, bleeding from several parts of their bodies, and knowing that you can only do so much has stayed with him for his entire life. His humanitarianism is shown when he, on his own time, worked with Vietnamese nuns in a tuberculosis ward.
He came home as all Vietnam Veterans did, to a country that looked down on them and offered little if any assistance to assimilate into a new life. He tells of his battle with sexual misconduct, family matters, and suicidal tendencies. He fought yet another long and hard battle that saw him lose his family, but did find a way to bring his life together and become instrumental in helping Veterans of all wars to overcome PTSD and TBI.
Category – Vietnam War/Autobiography
John Parrish grew up in a Southern Baptist home, his father was a fire and brimstone preacher who became a Navy chaplain. The family spent a lot of time moving from city to city. This did not change much after the war when his father moved from church to church. John was extremely fortunate that a high school teacher gave him the needed direction to excel in school and obtain a college education. John went to Duke and obtained a medical degree. He kind of fell into a marriage that would have succeeded if he had paid more attention to his family. He became a workaholic, had little time for his wife and children. John knew that his selective service number was coming up and decided to join the Navy. After a couple of months training he was sent to Vietnam. It is hard for one to imagine what he saw and did as a triage doctor. The abject horror of seeing young men missing their limbs, bleeding from several parts of their bodies, and knowing that you can only do so much has stayed with him for his entire life. His humanitarianism is shown when he, on his own time, worked with Vietnamese nuns in a tuberculosis ward.
He came home as all Vietnam Veterans did, to a country that looked down on them and offered little if any assistance to assimilate into a new life. He tells of his battle with sexual misconduct, family matters, and suicidal tendencies. He fought yet another long and hard battle that saw him lose his family, but did find a way to bring his life together and become instrumental in helping Veterans of all wars to overcome PTSD and TBI.
June 12, 2012
Very good memoir regarding the ramifications of the invisible wounds of war, told from the perspective of a doctor who treated the wounded, but was not involved in the battle itself or physically wounded himself.
I was initially apprehensive about reading this book as I am very affected by reading about the horror humans are able to inflict on each other (either real or imagined), however was happy to find that although there is definite horror in the book, as there was in the war, it is not described in detail and I had no difficulty reading it. The book was told in an interesting way and there is little sense of self-pity, which in this author's case would be easy to understand, not only due to his experience in the American War in Vietnam and subsequent difficult re-entry into regular society, but also due to his difficult childhood.
I got a bit bogged-down in the medical sections later in the book. There is a lot of detail regarding Dr. Parrish's work in dermatology research, which sometimes felt longer and more detailed than necessary to achieve the goal, which I assume was to give the reader a view into the publicly visible success of the author's life, despite his internal struggle. During these sections, I felt like the author got off-topic. They felt "separate" from the rest of the book.
Overall, really educational and interesting read.
I was initially apprehensive about reading this book as I am very affected by reading about the horror humans are able to inflict on each other (either real or imagined), however was happy to find that although there is definite horror in the book, as there was in the war, it is not described in detail and I had no difficulty reading it. The book was told in an interesting way and there is little sense of self-pity, which in this author's case would be easy to understand, not only due to his experience in the American War in Vietnam and subsequent difficult re-entry into regular society, but also due to his difficult childhood.
I got a bit bogged-down in the medical sections later in the book. There is a lot of detail regarding Dr. Parrish's work in dermatology research, which sometimes felt longer and more detailed than necessary to achieve the goal, which I assume was to give the reader a view into the publicly visible success of the author's life, despite his internal struggle. During these sections, I felt like the author got off-topic. They felt "separate" from the rest of the book.
Overall, really educational and interesting read.
September 5, 2012
If you like to pick scabs, you'll love this book. That might sound insulting, but the reference to scab-picking is the author's: on p. xii he says "I want to pick at scabs and cut myself with my own sword." Parrish spent a year as a doctor in Vietnam; the experience caused a severe case of that horrible psychic wound we glibly call post-traumatic stress disorder. This book is part of the author's therapeutic struggle with its ongoing effects.
I wish Parrish's publisher had chosen a different title. Like a bad headline, a bad title reveals an editor asleep at the wheel. A title untrue to its book can kill it. Not that Parrish is entirely innocent. In the second paragraph of this book--in the author's acknowledgments--Parrish writes, "When I could not reach the core of war within me, I turned to books to guide me and help me recognize and disclose my failures. On occasion I found rich ore containing insights, perspectives, affirmations, or a passage that expressed something I knew to be true, but said with more authority, grace, and intellect than I could muster. ... My own language was inadequate." Under the influence of the title and these words, I took this to mean that the author would share some of those insights. I kept reading, hoping that there would be some parceling out of that rich ore, but it never happened.
The subtitle, in fact, says it all: this is an overwhelmingly personal history. Unfortunately, it is also an excessively personal history. The book is completely overbalanced by what I can only imagine is a therapeutic requirement to tell everything--not only about himself, but about his father; not only about his wartime experiences and their disastrous consequences, but about his successful practice as a pioneer of dermatology; not only about the fact of his numerous extramarital liaisons, but about the way in which they are played out.
It is unfortunate that so much information in this book is entirely extraneous to the author's stated purpose of writing because "I need to believe more can be done to help its [war's] victims." This book is very compelling in many places: it is graphic in its description of battlefield trauma inflicted on combatant and civilian alike, in its no-nonsense understanding that war requires hardened killers, and in its clarity on the subject of the morality of war.
If only he (or an editor) had focused on the objective, instead of on himself--like a good soldier? Oddly, Parrish seems to share this ruefulness: "The killing in Vietnam was highly organized and sanctioned. It was far away and easy to ignore. If I could have found my voice I could have tried to explain the sadness and waste and horror surrounding the death of each soldier."
Maybe the book that could have been is another casualty of Vietnam. Or maybe Parrish will keep trying--with someone else as his editorial C.O. to help him find his voice.
I wish Parrish's publisher had chosen a different title. Like a bad headline, a bad title reveals an editor asleep at the wheel. A title untrue to its book can kill it. Not that Parrish is entirely innocent. In the second paragraph of this book--in the author's acknowledgments--Parrish writes, "When I could not reach the core of war within me, I turned to books to guide me and help me recognize and disclose my failures. On occasion I found rich ore containing insights, perspectives, affirmations, or a passage that expressed something I knew to be true, but said with more authority, grace, and intellect than I could muster. ... My own language was inadequate." Under the influence of the title and these words, I took this to mean that the author would share some of those insights. I kept reading, hoping that there would be some parceling out of that rich ore, but it never happened.
The subtitle, in fact, says it all: this is an overwhelmingly personal history. Unfortunately, it is also an excessively personal history. The book is completely overbalanced by what I can only imagine is a therapeutic requirement to tell everything--not only about himself, but about his father; not only about his wartime experiences and their disastrous consequences, but about his successful practice as a pioneer of dermatology; not only about the fact of his numerous extramarital liaisons, but about the way in which they are played out.
It is unfortunate that so much information in this book is entirely extraneous to the author's stated purpose of writing because "I need to believe more can be done to help its [war's] victims." This book is very compelling in many places: it is graphic in its description of battlefield trauma inflicted on combatant and civilian alike, in its no-nonsense understanding that war requires hardened killers, and in its clarity on the subject of the morality of war.
If only he (or an editor) had focused on the objective, instead of on himself--like a good soldier? Oddly, Parrish seems to share this ruefulness: "The killing in Vietnam was highly organized and sanctioned. It was far away and easy to ignore. If I could have found my voice I could have tried to explain the sadness and waste and horror surrounding the death of each soldier."
Maybe the book that could have been is another casualty of Vietnam. Or maybe Parrish will keep trying--with someone else as his editorial C.O. to help him find his voice.
June 12, 2012
I won this book on Goodreads.
I thought the book was great in the sense it was a personal story of someone struggling with PTSD. The author manages to do some wonderful work in the medical profession as he deals with his trauma.
As the author mentioned himself, the book was long as he tried to write his experience in the fullest details he could as a form of therapy of sorts. At times I thought he elaborated on certain issues a bit too much, losing my attention as I caught myself skimming. For example, to me it seemed that any reference to the war seemed to always come around to his sexual exploits. I totally got that he had a sex addiction, but seriously got tired of those stories...to me it put me off. I would have liked to understand more of what a doctor's view of the war would be in place of that. I enjoyed the last part of the book very much and was happy to have stuck it out.
I thought the book was great in the sense it was a personal story of someone struggling with PTSD. The author manages to do some wonderful work in the medical profession as he deals with his trauma.
As the author mentioned himself, the book was long as he tried to write his experience in the fullest details he could as a form of therapy of sorts. At times I thought he elaborated on certain issues a bit too much, losing my attention as I caught myself skimming. For example, to me it seemed that any reference to the war seemed to always come around to his sexual exploits. I totally got that he had a sex addiction, but seriously got tired of those stories...to me it put me off. I would have liked to understand more of what a doctor's view of the war would be in place of that. I enjoyed the last part of the book very much and was happy to have stuck it out.
December 27, 2025
Powerful story!
Great book, with a powerful story. Parrish is frank and honest about his life and experiences, and how the Vietnam war impacted him and so many people around him.
Honest description of what war does to soldiers and those who care about them.
Great book, with a powerful story. Parrish is frank and honest about his life and experiences, and how the Vietnam war impacted him and so many people around him.
Honest description of what war does to soldiers and those who care about them.
July 18, 2012
This book could easily have been called Autopsy of War: A Man At War With Himself. The son of a Southern minister, John Parrish was raised to be a "good boy" - quiet, obedient, religious. Though his family grew progressively dysfunctional, Parrish largely held to his upbringing until college, when smaller conflicts of faith and experience began to balloon. Then, married and in medical residency, Parrish is drafted to fight in Vietnam. He serves his year as a medic, from bloody triage in a base hospital to foot rot in Marines on front-line missions to peaceful hospital rounds in rear echelon. What he sees and experiences changes him profoundly, the effects reverberating through his life decades after his service ends and threatening everything he holds dear. (For those afraid of too much gore, there are only a few really graphic descriptions, perhaps the worst of which appears in the foreword.) While Parrish's experiences and responses are his alone and should not be projected onto others, he provides interesting insights into what a soldier and medic faced in war, and what an ex-soldier and his family faced afterward.
At times, Parrish questions his own motives in writing the book. He acknowledges many shortcomings and admits using PTSD as a manipulative tool. He appears sometimes to be completely out-of-control and sometimes merely seeking attention. But a person's story is never neat and clean, and Parrish is no exception. Even so, he offers an interesting view of and commentary on many things. I give the book a solid 3.5 stars, rounded up for Parrish's work with the Home Base program.
At times, Parrish questions his own motives in writing the book. He acknowledges many shortcomings and admits using PTSD as a manipulative tool. He appears sometimes to be completely out-of-control and sometimes merely seeking attention. But a person's story is never neat and clean, and Parrish is no exception. Even so, he offers an interesting view of and commentary on many things. I give the book a solid 3.5 stars, rounded up for Parrish's work with the Home Base program.
June 13, 2012
I won this book on Goodreads.
This was a striking story of a young doctor whose life was forever altered by his experience during the American war in Vietnam. His memoirs of his youth and war were most captivating. Seeing someone who was not prepared for war by his childhood nor by his military (lack of) training.
His story of his return home and the problems that PTSD has caused him and his loved ones was most painful. As a veteran who is in treatment for PTSD, I found his story to close and the same time bordering on the repetitious. But then I remembered, the number of times I tried to change without help and the number of times I fell into the same trap.
I would recommend this for all warriors and loved ones of warriors.
This was a striking story of a young doctor whose life was forever altered by his experience during the American war in Vietnam. His memoirs of his youth and war were most captivating. Seeing someone who was not prepared for war by his childhood nor by his military (lack of) training.
His story of his return home and the problems that PTSD has caused him and his loved ones was most painful. As a veteran who is in treatment for PTSD, I found his story to close and the same time bordering on the repetitious. But then I remembered, the number of times I tried to change without help and the number of times I fell into the same trap.
I would recommend this for all warriors and loved ones of warriors.
December 30, 2012
A book I received through the Goodreads first reads program.
Must admit it took me a while to take this book off the pile of books sitting on my bookshelf and this likely due to the fact that I did not have a clue who John A. Parrish was. I had entered to win this book owing to the Vietnam War content as opposed to any desire I had to learn more about Mr. Parrish.
Now that I have read it, I am very glad that I took the time to read. It is quite an accomplishment for an author (who will be unknown by many) to shape a story of one's life and make it interesting to a reader. Parrish has accomplished such by documenting his life including his Vietnam experiences, childhood and successful business life and making it incredibly informative.
Must admit it took me a while to take this book off the pile of books sitting on my bookshelf and this likely due to the fact that I did not have a clue who John A. Parrish was. I had entered to win this book owing to the Vietnam War content as opposed to any desire I had to learn more about Mr. Parrish.
Now that I have read it, I am very glad that I took the time to read. It is quite an accomplishment for an author (who will be unknown by many) to shape a story of one's life and make it interesting to a reader. Parrish has accomplished such by documenting his life including his Vietnam experiences, childhood and successful business life and making it incredibly informative.
October 25, 2012
I won an ARC of this book in a goodreads giveaway. This book was very well written and hard to put down. I think anyone who has a war veteran in their lives or is going into the military should read this to have a better understanding of the psychological ramifications of going to war and actually being there and being a part of it. I would've liked a little more info on the PTSD and psychological issues the author faced afterwards but reading about his trauma before the war helps you to better understand why it effected him so strongly. A very good read about the war nobody ever wants to talk about. Thank you for having the courage to do so and thank you for your service.
June 9, 2012
I applaude Dr. Parrish for opening himself up and sharing his story. I thought the book was very good and shared wonderful insight into life with PTSD. I would recommend this book for anyone who has a loved one suffering from the emotional affects of war or other trauma. Dr. Parrish sets a great example of how PTSD and depression are real illnesses, but also proves that a person can be successful despite having the disease. I would also recommend the book to victims of PTSD. I received an advance reading copy from the author/publisher.
June 19, 2012
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
John Parrish served as a physician in Vietnam for 365 days. This book is an account of his childhood, his war experience, and his consequent difficulties with PTSD. I was enlightened by his account even though at times the story seemed so long and drawn-out. But it just took the entire manuscript, that many words, to clearly explain what led John Parrish to be the man he is today.
John Parrish served as a physician in Vietnam for 365 days. This book is an account of his childhood, his war experience, and his consequent difficulties with PTSD. I was enlightened by his account even though at times the story seemed so long and drawn-out. But it just took the entire manuscript, that many words, to clearly explain what led John Parrish to be the man he is today.
June 25, 2012
I received this book as a win from Goodreads First Reads, and just completed it.
The author presents a focused depiction of his life journey through childhood, war, career, marriage, and relationships. His road runs parallel with mid to late 20th century transition
in US life. I found the book to be a very detailed and insightful presentation. I learned much
from this book and was amazed at Dr. Parrish's ability to self-analyze.
The author presents a focused depiction of his life journey through childhood, war, career, marriage, and relationships. His road runs parallel with mid to late 20th century transition
in US life. I found the book to be a very detailed and insightful presentation. I learned much
from this book and was amazed at Dr. Parrish's ability to self-analyze.
May 9, 2012
Not for the faint of heart because Parrish (who served as a Navy doctor in the Vietnam War) describes war at its absolute worst and mercilessly lays out his thirty-year battle with PTSD. He also tells of a psychologically scarring childhood and adolescent. But Parrish writes very well and there is redemption in his later years.
July 1, 2012
I won this book on a Goodread.com giveaway. I enjoyed this book and got very good insight on the effects of war on its participates. Dr John Parrish was in Vietnam only 1 year but it affected him for the rest of his life to a very great degree. I found parts of the book a little wordy but I would recommend it to others.
July 2, 2012
I had some difficulty getting through this, perhaps because I am not a Vietnam veteran. The narrative is disjointed and unfocused, and perhaps that is an accurate reflection of the author's journey. The emphasis on the effects of PTSD was not as compelling as expected. Nevertheless this might be an important book for historians and veterans.
August 9, 2012
A painfully honest examination of one man's life and his experiences and response to serving as a doctor for a year during the American War in Vietnam ... One of the best explorations of PTSD I have ever read.
June 29, 2012
I'm not a big fan of war books, so that's probably why I only gave it three stars. But if you like that kind of thing you might enjoy the book more!
July 11, 2014
I received this book through the First Reads giveaway program on Goodreads.
A honest account of the war that is not at all for the faint of heart.
A honest account of the war that is not at all for the faint of heart.
June 13, 2012
I received this book for free from the Goodreads first-read giveaway. I thought this was a very moving book. I recommend it for all war vetrans, their families, and anyone who knows a vetran.
August 28, 2012
This was a very good book to read....I fully recommend it to people.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
July 24, 2012Best book I have read about Vietnam war.
Read
September 29, 2012Very stark and guttereal. Not for the faint of heart to read. Prolific and very honest depiction of the tribulations that the author went through.
September 6, 2012
Great book.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews