A Country Doctor's Chronicle: Further Tales From The North Woods

by Roger A. MacDonald

House calls. Flu epidemics. Terminal illnesses. Coroner duties. Fishhook incidents. For more than three decades, Roger A. MacDonald served the people of Minnesota's north woods as a family practitioner and jack-of-all-trades, even responding to the occasional barn call for ailing animals. In this new collection of stories, MacDonald takes readers on another round of house calls, office visits, and emergency summons. His remote practice saw patients of every age and type, from a local child with a penchant for putting things up his nose to a dedicated church pianist with untreatable cancer, from a teenager with unexplained seizures to a vacationing Mafioso recovering from a heart attack. MacDonald offers tales of patients, colleagues, and neighbors, probing their very human responses to medical dilemmas and sharing humorous and touching episodes in equal portions. A Country Doctor's Chronicle is a charming collection of vignettes--some hopeful, some heartbreaking--that offer a unique look at a bygone era of twentieth-century rural America.

Genres: Nonfiction

208 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2004

About the author

Family Physician Dr. Roger MacDonald practiced rural medicine in the most northerly part of Minnesota for nearly fifty years. As an isolated doctor, he wore many hats, one of which was that of county coroner. During the latter third of the Twentieth Century, crime detection depended more on a perceptive team of officers than on laboratory science. Dr. MacDonald's intimate knowledge of how things worked then shines through in his stories.

Reviews

[Monica Willyard Moen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book, precious, and full of grace. I love hearing the stories of how one country Doctor experienced life in northern Minnesota with pioneers, loggers, and other hearty souls. His love for medicine and the people of his community show through on every page.

[Bruce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another easy to read book about Dr. McDonald's medical proactive in northern MN. Many stories of the characters and situations that he faced and his thoughts about the emotions he felt in tackling the situations of his practice.

[Bruce Whitmore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another easy to read book about Dr. McDonald's medical proactive in northern MN. Many stories of the characters and situations that he faced and his thoughts about the emotions he felt in tackling the situations of his practice.

[Rhonda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really enjoy the tales in this series, down home, caring and heartfelt.