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Breathless: Surgical Tales from the Brink
Heralded as “a testament to the precision, resilience, and compassion that define the very best of medicine,” Breathless is a powerful, unflinching, and deeply human exploration of life and death in the pediatric operating room.
Told from the unique perspective of a high-stakes pediatric airway surgeon, this gripping collection of true surgical stories by Dr. Tali Lando invites readers behind the doors of a modern trauma hospital to experience what it’s like to be responsible for the breath — and sometimes the very life — of a child.
Through 19 exquisitely rendered chapters, Dr. Lando shares unforgettable tales of tiny preemies, trauma victims, surgical miracles, and heartbreaking losses. Each case is recounted with unvarnished honesty, medical insight, and emotional depth — from an infant in respiratory crisis at a prison visitor center to a teenage boy who nearly suffocates after a biking accident. Meet the spunky little girl named Heaven who changed Dr. Lando’s life forever and explore the quiet sacrifices of a surgeon-mother navigating home life in the aftermath of trauma. The stories are as riveting as they are revelatory.
A Binge-Read Book, Brimming with Medical Drama and Human Compassion
Since the first televised medical drama hit the airwaves, the masses have been clamoring for realistic and heart-rending stories about what happens in America’s hospitals. Surgical Tales from the Brink (and Back) delivers on that need and takes readers beyond their wildest expectations. What makes Breathless so special is not just the intensity of its clinical moments or the complexity of its cases, but the voice behind them. Dr. Lando is a rare talent — a gifted surgeon and storyteller — who combines medical insight with literary grace, humor, vulnerability, and moral clarity. She explores themes of intuition, humility, surgical skill and judgment, collaboration, grief, and the emotional spillover that comes from living every day on the brink. Her narrative voice is equal parts compassionate physician, no-nonsense mentor, self-deprecating friend, and wise advocate for her patients and colleagues.
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“Breathless is an absolute must-read for anyone curious about the hidden world behind operating-room doors. The stories are extraordinary, the writing masterful, and the pacing utterly captivating. I couldn’t put it down.”
Linda Bluestein, MD, Board-certified Anesthesiologist, Hypermobility Expert, and Host of The Bendy Bodies Podcast
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With Breathless, Dr. Tali Lando accomplishes what few physician-authors have she makes the clinical deeply personal and the personal universally meaningful. This is not just a book about surgery — it’s a book about being human in the most vulnerable, courageous, and life-altering moments. And it’s about coming together in service of the most noble aim — saving and improving lives.
A one-of-a-kind book for medical professionals, patients and families, medical students and residents, nurses and healthcare leaders, and voracious readers who appreciate high-stakes memoirs, real-life drama, and beautifully written stories of resilience and care.
---
With a foreword by Dr. Mike Rutter, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.
Breathless comes on the heels of Dr.
Told from the unique perspective of a high-stakes pediatric airway surgeon, this gripping collection of true surgical stories by Dr. Tali Lando invites readers behind the doors of a modern trauma hospital to experience what it’s like to be responsible for the breath — and sometimes the very life — of a child.
Through 19 exquisitely rendered chapters, Dr. Lando shares unforgettable tales of tiny preemies, trauma victims, surgical miracles, and heartbreaking losses. Each case is recounted with unvarnished honesty, medical insight, and emotional depth — from an infant in respiratory crisis at a prison visitor center to a teenage boy who nearly suffocates after a biking accident. Meet the spunky little girl named Heaven who changed Dr. Lando’s life forever and explore the quiet sacrifices of a surgeon-mother navigating home life in the aftermath of trauma. The stories are as riveting as they are revelatory.
A Binge-Read Book, Brimming with Medical Drama and Human Compassion
Since the first televised medical drama hit the airwaves, the masses have been clamoring for realistic and heart-rending stories about what happens in America’s hospitals. Surgical Tales from the Brink (and Back) delivers on that need and takes readers beyond their wildest expectations. What makes Breathless so special is not just the intensity of its clinical moments or the complexity of its cases, but the voice behind them. Dr. Lando is a rare talent — a gifted surgeon and storyteller — who combines medical insight with literary grace, humor, vulnerability, and moral clarity. She explores themes of intuition, humility, surgical skill and judgment, collaboration, grief, and the emotional spillover that comes from living every day on the brink. Her narrative voice is equal parts compassionate physician, no-nonsense mentor, self-deprecating friend, and wise advocate for her patients and colleagues.
---
“Breathless is an absolute must-read for anyone curious about the hidden world behind operating-room doors. The stories are extraordinary, the writing masterful, and the pacing utterly captivating. I couldn’t put it down.”
Linda Bluestein, MD, Board-certified Anesthesiologist, Hypermobility Expert, and Host of The Bendy Bodies Podcast
---
With Breathless, Dr. Tali Lando accomplishes what few physician-authors have she makes the clinical deeply personal and the personal universally meaningful. This is not just a book about surgery — it’s a book about being human in the most vulnerable, courageous, and life-altering moments. And it’s about coming together in service of the most noble aim — saving and improving lives.
A one-of-a-kind book for medical professionals, patients and families, medical students and residents, nurses and healthcare leaders, and voracious readers who appreciate high-stakes memoirs, real-life drama, and beautifully written stories of resilience and care.
---
With a foreword by Dr. Mike Rutter, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.
Breathless comes on the heels of Dr.
292 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 15, 2025
21 people are currently reading
45 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 15, 2025
Breathless is a riveting and unforgettable read. Dr. Tali Lando captures the heart-stopping suspense of the operating room with the warmth and humor of a wife, mother, daughter, and friend. As someone who once led communications at a medical sciences university, I was especially moved by her fierce devotion to the residents she mentors and the tenderness she shows to her patients’ families. She embodies the best of medicine — brilliant surgeon, compassionate teacher, humble colleague — and she also happens to be the most gifted physician-writer I’ve ever encountered. In her hands, the drama of high-stakes medical intervention and the everyday rhythms of family life coexist on the same page, equally compelling and deeply human. This book left me both breathless and grateful for the dedication of doctors like her.
November 15, 2025
I LOVED this book. The details of the cases and the aftercare was amazing, and each case led to the author describing time at home with her family- Trying to be fully present with her loved ones while also thinking of her patients.
There is a “cocaine condom” case, the story of a girl named Heaven, and many more. Such a great read.
I received a copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
There is a “cocaine condom” case, the story of a girl named Heaven, and many more. Such a great read.
I received a copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
October 29, 2025
A pediatric surgeon who wouldn’t trade her job for anything
“Even after all these years — despite the exhaustion, the sacrifices, and the disheartening ways in which medicine has evolved — I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Not for anything at all.” This is the central message that all of the chapters of the book have in common, whether they end with a little patient’s cure or tragedy. She does her challenging job with all the intensity and commitment it requires and wakes up every single morning with a clear sense of purpose.
The 292-page book of non-fiction, “Breathless” by Tali Lando, M.D., has recently been published. The author’s decision to write this book was influenced by the untimely death of her father, who had always listened to the details of her operating cases. The book not only contains 16 case stories and the life lessons Tali Lando has learned from them, but she also dedicates a whole chapter to the valuable work of the nursing staff and everyone who cares for the patients and one chapter is about her work routine. The last one with the title of “It’s gonna take your breath away” shows what it takes to be an ENT surgeon: “As a surgeon, you need to accept that in the operating room, the buck will always stop with you. No matter what. Some days, you will feel triumphant. Many days, you will feel like Atlas bearing the weight of the world on your shoulders. On the very worst days, you will be Icarus free-falling from the sky.”
Tali Lando’s book is very interesting for readers without a medical background who like to read medical cases, but there is much to learn from her life lessons for medical staff, as well. The book comes with a glossary of terms and abbreviations, which is helpful for readers.
Tali Lando’s writing style is very systematic with a lot of medical detail, and it showcases the love she has for her little patients and her empathy for their parents. As a reader, you find yourself eagerly following each of her patients' exciting search for a diagnosis or holding your breath during descriptions of extremely risky and difficult operations.
“Breathless” stands out from many other doctors’ descriptions of their most interesting cases that I have read because of its being a raw, honest and human account of her life as a pediatric airway surgeon - nothing is glossed over and nothing is left out. I absolutely loved the book, it filled me with deepest respect for people like Dr. Lando, who have made it their life's work to help children who often end up with her in life-threatening situations.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
“Even after all these years — despite the exhaustion, the sacrifices, and the disheartening ways in which medicine has evolved — I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Not for anything at all.” This is the central message that all of the chapters of the book have in common, whether they end with a little patient’s cure or tragedy. She does her challenging job with all the intensity and commitment it requires and wakes up every single morning with a clear sense of purpose.
The 292-page book of non-fiction, “Breathless” by Tali Lando, M.D., has recently been published. The author’s decision to write this book was influenced by the untimely death of her father, who had always listened to the details of her operating cases. The book not only contains 16 case stories and the life lessons Tali Lando has learned from them, but she also dedicates a whole chapter to the valuable work of the nursing staff and everyone who cares for the patients and one chapter is about her work routine. The last one with the title of “It’s gonna take your breath away” shows what it takes to be an ENT surgeon: “As a surgeon, you need to accept that in the operating room, the buck will always stop with you. No matter what. Some days, you will feel triumphant. Many days, you will feel like Atlas bearing the weight of the world on your shoulders. On the very worst days, you will be Icarus free-falling from the sky.”
Tali Lando’s book is very interesting for readers without a medical background who like to read medical cases, but there is much to learn from her life lessons for medical staff, as well. The book comes with a glossary of terms and abbreviations, which is helpful for readers.
Tali Lando’s writing style is very systematic with a lot of medical detail, and it showcases the love she has for her little patients and her empathy for their parents. As a reader, you find yourself eagerly following each of her patients' exciting search for a diagnosis or holding your breath during descriptions of extremely risky and difficult operations.
“Breathless” stands out from many other doctors’ descriptions of their most interesting cases that I have read because of its being a raw, honest and human account of her life as a pediatric airway surgeon - nothing is glossed over and nothing is left out. I absolutely loved the book, it filled me with deepest respect for people like Dr. Lando, who have made it their life's work to help children who often end up with her in life-threatening situations.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
December 16, 2025
Breathless will leave you exactly that. This is a beautifully written collection of heart-pounding medical cases with very raw and vulnerable reflections of the human side of medicine. Dr Lando is equally talented both in the OR and at the keyboard. You don’t want to miss this rare peek into the inner workings of what a day in the life of an airway surgeon is truly like.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews