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Extremely Employable: Notes from a Long Apprenticeship
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 24, 2026
Being a surgeon is not just a profession. It’s a way of life, a way of thinking, a passion — and sometimes, a reason to question that very passion.
Erica Minn gives us the heart of the book right from the beginning, but the eleven years that led to it unfold throughout the pages that follow. And no, you won’t be reading dramatic treatment outcomes, children pulled back from death, successful surgeries, or the surgeon’s sweet exhaustion afterward. Instead, you’ll witness what remains when all of these experiences fade into the background and eventually become just another number.
If you enjoy biographies, especially those written by medical doctors, you’ll find some of the most sincere and thought-provoking reflections in this book.
Come along for a journey that is still being written — because some stories are not about where they end, but about everything they leave behind along the way!
Erica Minn gives us the heart of the book right from the beginning, but the eleven years that led to it unfold throughout the pages that follow. And no, you won’t be reading dramatic treatment outcomes, children pulled back from death, successful surgeries, or the surgeon’s sweet exhaustion afterward. Instead, you’ll witness what remains when all of these experiences fade into the background and eventually become just another number.
If you enjoy biographies, especially those written by medical doctors, you’ll find some of the most sincere and thought-provoking reflections in this book.
Come along for a journey that is still being written — because some stories are not about where they end, but about everything they leave behind along the way!
September 26, 2026
Extremely Employable is a collection of memories and anecdotes from a pediatric surgeon’s professional and personal life—and perhaps because I saw so much of myself in these pages, this book affected me in a very different way.
So much of what happens during surgical training feels completely normal while you are living through it. And after a while, strangely enough, much of it simply fades from memory. Maybe because some of it is traumatic, or maybe because this way of living gradually becomes our new normal, and our brains no longer consider these experiences remarkable enough to hold on to.
The bonds you form with your fellow residents during those years are unlike ordinary friendships or relationships between colleagues. You go through something together that is difficult to explain to anyone who has not experienced it themselves. And then, one day, that chapter ends. Suddenly, you are no longer a resident surrounded by people going through the same chaos—you are a fully qualified surgeon, working on your own in a huge city. That transition, and the loneliness that can come with it, could hardly have been described better.
There were so many moments in this book that felt painfully familiar, but also strangely comforting to read.
Surgeons should read this book. Everyone who isn’t a doctor absolutely should.
So much of what happens during surgical training feels completely normal while you are living through it. And after a while, strangely enough, much of it simply fades from memory. Maybe because some of it is traumatic, or maybe because this way of living gradually becomes our new normal, and our brains no longer consider these experiences remarkable enough to hold on to.
The bonds you form with your fellow residents during those years are unlike ordinary friendships or relationships between colleagues. You go through something together that is difficult to explain to anyone who has not experienced it themselves. And then, one day, that chapter ends. Suddenly, you are no longer a resident surrounded by people going through the same chaos—you are a fully qualified surgeon, working on your own in a huge city. That transition, and the loneliness that can come with it, could hardly have been described better.
There were so many moments in this book that felt painfully familiar, but also strangely comforting to read.
Surgeons should read this book. Everyone who isn’t a doctor absolutely should.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews