Broke: Patients Talk about Money with Their Doctor

by Michael Stein

In this age of shortened office visits, doctors take care of their patients' immediate needs and often elide their own personal histories. But as reflected in Broke , Michael Stein takes the time to listen to the experiences of his patients whose financial challenges complicate every decision in life they make. Stein asks his patients to tell him about their financial conditions not only to find out how to better treat them but also to bear witness to their very survival and the power of human resilience. Stein's intimate vignettes capture these encounters, allowing his patients to offer profound, moving, and unguarded reflections about their struggles, sometimes in a single sentence.

Broke is a quietly passionate critique of a country that has grown callous to the plight of the poor, the tens of millions of people in the United States who live below the poverty line and who have no obvious path to security. Full of heartbreaking and surprising details and framed by a wry, knowing, and empathic humor, there is no other book that illuminates the experience of people facing economic hardship in this way.

Genres: Nonfiction

200 pages, Hardcover

Published December 7, 2020

Reviews

[Lisa Konet · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can definitely understand financial insecurity and the cost of living, for a single, unmarried not even dating person it is difficult to survive and live within your means, living comfortably is not an option for most like myself. This book delves into more of that and more but also how much do you are share of it with your psychiatrist? This book is not what I thought it was going to be but offers some advice and a little hope.

Thanks to Netgalley, Michael Stein and University North Carolina Press for an ARC in exchange for ah honest review.

Available: 12/7/20

[Abby Outterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short excerpts of conversation, interspersed with very limited analysis, made this an enticing read. I loved the topic of money and access to health care and/or health-affirming life choices. But at times the brevity of the excerpts actually made them harder to read- too much like poetry without the pleasing flow of language that poetry offers. I would have liked to hear a little more of the author’s voice in these stories. What I read between the lines left me wanting more.

[Petty Lisbon · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
It's like Humans of New York except with the social determinants of health. Maybe people would want more action instead of listing tragedy after tragedy but personally I liked seeing an empathetic doctor who understands how messed up the American healthcare system is, especially for poor people and people of color, instead of all of the nurses on my Facebook feed who are all "an apple costs 20 cents but a Happy Meal costs 7.99! Never use money as an excuse! (:".

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am and have been living in poverty. I haven’t once since maybe age 24 (I’m 35 at the time of this review) had a year/ nay a month of financial stability. Even when I was making salary there was very little (read up to $100) left over at the end of the month.

This collection of confessions can be looked at as poverty as a medical malady. What an interesting career pivot it would be to combine medical training with financial.

This book will get at your emotional center if only you have been in a situation where even $1 is something you cannot part with, where you have to scrape and bargain on clearance items to get by. To know that even that elusive $1 is the difference b/t getting utilities shut off or being kicked out of your home.

For anyone who has less than $20 to their name (🙋🏻‍♀️) this is for you.

And for anyone who tells you money won’t solve your problems they are the ones who have a reinforced safety tarp with a velvet lining. They do not know the struggle, the anxiety, the desperation that comes from being broke.