Life on the Line: Young Doctors Come of Age on the Pandemic Front Lines

by Emma Goldberg

The gripping account of six young doctors enlisted to fight COVID-19, an engrossing, eye-opening book in the tradition of both Sheri Fink’s Five Days at Memorial and Scott Turow’s One L.

In March 2020, soon-to-graduate medical students in New York City were nervously awaiting “match day” when they would learn where they would begin their residencies. Only a week later, these young physicians learned that they would be sent to the front lines of the desperate battle to save lives as the coronavirus plunged the city into crisis.

Taking the Hippocratic Oath via Zoom, these new doctors were sent into iconic New York hospitals including Bellevue and Montefiore, the epicenters of the epicenter. In this powerful book, New York Times journalist Emma Goldberg offers an up-close portrait of six bright yet inexperienced health professionals, each of whom defies a stereotype about who gets to don a doctor’s white coat. Goldberg illuminates how the pandemic redefines what it means for them to undergo this trial by fire as caregivers, colleagues, classmates, friends, romantic partners and concerned family members.

Woven together from in-depth interviews with the doctors, their notes, and Goldberg’s own extensive reporting, this page-turning narrative is an unforgettable depiction of a crisis unfolding in real time and a timeless and unique chronicle of the rite of passage of young doctors.

Genres: Nonfiction, Medical, Medicine, Science, Biography, Memoir, Health

304 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 8, 2021

Reviews

[La Crosse County Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

Life on the Line (2021) follows six medical students that graduated early in order to help hospitals during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City (roughly from March to June).

(Yes, there is precedent for medical students graduating early. This happened also in the 1918 pandemic as well in the United States. One of the more interesting historical things I learned in this book.)

And get this, these six medical students volunteered to help, even when going into a situation when not much was known about COVID-19 and during shortages of critical personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare professionals. None in their class was required to graduate early and help, but these young doctors did, which speaks to their courage and grit. (I can't imagine how their families and significant others handled this. I would've been petrified.)



Now, going into a pandemic, it was bound to profoundly shape their careers and outlooks on the medical profession, where they had to find new ways to care for patients without exposing themselves to the virus. And there wasn't as much time to talk with each patient, with staffing shortages and increasing numbers of COVID patients filling up hospital capacity to the brim. Basically, it was learn-on-the-go, hand's-on experience in one of the most hectic times imaginable for hospitals.


I remember hearing and seeing the news coming out of New York, back when COVID-19 was starting to blow up here in the U.S. To put it lightly, New York got walloped, especially New York City, which was the early epicenter of the U.S. pandemic. Getting these insider perspectives reveals how absolutely taxing--physically, emotionally, and mentally--it was for all involved. It sounded bad from the news reports. Life on the Line only proved that it was much worse than the news made it sound.

Yet, Life on the Line is not all doom-and-gloom and the inherent uncertainty of everyday life brought on by COVID-19. There are many stories showing how much these six young doctors grew throughout their experiences, how they gained their confidence, and figured out what kind of doctor they wanted to be. After all, many of them went into separate specialties after helping out in the pandemic, including pediatrics and emergency care. Their lessons from the pandemic will inform their careers in their respective specialties.



Part medical history and part memoir, Life on the Line provides a valuable insider's perspective on the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic and how to be kind toward your fellow human beings.

-Cora



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[Jessica Marengo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought that reading this book would help me process everything that I’ve been through and seen in the last year and a half - I thought that I would feel comforted by our shared trauma. Instead, it just made me profoundly sad.

Also, if you’re going to write a book about healthcare, it’s essential to use patient-first language. This was a huge oversight.

[Rafael Sifuentes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Touching testimonies from medical students that had to graduate early in order to help with the covid pandemic and their experiences in the front lines

Some stories were a real punch to the heart while others were comical and light hearted, but in the end they all reflected what health workers around the world have been experiencing for over a year now

Good book

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was pretty gripping and moving, and it does a good job of capturing what it was like for brand new doctors (and their colleagues) on the frontlines in New York in the spring of 2020. Goldberg weaves some interesting context about medical education, too. My only wish is that the book had had a stronger thesis, but as far as capturing a few months lives of these very young doctors, it was great.

[Joanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emma Goldberg is a reporter for the New York Times. She covered the story of medical schools who accelerated graduation of students because of COVID-19. After writing that article she began talking to six students who decided to accept the early graduation option and begin their career on the front lines. This is their story.

All of the six are minorities in someway. Since the beginning of Medical Schools the "white man" has been the one that monopolizes the medical field. All six of these young doctors defied the odds, followed their hearts and worked so that their gender, their people, could have a doctor that looks like them.

They took the Hippocratic Oath on Zoom, and then walked into the "Epicenters of The Epicenter"-Bellevue and Montefiore Hospitals. They did not get the pomp and circumstance of graduation. They gave that up, to do what they were trained to do-help people.

A wonderful expose on the next generation of doctors.

[gaby :-) · Rating 4 out of 5]

the historical lens this book was written is was very unexpected, but very welcomed. the mention/acknowledgment of the AIDS crisis, and how it prepared/shaped the US healthcare system in times of crisis was a view i really appreciated. this book talked a lot about end-of-life care and the moral dilemma doctors had to grapple with as it is basically “against” their teaching to do that was also really god damn cool

understanding the first few months of the pandemic through young doctors also really humanizes the experience. these are just people with lives outside the hospital and their own relationships and worries, and it felt easier to understand the absolute severity of the situation

[Katelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. These true stories of young doctors who graduated early in spring of 2020 to work in NYC's COVID wards were interesting and thought provoking. Goldberg dives deep into topics such as end of life care and racism in healthcare.

[Tammy Adams · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 1/2 stars. This was a quick, easy read. I was kind of put off by all the seemingly random facts and stories that were included. I would’ve liked more focus on the day to day experiences of doctors during Covid-19 instead of plethora of background.

[Jennifer Schultz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read if you: Want a powerful and revealing look at young doctors (newly graduated) starting their careers during COVID-19.

I'll be honest--although quite a few of the nonfiction ARCS I've read have discussed the pandemic, I wasn't sure how I would react to one just about COVID-19. However, I really like medical narratives, so I was hopeful about this one. I can't imagine what it was like to be on the front lines of the pandemic, much less being a newly minted doctor! This is a gripping tale that focuses on several doctors (and their patients) that represent the new face of medicine, which includes communities that are underserved by health care (African-Americans, LGBTQ+, etc). Emma Goldberg also provides an excellent background that explains how these communities have been dismissed or abused by health care (Tuskegee syphlis experiment, AIDS epidemic,), which have parallels to the current pandemic.

Many thanks to Harper and NetGalley for a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Eden · Rating 5 out of 5]

2021 bk 253. One of the more important books that I have read this year. Important because I'm a midwesterner who heard horror stories of the Covid devastation in NYC from news and local nurses who had volunteered in NYC. At some level, I had kept it in my mind as a 'mass disaster', forgetting that this disease like any other is a disease of the individual, bringing a circle of caregivers into the mix. It was just that it was so intensive, so quick a spread, that systems broke down. Life on the Line tells the story of young doctors, whose graduation from medical school was moved up 3 month (a staid education system breakdown), in order to place novices in the hospital working as residences a little before their time. In many cases these young physicians made the decisions that those who have completed residency and had years of experience would otherwise have made. It is a personal book - describing the patients who received their care, the problems of finding homes for those orphaned, disposal of people who had no one left in their lives to be responsible, caring for families through phone calls. Ultimately, the book forces the reader to look back at spring 2020 and realize that it isn't over, and the trauma the health care workers have gone through has not yet been addressed. Once I picked this up - I read through the day, even missed lunch.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wish the book was more centered around the patients served and not all the random facts thrown in. Decent easy read though

[Katrina Shawver · Rating 4 out of 5]

Life on the Line is a well written, narrative piece that is both a review of medicine and how we got to where we are today, and the human side of medicine through the eyes of fresh, young doctors. The author is a New York Times journalist who tries to balance the historical shortcomings of modern medicine with new doctors on the brink of COVID. I found it an easy read because it is new and written during the beginning of Covid (the stories end in mid-2020).

The author states she was careful to blend scenarios and people so as not to identify or violate the privacy of any patient or specific doctor. The author has a way of combining both factual history into modern storytelling in such a way this was an easy read and very logical. It's a definite recommend for anyone interested in current medical nonfiction, has been impacted by Covid, or, like me, has a daughter in a medical residency program. The book read like so many of the phone calls and texts I received from my daughter in the beginning months of COVID.

You can't be on the front-line of public health, especially in a New York City public hospital, and not encounter all levels of attitudes towards health and disparities in health care availability. The author explores in depth disparities in healthcare, and chose her composite stories around doctors who represent specific demographics - Asian, Black, LGBTQ, Orthodox Jewish, and Hispanic. Each doctor composite represents one of these viewpoints, and the value of patients who can connect with their own culture. The author is effective in navigating this challenge, in that everyone comes to healthcare with historical biases a new doctor must interpret and navigate.

I think the author does an admirable job of presenting multiple viewpoints and examples and I enjoyed it.

[Claudia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Six new doctors start their internship/residency early to help NYC hospitals deal with the flood of COVID patients. The lessons they learned - what king of doctor they wanted to be, how they would interact with patients without that vital human touch, interact with family as well as other medical personnel once they had that "MD' label on their badges. How to talk about the end-of-life care and how to break the news that a beloved family member - who may have seemed to sally just hours before - has died.

And then as the world started to re-open, it erupted with the death of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement.

A unique and captivating look - not only into six individuals that defy the stereotypical doctor but desired to serve - but the first weeks/months of the devastating pandemic that took far too many lives as hospitals and medical clinics tried to figure out how to treat and save as many as they could. Don't be surprised once you've started this book, that you find it difficult to put down.

2022-235

[Maureen Caupp · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting look at what it was like for young doctors to go straight from medical school to working in overwhelmed hospitals in New York City during the corona virus pandemic. Emma Goldberg has given us a look at what it was like for doctors treating Covid and non-Covid patients, at a time when patients couldn't have visitors, medical workers had limited protective gear, medical workers had to limit their exposure and were afraid for their own health, but were also their patients only human contact. Told through the perspectives of six young doctors. This book is about what the pandemic taught doctors about themselves and how they want to offer care during the changed landscape of the pandemic. It also reminds us of that the pandemic magnified the long existing and continuing inequities of medicine and who is most vulnerable in our society. A book filled with sadness, frustration, and hope.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Six college medical students are featured in this book, about their early graduations and introductions to COVID patients in New York City. The six new doctors have one thing in common, the desire to treat these patients immediately. Their backgrounds are all different, and perhaps this background information is a little lengthy. It made me a bit nervous to read their stories on the front line treating patients who were very ill. But the topic of COVID treatment is still very urgent, and these young doctors are all heroes to me.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone needs to read this book. It captures the fear, the horror, and the raw emotion on early COVID units, while showing how hard the staff worked to care for their patients. This book hit home and made me remember how it felt to work with COVID patients when no-one knew quite what we were dealing with.

This book also gives such an accurate account of end of life care and end of life decisions. Where do we draw the line in life saving care?

[Adrian R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book tries to do a difficult thing: Write about a current event in a reflective way. Nonetheless, the book should be admired for documenting the experiences of people who did difficult things in a difficult time to save lives.

[Andrew House · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very light read. Some nice insight into the Covid pandemic from a med student/resident perspective. Definitely not the most in depth but has some nice perspectives on other aspects of medicine as well like inequity, race, end of life care etc…

[Ietrio · Rating 1 out of 5]

Some evil reviewers would say the thesis is crap coming from a dim person. I say they are dim. Now, that a few decades have passed and data has been carefully gathered by Emma Goldberg, in an unbiased manner, now, we can talk about that Covid generation of doctors: 2020--2045. Truly a story of a generation like no other in Humanity's over 10.000 years of Med School.

[amelia · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars rounded up. in my opinion, this is a required reading level book. emma goldberg does an absolutely incredible job of bringing these doctors to life on the page, humanizing them and helping the readers to understand the people behind the front lines. I found myself really connecting to their stories, rooting for the patients I was reading about, and learning and gaining a lot from this book. I understand why it has some mixed reviews- it is a profoundly heavy topic, and this book focuses a lot on certain inequalities in medicine that don't directly relate back to COVID. but for someone who wants to learn more about these topics, especially how they relate to the pandemic, this book is truly incredible. the only reason I knocked off half a star was that this was a SLOW read, but it was a great one. good journalism for the win tbh.

[Tammy Tosti · Rating 3 out of 5]

For those of you who would like to forget about the pandemic this is not the book for you.

I have long believed that in order to somewhat understand what a situation was like without walking in someone else’s shoes you need to read about it. I mean we all heard how trying the pandemic was for our doctors but did we really understand the depth of what they were going through?

This book will take you on a journey through the lives of young doctors entering the front line in the early days of March 2020. Inspiring and heartbreaking - I’m so thankful we have had heroes like this willing to help when our country needed them most.

[Emily Kennard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very well-researched and well-written book that gives personal viewpoints into working on the medical frontlines of COVID. I have steered away from consuming media about COVID (too early), but this book was informative, unique, and I'm glad I read it.

This was an advcaned copy given by #NetGalley

[Caroline Mcphail-Lambert · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little slow going at times and I’m not sure why. The subject is interesting, the characters are real people and the settings are also real. I enjoyed getting to know these young doctors in training and I’m wondering if the author tried to do too much within their individual stories.

[Elizabeth Nesbit-comer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to hear about young doctors fighting COVID, but only 10% of this book is actually that. The rest talks about AIDS, the doctors family life, graduating early, a few patients, but not much actually COVID front lines.

[Cassie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I listened to this as an audiobook for free using the Libby App and my Carnegie Library Card. This non-fiction narrative provides a ‘first-hand’ account of six young doctors who graduated early from medical school to begin working, in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. I say first-hand because the book itself is actually written by a NYT journalist, Emma Goldberg, who reported on the COVID pandemic, and reports more generally on the American workplace. She writes using in-depth interviews with these young doctors, their families, their fellow medical providers, and notes and writing from the doctor’s themselves. I actually found it grating at times that this is written from a first person perspective, but is not actually written by the doctors themselves. While Emma Goldberg is a great journalist, I found her narrative writing to be a little dry.

Through the course of the book you can really tell that this is written by an investigative journalist. She provides an interesting history on medical schools, as well as data on racism and bias in medical care. She included a lot of information on how different cultures experience death and the beliefs that accompany death. At times I almost wished she would delve deeper into these tangents! Some of my favorite pieces of this was the history she presented on palliative care, and how American came to understand and support DNR/DNI wishes. The second half of the book spends a considerable amount of time on this, and in truth it really made me enjoy a book I was otherwise debating putting down.

Selfishly, I found it frustrating that in the true narrative accounts, so little was spoken about how nurses impacted this moment in medical history, and how much risk they took on. I found myself bristling at the commentary of how dangerous it was for the doctor’s at the “minutes” they spent at the patient’s bedside, when I know many nurses who worked through those initial months, and spent cumulative hours a day exposing themselves to an unknown virus. Again, this is CLEARLY a bias of my own, and the book is from the perspective of these providers, not nurses.

A few things I loved: how poignant the commentary was on how great teamwork would make or break a unit, how scary some of the providers found Stepdown to be (same!), and how emotional some of the interactions with family were. A great quote about how the rest of the country reacted to mask mandates, etc.: “There was always someone who had to bear the burden of other people’s choices, even minor ones.”

Another important piece of this book was the commentary on the racial tone of the nation through this period, and the commentary on race in medicine. All six of these young providers were either of minority races, religions, or sexual orientation, which added an interesting aspect to the accounts. In truth, this book ended up focusing a lot of time on racial, sexual, and religious biases. I do appreciate that they recognized that the pandemic didn’t happen in a vacuum, adn they included important and very relevant societal and cultural shifts and crises. This book ended up being less about the six first-hand accounts of the pandemic, and far more about the state of American Healthcare. As interested as I was in the tangents and tidbits on American medicine, palliative care, bias, and how we got to where we are in healthcare in America, that wasn’t really what the title of the book implies that it will be.

I found myself wishing more for true first-hand accounts of these six young medical doctors. I was looking for the human interest story of who these young people were, and what they experienced first-hand during a rising pandemic. Goldberg did give us those, but honestly, the personal stories ended up being pretty dryly written and flat. While they were certainly connected in real life, the story telling here felt disjointed and difficult to connect. It felt a little disjointed overall, but the close of the book attempted to tie up some strings.

I’m certainly bringing some personal bias here, and hate to be critical of a book telling important stories, but overall, I didn’t feel particularly engaged, nor especially connected to a book I thought would feel particularly impactful. Not one I’d particularly recommend. That being said, I have enjoyed Emma Goldberg’s reporting on podcasts, and in print in the NYT.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This should be obvious from its title, but this is a book about the health care system and the doctors. It's about the fear, uncertainty and devastation of COVID-19 in its early days in spring 2020 in New York City. New York Times reporter Emma Goldberg kept up with several medical students — and featured six of them here — who graduated a month or so early in spring 2020 and were asked to start their residency early, in May, rather than the typical July start date.

Normally, these first-year interns would ease into their doctor responsibilities with heavy oversight. But all hands on deck during COVID, it was like being thrust into a war zone. They had to go against all their modern medical training about providing empathy through body language and a gentle touch of the hand — that was thrown out the window since they had to limit their time in a patient's room both because of the COVID exposure risk and the limited supply of PPE.

And so many patients died, something they would never have experienced in a normal year and not anything anyone could have been prepared for. Amidst all that dying, the patients' families couldn't be there, so these young doctors had to update families on worsening conditions, discuss treatment plans and tell families their loved ones had died all over Zoom, FaceTime or the phone.

As one other reviewer said, the book's central thesis doesn't feel as tight as it could have. It feels more like a series of essays about each student, mixed in with facts and history about medical education and hospital hierarchy — that history is fascinating. Even if you're not interested in health care, the industry, it's helpful to know as consumers, caregivers and future patients how our medical system is structured.

I did appreciate the diversity of the newly minted doctors that the writer covered. She goes into the background and family experiences of each one, giving us insight into how they approach their job. There's a gay man well aware of how AIDS was its own plague that decimated a generation. There are two Jewish doctors who talk about how their faith is connected to their job. There's a young woman, a first-generation college student. They all also talk about the impact that choosing to enter the COVID wards had on their partners and parents.

One thing I will caution: As a health care writer and editor and public health advocate, I figured I would love this book and find it fascinating. I did. But I realize, even two years after the pandemic started, I might not be ready to relive those early days, especially through the eyes of a doctor. This book is sad, full of death, heartbreaking and traumatic. Know that going in.

[Haley's Book Haven · Rating 2 out of 5]

It feels odd to say about a book dealing with such a devastating disease (that I myself had in 2020 which was extra scary given I have a preexisting condition) but this book was kind of boring. For the majority of it I felt this disconnection. I like to think I'm a very empathetic person, but the bland writing made me removed from the events that were transcribed.
I can tell the Ms. Goldberg did plenty of research because this book often veers off the topic of COVID to give you mini lessons on the medical system. If you're planning on studying medicine or you just have a fascination with the filed then you'd probably find such tidbits really interesting and engaging. However, I wanted Goldberg to focus more on the present day.
I can appreciate the bravery and resilience of the new doctors who were covered in this book, but I wanted more of them. We get some of there backstories about their families and why they wanted to become doctors. Most of the scenes of them actually being doctors, however, were too rushed and read more like summaries than tangible moments. Times that should have been defining (such as the first time they lost a patient) were brushed over so quickly before I as a reader even had time to process anything.
I think having a first person account from one of these or another new, young doctor during the beginning of the pandemic would have been a much better read. Even if Goldberg had included snippets of her interviews it would have given me more sense of the doctors and how they were processing everything. There were for sure times when I got a little emotional reading, but it just wasn't the experience I expected to have. I'm not trying to disparage Goldberg here, I just think what I thought I was getting and what I actually got with this book are two very different things.
I want to finish this review on a positive note. The doctors featured in this book come from minority backgrounds (racially and sexuality wise) and it's wonderful to see such representation. If you know of a young person who is a minority and wants to study medicine (or you are that person) then I imagine this book would be quite inspiring and make a great gift. It's so important for people to be able to see themselves being represented like this and hopefully it can encourage more young people to follow their dreams.

[Courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an outstanding book on both the experience of a new doctor in the American healthcare system, as well as on the Covid pandemic itself. There's some lovely tidbits in between that address healthcare inequality that I also found particularly poignant as someone who has suffered through a system that tends to shun those who are "different". I loved the family portraits from all of these young doctors, and found myself drawn in particular to Gabriela and Elana. Their relationships with their Grammy and father respectively reminded me very much of my own family ties (in fact, my own grandmother was "Grammy" and was just as regal!) and brought a depth of humanity to what could potentially be a rather clinical book.

Woven amongst the anecdotes of Covid and codes are astute facts about the healthcare system, as well as the day-to-day of Covid unfolding in New York. I learned quite a bit from this, and at no point did I feel overwhelmed with facts, nor bored. The writing is not bland, and as a matter of fact I binged a large majority of this book during a four hour train ride. The author is to be congratulated on tackling a touchy subject with such aplomb.

There is an exchange Jay has with her father that I keep drawing back to when I think of how necessary a book like this truly is. Her father refuses to help her with her tuition (despite assisting her brothers) because "medicine isn't women's work". His blatant ignorance - his tone deaf sexism - is shocking, as so many of us at some point have seen female healthcare professionals, and yet in a way it also didn't shock me. This exchange - highlighting how inequality begins in the home - left a solemn touch to an otherwise feel-good moment when the reader is able to remind themselves that Jay did go to medical school, and is a doctor, despite her father's archaic opinions. Her triumph will go on to inspire many other little girls who need to see role models in healthcare, so they too can dream big and succeed.

I loved this book, and wholeheartedly recommend it. You will walk away from it with a much broader perspective than you had before.

[Pao Vilchis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All of the opinions are my own and this did not affect my review in any way.

As a med student I have to admit that I don’t often read medical / nonfiction books on my free time as I tend to enjoy unplugging from the day with a good fiction book. However I was sent this book for review and I was interested to see a COVID / pandemic related book. After reading this book I have to admit that the stories the author tells are compelling and are a great representation of what actually went down in hospitals when the pandemic hit it just didn’t pack a punch like I was hoping.

Life on the Line is a gripping account of six young doctors enlisted to fight COVID-19 a few months before they were to graduate from medical school.

Like I said this book was good but unfortunately for me it wasn’t a masterpiece and it honestly didn’t change my life neither did I learn anything new about the pandemic. This book is basically an account of the lives of 6 doctors who get to graduate early in order to go work at hospitals were the pandemic hit the hardest, I thought the premise was very interesting I just didn’t think this book could get so repetitive. I liked the writing style and getting to know the 6 doctors and what was going on in their lives was very interesting however I cannot believe that all of them had the same experiences and that every chapter was going to be so similar to the last one.

Talking about the characters, I have to admit that the 6 young doctors were the best part about the book. I loved getting to know them outside of the hospital setting and diving deep into their personal lives. The author did a great job in describing the lives of each doctor and by the end I was way more interested in finding out what happen in their personal lives (marriage, family, personal goals) more than in the academic and professional aspects of their lives. Another thing I have to give the author credit for was the diversity representation, the author chose 6 doctors who are a minority in the field and for me that was great and refreshing to read about.

The thing I am most disappointed about with this book was that the hospital / patient stories were so boring and repetitive. I know that the pandemic was awful and devastating but honestly each and every one of the stories ended in dead. Also I would have loved to see a more personal touch to the stories as well as patient inclusive writing style. I understood what the author was talking about however I am a medical student so I honestly don’t think this book would be an easy / understandable read for readers who are not familiar with the medical terminology of things.

Overall this book was fine for my standards, it had great promise and some of my expectations were met I just would have loved to see a more personal approach to the patients stories as well as the use of more inclusive medical language so that everyone can enjoy and learn from this book.

[Nick · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is supposed to be a book about doctors during the early days of COVID, and maybe a majority of the book is. However, chapters tend to sprawl around history, end-of-life, and a variety of side character stories. While the mom's journey to close and re-open her salon was interesting, it felt like there were too many of these stories to the point where it detracts from the primary story.

The author covers several young characters, switching between them in different chapters. These stories take place between ~March to ~June of 2020. The whole set of stories take place within New York City.

These biographies are not bad but taken as a whole, this book is a poor representation of the pandemic at that point. It is too small. It spends too much time on trivialities and side characters than trying to capture what life was like at that point. This pandemic touched every city, every state, and every country. Side-tracking on the impact of medical restrictions to reduce the number of minority doctors doesn't really effect how COVID ravaged Italy.

The main characters, all doctors, seem to have very different perspectives on COVID and the environment. One is deeply bothered by seeing people eat outside while the other decided to join a large BLM march. These character differences are not deeply interrogated by the author, nor is there any real attempt to reconcile the story of COVID in a broader sense at all.

Overall, I just did not find this book insightful and that's unfortunate. A lot transpired during that period that should be recorded for future reference. This book just does not succeed in that.