Finding Joy in Medicine

by Reza Manesh

For Dr. Reza Manesh, a life caring for others hasn't been easy. By learning and cultivating three important principles, he found joy in practicing medicine.

Through deeply personal stories, Reza shares how he came to value humanism, humility, and a hunger for growth over the course of his medical career. He shares moments of finding his purpose, of finding his passion and, ultimately, finding his love of medicine.

In this motivational memoir, Reza shares the challenges he faced at each stage of his journey to becoming a clinician. He hopes to help those who, like him, have wondered whether they are good enough to work in health care. He speaks to anyone struggling to find joy in medicine or contending with emotional or physical exhaustion on their path to becoming a health care professional.

Genres: Medicine

110 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 20, 2021

Reviews

[Vanessa P · Rating 5 out of 5]

I appreciate the author’s critique of the toxic "fake it till you make it" mentality that often permeates the medical field, which can create gaps in knowledge with no clear path to fill them. Many of his reflections and self-doubts resonated with my own experiences navigating the complexities of learning and practicing medicine. His insights not only reaffirmed the reasons I find joy in medicine, but also validated the mental and emotional challenges that come with caring for others. I would love to read more memoirs that explore the realities of practicing medicine in such a thoughtful and introspective way.

[Michael Denham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part ode to medicine and part love poem to his Aghajoon (grandfather), this short book offers multiple stories of inspiration on the other side of failure as Manesh reflects on lessons learned throughout his medical training. The author purposely makes these anecdotes digestible for anyone, regardless of medical background, but they're especially relevant for those taking care of patients daily in the hospital.

I enjoyed the chance to reflect on my own training thus far and appreciated the reminder that at the root of medicine is a hunger for growth and learning, fed by constant reminders of the value of humility in the face of so much beyond our personal and collective understanding. Manesh has written a loving, tidy read.

[Nblipsitz · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading online praise, I was hoping for more. The medical memoir is a challenging genre. While I appreciated the author's frankness about his challenges and initial hurdles and am truly inspired by his educational mission and online app CPSolver, I was hoping for more insight and depth.

[Missy Barnhart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short read sprinkled with lovely reminders on choosing to focus on what brings people to medicine in the first place. Gracious and honest and easy to read - feels like listening to a friend tell a story. At times it felt a bit to personal to be broadly applicable, but I overall enjoyed it.

[Tomas Kriz · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing experience

Difficult to summarize in words for a young doctor, just really amazing, inspiring and touching story. I would reccomend to all MDs, not just the young ones.

[Helga Þórsdóttir · Rating 5 out of 5]

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