The Blood of Strangers: Stories from Emergency Medicine

by Frank Huyler

Hailed by The Boston Globe as "a compact, faceted gem that shines with intelligence," this stunning collection offers a startling and moving look at people whose lives are on the line and the men and women who try to keep them from crossing it. These twenty-eight vignettes
seamlessly juxtapose visceral portrayals of life-and-death medical situations with lyrical meditations on the world of medicine and the world at large.

Genres: Medical, Medicine, Nonfiction, Memoir, Short Stories, Health Care, Biography

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Born 1964, in Berkeley, CA; married, 2000. Education: Williams College, B.A., 1986; University of North Carolina School of Medicine, M.D., M.P.H. Addresses: Home: Albuquerque, NM.

CAREER:

Emergency medicine physician, educator, and author. University of New Mexico Hospitals, Albuquerque, resident, 1993- 96; physician, 1996--; University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, assistant professor of emergency medicine.

Reviews

[CanadianReader · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I have been one acquainted with the night.”
—Robert Frost

Spare, nuanced, and often dark, Huyler’s first volume of literary stories, based on his experience as a medical trainee and young ER doctor, focuses on patients, hospital staff, and his responses to both. Some of these pieces aren’t for the faint of heart. I’m talking not only about some truly gruesome medical details How about a young man on on a ventilator in whose mouth maggots breed and writhe? Or the Frankenstein-like procedures involved in growing back the skin of a burn patient? but also about psychological disturbances, including those in Huyler’s colleagues. For example, a steely neurosurgery attending physician is addicted to an array of drugs (she even shoots up before performing procedures); she’s intrigued by the occult (particularly the more cruel practices of voodoo) and is also guilty of domestic abuse. Luckily, someone informs on her. This is a stunning collection characterized by sharp, brilliant, always economical prose. Some of the stories are so fragmented and cryptic that I wasn’t clear about what had actually occurred or about Huyler’s authorial intentions. Those weren’t my favourites. Most are brief and propulsive. During pandemic times, many want to cast doctors and nurses as one-dimensional heroes. Huyler’s collection is a corrective to that. I’m not sure everyone wants to have their illusions so corrected.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

perfectly small and extremely vivid stories. I devoured this book on a plane trip and then tried to get the guy sitting next to me to read it.

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Medicine is only for those who cannot imagine doing anything else." - Dr. Luanda Grazette MD

This quote is especially true for those who work in the Emergency Department. I began my medical career in physiotherapy. I've been working in the ER for just over four years now. There are days where I feel that I can't do it anymore. There are days where I can't imagine being anywhere else.

This book was recommended to me by an ER Physician and good friend that I work with. It's an easy read but one that will show a glimpse of what it's like to walk through those ominous doors. The writing is smooth and lyrical enough for those who've never worked in medicine to understand. I recommend it to any one who has any interest at all in this life.

[Farah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Blood of Strangers, by Frank Huyler, contains several stories based on Huyler's personal experiences in the ER. Some of these accounts are unbelievably gory, while others are melancholy, tragic, or downright scary. Whatever the story, Huyler describes all of them with such vivid detail and accuracy that it just draws the reader in. I was absolutely captivated by his lyrical yet somewhat detached writing style, which made his experiences with the characters - the patients and doctors alike - so much more interesting. This was a wonderfully insightful book, not only focused on medicine, but the thin line between life and death, and also what it means to be human.

[Becky Workman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ebook

[Tofu · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know working in medicine can make one feel jaded to not only the profession, but also to the many aspects that make the profession as challenging as it is. But if you’re going to write stories about it, especially stories of experiences with patients, you might do so with a little more humanity and a little less robot. The story about the alcoholic woman with Huntington’s disease bothered me so much: the neglect and disgust that people treat drunkards with is borderline unacceptable; having worked in an ER myself, yes, it can be frustrating when you’re out of beds and a drunk person who’s passed out and defecated themselves is stinking up the hallway, but on the other hand, she was not only given a room, but also a diagnosis. She should have been treated with more respect, imo.

[Linda Lipko · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fascinating look at the stories of emergency medicine as experienced by a young resident in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Most stories are heartwarming, others quite gross. But, overall this is a four star rating book told with authenticity and depth of feeling.

This is a well-written, in-depth book.

[Lola · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, it was great to read an account of what it means to be a physician through a realistic account compared to the often glamourized lense of the media. Dr. Huylers stories were gripping, vivid, and intense, I believe they will stick with me for a while. The only reason I did not credit this book with five stars is because at times the writing was not my favourite.

[Shannon · Rating 1 out of 5]

At about 3/4 of the way through, I thought this would be four stars at least. But the stories in this book get progressively disgusting. Not because of procedures, but because of this man's pshychology. The thoughts he has and shares regarding his patients.

There were so many disgusting quotes that you might as well read the whole book.

[Ashley Branoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of these stories were wild! I just wish he didn't end some so abruptly. Def not a book for those that can't handle bodily fluids.

[Astrid · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve never read a book about medicine which flowed like poetry

[Elayne Garrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful poetic story telling that captures what it is like to know people only by the smallest bit of time on the worst day of their lives.

[Casey Hamlet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Made me want to go into medicine when I read this my freshman year of college! Dr. Huyler writes a beautiful and honest portrayal of life as a physician and how patients can change our view of the world. I love reading uplifting stories from physicians that make me excited for the years ahead of me in medicine, but it is refreshing to see the perspective of an ER doctor who has at times been disillusioned with this career.

Of all the medical creative nonfiction and autobiographies I have read, this one has resonated with me the most now that I am in medical school. Dr. Huyler is friends with my professor at W&L and came to speak to my senior year writing class, and it was incredible to hear his experiences practicing during the AIDS epidemic and now the COVID pandemic.

As someone who loves both creative writing and medicine, this book means a lot to me it is exciting to see how someone can pursue both.

[Clairsreads · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️


So as most of you know by now I really have 2 personalities……..kissin’ + killin’
But as many of you probably don’t know, I’ve worked in the medical field for the past 10+ years.
I had this book recommended to me by one of the midwives I work with and while non fiction is not a genre I read a lot, its nice to break out of the mold and spice up your life a little bit.
In this case with true stories of life in the ER.

This book was a wild ride. Not only did it include actual medical cases and details that were captivating and mind blowing….
It also included the very accurate reality of interpersonal relationships among medical staff and how that affects your life.
I really enjoyed this short essay style book documenting some of the more memorable moments from the authors POV.
Makes me consider writing down some of my crazy stories to publish one day 😉

[Martha Souza · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a surprising book, a sleeper.
It was very well written, almost lyrical. This is a window into the world of the Emergency Department physician.
Dr. Huyler exposed the other side of the physician, not always the professional with no feelings of empathy. Yet this gave, also, a glimpse of true human reactions to situations and people.

[Annie · Rating 2 out of 5]

He writes about his experiences during his residency. I was not impressed. If the goal was to humanize doctors, he failed. He doesn't seem to want to see patients as people, he sees them as assigned tasks in his rotation. Nursing students learn about the arts of nursing - compassion, empathy, dignity. Medical students don't have room in their curriculum and in this book, it shows.

[Rainierstranger]

Wow. I read this in 2002. I forgot the book until I found an old reading journal, but this book affected me deeply. It completely scared me away from medical institutions, and I stayed away for years. Probably not the intended effect.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm sure I added this book, but looks like I didn't. Read it around 2006/7. 4 and a half stars really, very good.

[Yetong Li · Rating 5 out of 5]

the prose is so beautiful. winding sentences on a simmer night.
love that it’s emergency medicine
also the juxtaposition of clinical moments versus the mundane is incredible
like when he just casually talks about holding the patient’s heart out of the way
or the flap of skin on the skull,
is it terrible that i’d actually be so excited about anatomy
coming back and…the emptiness of knowing they are gone and you’ll never see them again
the things we don’t know about other people in the world, & the stories they carry
how do you treat someone you may not expect to live?

“The evening thunderstorms in Chapel Hill that summer seemed vast, beautiful, all deep bass and rain”
“through the dark, softly”
“After a while I came to identify that sound—the crunch of teeth on ice—with him.”
“the whole of it somehow detached from her still figure on the bed” — alive one second and gone the next
“He didn’t look like someone having a heart attack” — so many people have said the same thing to me about my chronic illness. but it’s not about what i “look like” . also, believing the patient.
“there wasn’t much to do” — does this line actually help or worsen things?
“[the photos, personal items] it will help us see her for what she is.”
“their glib revision of him infuriated me. Their grief was real, but the words they used to describe it were not.”
“I knew him intimately, …and I had never once exchanged a single word with him”
“By the end of the week none of her own blood was left in her body. She was full of the blood of strangers”
kidney transplant vs prom. but how could you fault a girl for wanting a defining moment of girlhood?
“I didn’t feel wanted, or unwanted, worthy, or unworthy…no anger, no compassion, just this vacancy, this spending cold.”
“I felt sick, cold and damp, terrified by what I had almost missed. One question, an afterthought. That was all it had been.”
“I’m not sweet, though. I’m still and distant, and what she wants to take home is the idea of sweetness.”
“And then, maybe once or twice in our whole lives, events conspire, statistics align with the force of diamonds, against us, and they knock us out, there is no chance, the wind blows through us, we’re gone. Sometimes we come back. It’s magic and real. Those we love walk in, they sit down at the side of the bed. They hold our hands, they look into our eyes and weep, which is what the body does.”


how much of recording a persons labs can tell their story? or the items they bring with them into the ER
their clothes, their jewelry. how much of the person before they came in does it tell you about

really we’re all just human bodies at the end of the day.
how do we remain (not impassive) but nonjudgmental?
“Finally it had come to this: a body on the bed, drifting up to the surface, nearly there.”

the act of saving — often within seconds, not something you think about or mull over or is a courageous act in the sense of grandiose — but a reflex, something learned, something you do bc you have been trained in it so many times and you know how to do it

the logistics of transplant patient and the moment of realizing whose liver had been transplanted

the assumption of a normal distribution. or not.

some people are so well read…i’m jealous of that. like i can read something and remember (usually) my impression of the work but i can never recall direct quotes or references that specifically

he could have just gone out, found the patient’s mother, and asked. it is that simple.

you never know when you will next see someone again… or not
seeing mrs T again, she didn’t recognize me

talk about father dealing with grandfather dying
struggling to find words
going to see my grandfather, buzzing in, the too many to keep track of times my grandmother has done this, the rooms how unfamiliar i am
how his keeper probably knows him most intimately and best now
what has life come to? a few words from him makes my day. he recognizes me. my mothers frustration not entirely vented but i can pick it up from her tone, when he doesn’t remember her, despite all she has done for him.

[Beachback · Rating 3 out of 5]

Collected short stories depicting the life of an emergency physician. The writing was very eloquent and lyrical; it was beautifully written, however I did feel that the imagery and lyricism dropped off by the end of the book/rest of the short stories in comparison to the beginning stories. It bears hints of somber nostalgia etched in its pages as the author narrates his memories and emotions tied with his cases, as well as his regards of other patients and physicians, though most importantly of himself and his own character.

The issues I found was there seemed to be a very clear cynicism with the author and I found I disliked his character reading it. I did not particularly like how he painted his views of patients and I found him often careless at times. I also heavily disliked his regards to the 15 year old girl he had to conduct a procedure on her: it felt vaguely sexual and aware of his power as a man and as a doctor. There is another short story entitled "Power" which comments on his status of doctor and patient, and it left me feeling slightly uneasy, though not as bad.

Otherwise it is a fairly easy read, I read this in less than 2 1/2 hours.

[Len Rudner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written in 1999, “The Blood of Strangers” is a series of short stories based on the author’s experience as a young doctor practicing emergency medicine in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Short story collections tend to be uneven. This one is no exception, but author Frank Huyler avoids a more serious trap: there is no self-indulgence in the accounts of a doctor who is overwhelmed, overworked, sometimes angry at the patients who are keeping him past his shift or away from the cot in the ready room. But what comes through most often is his sense of how thin is the line between living and dying and how so much can depend on luck. Having saved a young girl from death, he feels not triumph, but fear: “As I watched the girl skip and jump around us, the pain of the needle forgotten already, I felt sick, cold and damp, terrified by what I had almost missed. One question, an afterthought. That was all it had been.”

A short, disturbing, read.

[SHR · Rating 4 out of 5]

Huyler is a doctor, working in the ER or the ICU. He writes about his experiences, and although there is a little medical jargon and some barking of medical instructions, it isn’t about the procedures or the medical outcomes but about his human perspective.
It is about the people (the patients and medical professionals) he encounters, about how people see the world and alter their experiences through the applications of their world views and preconceptions and naturally, about his perceptions.

The pieces are short, mostly only 3 or 4 pages and are easy to read. I liked the way he writes, the simplicity and directness – it was evocative and thought provoking. The first thing I did when I’d finished reading it was look up if he’d written anything else.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book but it was not at all what I was expecting. I’ve read other doctor’s books talking about their personal stories in medicine. This book is a collection of VERY short stories which is noticeably different from the more longer form stories I’ve read. Most of the stories are 2-6 pages long. There are some that are really good and then there are others that are rather lackluster. If you enjoy other books based around medical stories then I guess you can’t go too wrong with this one. It’s an extremely quick read as well so even if you feel it was a waste of time you won’t have wasted much of it.

[Rachel Woodbury · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh man this book was intense! I'm fascinated by medical stories and each chapter was about a different patient the author worked with as a surgeon. I love the way that Huyler describes each patient and talks in such detail about the problems and procedures. Some of the details were super disturbing! But super intriguing at the same time. Other parts of the book were very sad, as Huyler talks openly about his failures as a surgeon. I appreciated his vulnerability. All in all this was a great read.

[Zachary Ransom · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a pretty quick read but was also interesting, captivating, and even humorous on a couple occasions. Overall it is very well written with great stories selected from the experiences of the author as a Physician. I really applaud the authors introspection and acknowledgment of his mistakes. These were great stories that remind us to always keep our guard up and avoid tunnel vision. I really enjoyed this one and highly recommend it for readers interested in the experiences of emergency medicine providers.

[Juhi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this collection - it’s raw and bursts with the messy complicated chaos of the ED. The vignettes are short and very much to the point, but they feel so alive as he searches for hope and meaning with every word. It feels like emergency medicine at its best and makes me just want to be so back on the wards 😭

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Concise, realistic, spare, and stark stories of working as a hospital doctor. He describes hospital work as a physician honestly and it is not romantic or heroic. Not sure whether I would want him as my doctor though it seems he might be good at the work.
A bit of a realistic downer of a book and I am glad it was short.

[Robert Weiss, · Rating 5 out of 5]

short stories are brief almost to the point of telegraphy.

This book, written in the early years of this ER doctor’s career, is excellent for its human interest, its humor (hard to believe in such a book). You feel engaged with both the characters and the narrator. A good read.

[Lydia Wagner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Coming off of season 2 of The Pitt, I can’t get enough of medical drama, and Blood of Strangers delivered. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the description of a blood clot the size of someone’s thumb, and that’s one of many memorable scenarios.

[Jennifer Hamlet · Rating 4 out of 5]

beautiful essays about working in the ER