A scintillating insight into the life of a surgeon practicing from the 1960s to the 1990s
From the time Tony Goodman found and dissected a dead bird at eleven years old, his future was all but set. The only career he could see himself pursuing was that of a doctor. Little did he know the trajectory that early decision would set his life on. From sweet-talking his way into Cornell Medical College, to his first elective at a Navajo Nation Reservation, through to the AIDS crisis and beyond, Dr. Goodman’s life has an abundance of fascinating stories.
Great Saves and Terrible Losses is a historical medical memoir that spans Dr Goodman’s early life, his years of study, his later career as a surgeon, and his life afterwards teaching surgical anatomy and retirement. It’s a memoir that spans a fascinating life in a much more technologically difficult time. Most of the memoir takes place from the 1960s through to the 1990s while Dr. Goodman was a practicing surgeon, but we also get the journey of how he decided to take on that career and his life afterward.
As the title suggests, there is a plethora of great and sometimes grotesque stories buried in these pages. Some end perfectly, others tragically. Some of Dr. Goodman’s memories are funny. Some, especially the ones where he’s still learning, are embarrassing. Several are unbelievable. The parts that stand out to me most, though, are the bits in between that tell of a vastly different time. The story of how his daughter held the hand of one of his patients while he operated on her. How he rushed into the hospital in a T-shirt and shorts to save a toddler, despite not being a pediatric surgeon. The lack of protection during the AIDS crisis and the prohibitive problems with insurance.
While the patients, injuries, and historical facets of this memoir are all riveting, there is a lot more to Great Saves. The way Dr. Goodman sees the world and his place in it drives the narrative. He’s aware from the outset that seeing so much horror on a daily basis made him and his colleagues more callous toward everything, including their patients. He’s open about the fact that he has lost something vital to this life that he loves. This honesty is something he carries through with him; always telling his patients where they stand, stepping in when he sees accidents happen in his personal life, despite the threat of lawsuits, and later his frankness in confronting his own health issues.
Great Saves and Terrible Losses is a phenomenal addition to the medical memoir genre. Dr. Goodman is an excellent narrator with loads of stories, and the historical component adds layers of interest. It’s clear that, while operating, he lived and breathed this career. Fans of When Breath Becomes Air or This is Going to Hurt will definitely enjoy this one.
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