Tornado of Life: A Doctor’s Journey Through Constraints and Creativity in the ER

ER physician Baruch (What’s Left Out) recounts in this unflinching essay collection the professional challenges he’s encountered, both pre-Covid and from the worst of the pandemic. “Backstory” is a vivid account of Baruch working to establish trust with a patient who refuses treatment, “Dr. Douchebag” sees the author deal with antagonistic patients, and “Why Medicine Needs More Not-Knowing” is a case for more humility in the profession: “Not knowing is a muscle that can become stronger and stabilized only through training and interrogation of our thinking process.” “Compassion at the Crossroads,” meanwhile, considers the tough decisions that must be made in a triage situation:“My compassion must extend to them as well,” Baruch writes of patients in the waiting room. “They’re not in rooms, but they’re in our home. They have names and faces and concerns of their own.” Baruch has a knack for narrative and writes in a refined prose, and many entries, such as two concerning domestic violence victims who won’t say that they’re in danger, are tough to forget. Fans of Thomas Fisher’s The Emergency: A Year of Healing and Heartbreak in a Chicago ER should give this a look. (Aug.)