In Shock

"Awdish’s journey from physician to helpless patient and then back to reformed physician is equal parts dramatic, engaging and instructive. Her experience of acute illness makes very clear how doctors who believe they are in control of situations establish and perpetuate barriers between themselves and those in their charge . . . Awdish’s work is singular in its rawness and willingness to show us a person at one with her pain and isolation, able to relate completely through her writing to the intense feelings of helplessness that confront almost every patient admitted to a hospital."—The New York Times Book Review

“Awdish's story is grueling: a catastrophic miscarriage, multiple organ failure, the uncertainty that accompanies a sudden medical crisis. In Shock searches for a glimmer of hope in life’s darkest moments, and finds it.”—The Washington Post

"In Shock should be required reading in every medical, nursing and health professional school. Dr. Awdish cuts to the core of what is ailing the healthcare system: a loss of humanity. Her honest and poignant appraisal of how modern medicine systematizes illness and suffering is a wake up call to rethink medical pedagogy and the concept of how we truly heal. Ultimately, she gives us hope that through better understanding of each other and ourselves, we can reinvigorate the human connection at the heart of healthcare."—Andrew J. Shin, JD, MPH, Senior Director, Policy, The Schwartz Center for Compassionate Healthcare

"Dr. Rana Awdish brings the much-needed voice of the patient to life in a courageous retelling of her catastrophic illness and stunning revelations of the major disconnect between the communication caregivers deliver and what patients need. Rana’s story is not only compelling; it’s a call to action. This book will, hopefully, spur the change needed to develop a culture of empathy among providers beginning in our training programs and carrying through to practices, hospitals and health systems."—Wright Lassiter III, President & CEO, Henry Ford Health System

"Dr. Rana Awdish suffered through catastrophic illness and loss as a young physician. Her perspective on her experiences as a patient transformed her understanding of how medicine is practiced today. In Shock reminds us of the essential aspect of the individual narrative and the vital importance of communication; not just between patients and their doctors but between doctors and themselves. Dr. Awdish's compassion for both her patients and those providing care for patients comes from profound insight into the vulnerability that illness imposes and the suffering that asks for acknowledgement and understanding."—Susan Clark Ball, M.D., M.P.H, M.S., Associate Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College and Assistant Director of the Bernbaum Unit, Center for Special Studies, New York Presbyterian Hospital

"In Shock is an ideal text for courses in narrative medicine, and similar classes that are now increasingly taught under a variety of names in medical schools nationwide. It is a welcome addition to a canon that includes such diverse works as Arthur Frank’s The Wounded Storyteller, Danielle Ofri’s Singular Intimacies, and What Patients Say, What Doctors Feel, Samuel Shem’s The House of God. Together, these works lay bare the dilemma of the doctor in the age of the modern estrangement from care (as opposed to cure) and in bearing witness to this crisis, they urge us forward."—Matthew von Unwerth, Program in Narrative Medicine, Columbia University

“An unrivaled view of healthcare as it really is—its triumphs and missteps—through the riveting, nakedly honest story of a physician who became seriously ill.”—Leonard L. Berry, Ph.D., Regents Professor, Mays Business School, Texas A&M University and Senior Fellow, Institute for Healthcare Improvement

"In Shock is a brilliantly written account of Awdish's near death experience and what it is like to be on the 'other side' of medicine. Through her sometimes shocking, often heartbreaking and always honest storytelling, Awdish poignantly brings to the forefront both our collective and individual shortcomings despite our best intentions. She clearly demonstrates the necessity and urgency for us to move away from 'The House of God' culture, where we were trained to detach and depersonalize, to one that needs to be centered around empathy and caring, not just for the sake of our patients, but for our own humanity."—Sara Hegab, MD, Senior Staff Physician, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Henry Ford Hospital

"A sobering, well-rendered reality check on the desperate need for advanced training on compassion-centric modes of patient care."—Kirkus Reviews

"In a gut-wrenching memoir approaching Job-level suffering, Awdish recounts her ordeal as a doctor-turned-patient and the many changes in her perspective and practice of medicine.”—Booklist (starred review)

"A compassionate and critical look at medicine and illness from both a doctor’s and a patient’s perspective."—Publishers Weekly