Due to the
nature of my work, I love to read books about functional anatomy and movement.
I love what I do and I like to read and learn as much as I can. However, I do
not review these books in my blog because I assume they may be of no interest
to the general audience of My Writing Life. However, when I searched for
these books a while ago, I came across The Unseen Body: A Doctor’s Journey
Through the Hidden Wonders of Human Anatomy, by Jonathan Reisman. The title
intrigued me, so I borrowed it from the library and I soon realised it would be a good choice for My Writing Life: Awareness, Reflection, Inspiration.
The
book delights the reader with a unique, captivating style of writing, delving
into a thorough exploration of the human body. Each chapter focuses on a specific part
or system of the human body. In didactic ways, the doctor explains how
sometimes those systems or parts of the body are compromised due to specific
medical conditions. Moreover, Dr. Reisman shares several personal experiences
as a doctor and a medical student. He has practiced medicine in various medical
settings. For instance, he travelled to India and he shares interesting
anecdotes about his work there.
The Unseen Body will pick the interest
of medical students, physicians, nurses and other healthcare professionals, but
it will also entertain audiences that simply have an interest in the human
body.
There are cases of patients that I will never forget. For example, the case of Juan, a patient he took care of when Dr. Reisman was a medical resident. It was shocking to learn what Juan went through.
Juan’s liver failed in response to a simple antibiotic treatment. He did not drink alcohol; he did not take drugs; he was not a smoker, either, but one day he had some kind of infection that required the use of an antibiotic and his liver failed in response to it. It bothered me that Dr. Reisman did not mention the name of the antibiotic Juan had been prescribed, but his book does that. Sometimes it misses important details. The bottom line was that through no fault of his own, Juan’s liver went downhill and the only solution to save his life was to have a liver transplant. During the months he waited for a liver, Juan endured several complications.
Dr. Reisman did his best to address every complication. He did not think Juan would survive, but when Dr. Reisman was transferred to
another medical unit, the awaited liver arrived. Juan’s life was saved thanks to the procedure and the medical care he received.
Stories like this one make us cherish every
moment of health we have in our lives.
Juan’s experience made me think about the
parts of our lives that are outside of our control… it made me reflect on the
miracle of being alive and healthy each and every day. This may be something
that many people take for granted, but losing one’s health can be a death
sentence for some people in America…
Juan’s
story also made me thankful for the medical teams that specialize in this
medical field. I’ve had friends working in this field. Reading about Juan made
me remember them with renewed appreciation and gratitude.
The
Unseen Body adopts a very introspective outlook. It explores several
medical conditions through the life stories of patients. It also offers the
wisdom that emerged from the personal experiences that shaped Dr. Reisman as a
human being and as a physician.
I was
impressed by Dr. Reisman’s writing skills. He is gifted with a rich imagination
and an ardent curiosity about the human body. Through unique comparisons and descriptions,
he offers a creative way of revealing the human body, embarking on a narrative
that turns out to be adventurous and even poetical at times.
He educates the audience on the evolving
nature of new therapies and ways of understanding different systems of the
human body. He describes himself as both a physician and a naturalist.
His
reflections on the relationship with patients are insightful. The chapter about
eyes meditates for a moment on the eye connection as a meaningful part of human
communication.
“Eyes become crucial here since they carry a
heavy social weight in the doctor-patient relationship, just as they do outside
of healthcare. The eyes of other people are a natural focal point for our own
gaze—when we look at others, we generally look at their eyes, as if we believe
each individual self rests, more than anywhere else in the body, within the
organs of vision. Eye contact is the epitome of human connection and one of the
first social behaviors seen in young infants.”
I want to challenge Dr. Reisman to understand
that gazes and eyes are not unique to human connection. For example, we can feel
a strong connection with our furry friends through our gazes. This appears
to be beyond the scope of Dr. Reisman’s interest and care even though he calls
himself a “naturalist.”
It was distressing to learn about the challenges he faced when he had to look after a morbidly obese woman who required an urgent computed tomography that could not be done due to her weight. He had to call several hospitals to find one that would accept her. It was a heartbreaking experience.
When Dr. Reisman discusses
obesity, however, he blames physicians for not having clear recommendations on how to address the problem of obesity. He blatantly ignores the research on adequate nutrition to
prevent and treat obesity. For example, the research on the benefits of
plant-based diets for obesity is well established. We know that drinking sugary drinks
will not help them because pop drinks provide calories without nutrition; we
know that hyper processed foods are a common problem in this population of
patients. The benefits of incorporating an adequate intake of fresh vegetables
and fruits into their diets should not be underestimated. Yet Dr Reisman
ignores this information in his book, putting more people at risk. I suspect
that better education on adequate nutrition would help to reduce the
number of patients he has to see in his daily practice.
Dr.
Reisman shares ongoing innovations on the use of fecal microbiota transplantation
in selected cases, but he missed an opportunity to explain how to help maintain
the health of the microbiome on a regular basis. I also noticed that he also
fails to address the topic of climate change in relation to human health.
Last but not least, I was very disappointed in
the fact that he ignores the need for empathy toward non-human animals. He does
not appear to have any awareness on the emotional lives of non-human animals. I
found this disconcerting. I think he will benefit from reading the book The Animals Agenda: Freedom, Compassion and Coexistence in the Human Age by Marc Bekoff and Jessica Pierce.
Dr. Reisman’s book is an adventurous
exploration of the human body, and there are several fascinating topics that
make the read entertaining and engrossing, but his lack of empathy for
non-human animals is evident and deeply disturbing. I also believe that he missed an opportunity to
encourage readers to improve their diets and to make mindful choices that
support not only their health but also the health of the planet we inhabit.
Relevant
links:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1530891X24005135
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9493195/
https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2023/10/diet-carbon-health.html
Jonathan Reisman is a doctor of internal
medicine and pediatrics who has practiced medicine at Massachusetts General
Hospital as well as in the world’s most remote places—in the Arctic and
Antarctica, at high altitude in Nepal, in Kolkata’s urban slums, and among the
Oglala Sioux in South Dakota. He lives with his family in Philadelphia.
If you enjoyed this post, feel feel to read my writing on the following books:
The Animals Agenda: Freedom, Compassion and Coexistence in the Human Age by Marc Bekoff and Jessica Pierce.
Gaia's Own: Every Child's Guide to Living in Harmony with Nature by Darshana Bajaj.
