5 Can’t-Miss Reads Recommended by Our Physicians

Between backyard barbeques and last summer hurrahs, make some time to curl up with a good healthy read. Autobiography? Self-help? Life lessons? We’ve got a book for you.

Here are a few favorites from top physicians at Northwestern Medicine:

When Breath Becomes Air
By Paul Kalanithi

If you’re looking for a casual read over the holiday weekend, this is probably not the book for you. It is the autobiography of a young neurosurgeon on the cusp of completing his arduous training - the proverbial finish line in sight - who is acutely derailed by the diagnosis of widely metastatic lung cancer. When Breath Becomes Air is predictably melancholy, but also oddly inspiring. In this manuscript, Paul addresses some of the most existential issues we all face knowing that our time on earth is limited. I did at times feel that the narrative was overly self-aggrandizing with respect to his profession. However, the fact that he was a physician made the story so compelling I finished it in one sitting.

- Micah J. Eimer, MD, Northwestern Medical Group – Glenview Outpatient Care Center, cardiology

Eat Pray Love
By Dario Marianelli

The Last Lecture
By Jeffrey Zaslow and Randy Pausch

Two of my favorite books teach valuable life lessons. Eat Pray Love by Dario Marianelli teaches one to realize the importance of self and personal journey. The Last Lecture by Jeffrey Zaslow and co-authored by Randy Pausch, is a book about living in the context of dying. This book has so many reminders of how to live and has taught me to be more mindful in my every day existence.

- Eve Feinberg, MD, Northwestern Fertility and Reproductive Medicine, reproductive endocrinology/infertility specialist

Happiness of Pursuit
By Davis Finney

One of my favorite books is Happiness of Pursuit. Finney, a United States Olympic athlete, writes the impact of his Parkinson's diagnosis on both his own life and the lives of his wife and son, who both were Olympic cyclists as well. His son recently rode The Tour de France bike race. My passion is taking care of athletes, and what was most fascinating about this book was thinking about how some of the medical ailments we diagnose have a profound effect on family dynamics and relationships.

- Steven Mayer, MD, Northwestern Medicine Regional Medical Group Orthopaedics, sports medicine Northwestern Medicine Running Medicine Clinic and Northwestern Medicine Integrated Spine Program

The Power of Positive Thinking
By Norman Vincent Peale

Although this book was published over 60 years ago, many of the lessons and techniques are applicable to life in 2017. I read the book once a year and each time, I find something that helps me be a happier and more productive person.

- Nelson Bennett, MD, Northwestern Medical Group, urology