Admissions: Life as a Brain Surgeon

Writing a second book was always going to be a challenge for Henry Marsh - in that his first book was gripping and would seem to have dealt with most aspects of his career as a neurosurgeon. This new book finds Marsh preparing for retirement and conducting his final NHS operations as well as renovating a lock-keeper's cottage near Oxford and reflecting on his life and to a degree those of his parents. He is working overseas in Ukraine (not happily now) and in Nepal (where there are interesting issues to explore about the role of neurosurgery in such an economy). Marsh is full of rage (which he expresses in a way that he regrets with a nurse during the aftercare of the patient who is he subject of his final UK operation) and outrage (against the NHS of today, bureaucratic targets and processes such as checklists), and also the healthcare systems of other countries.I found overall that this was slightly less gripping that Marsh's fist book. But it was still full of interest and I would strongly recommend it to others.

I must declare that I have an interest here as I worked in the same neurosurgical unit for over 40 years, the last 27 of them as Henry’s secretary until we both retired.This book is an honest account of the everyday struggles he went through. I appreciate it would not be everyone’s idea of what a neurosurgeons life is or should be, but this is a very honest, sometimes perhaps a little too honest, account of his life. It is worth reading as it will bring home to you how difficult a doctors life can be. They are not Gods even though they may sometimes think they are. They are human like the rest of us and go through the same daily struggles and turmoils we all do.

Having quite thoroughly enjoyed reading Henry Marsh's previous book, international best seller 'Do No Harm', I decided to purchase this book, and was eager to read of more tales of daring neurosurgery, and to enjoy his internal monologue over the moralities of defensive medicine, and his feelings when things would inevitably go wrong.A story which is continuously revisited throughout the book, is Henry Marsh's 'retirement project', where he attempts to restore a dilapidated overgrown old cottage with smashed windows and mounds of rubbish to its former glory. Much to his dismay, his progress is stymied through his own commitments, and that of vandals.The state of cottage seems somewhat analogous to the state of this book. In some chapters, you settle back into the familiar writing style present throughout 'Do No Harm'. I personally found these quite easy to read. In other chapters, Marsh cuts from one story based in a particular location and timescale (i.e. surgery in the UK 30 years ago) to another (i.e. talking to a px in the Ukraine or Nepal in the 2010s) without any warning, and it all feels very messy.It is these chapters which I feel make this book much more difficult to read than the predecessor, which is a tremendous shame. It is harder to keep track of what is happening, where it is happening, when it is happening, and who with.Although slightly self indulgent, I quite enjoyed learning a little of Henry Marsh's history, his relationship with his parents, wife and children. However I felt that diversions into such history interrupted the natural flow of the writing, and was an unwanted distraction. I feel that this is something which is prominent with the book as a whole. To a certain extent I blame the editors.This book would be significantly better had the various stories about Nepal, Ukraine, USA, UK etc been more logically ordered. I wanted to enjoy various segments of the book, but will admit to losing interest due to the structure of the chapters.Although this book is brilliant, I did not find that the narrative flowed naturally within and between the chapters, especially compared to Do No Harm.

The author’s previous book, “Do No Harm”, was inspiring and entertaining. It gave a practical and considered take on the life and times of an NHS neurosurgeon. Admissions, goes further and Henry Marsh opens up his inner feelings, emotions, dilemmas and conclusions on his life in a surprisingly frank and honest fashion. Alongside tales of his surgical career he holds forth on his personal views (and his fears) of ageing and the relative closeness of his own death. This is lightened with stories of his renovation of a retirement cottage and reflections on his practical achievements in building and woodwork, love of wildlife and his childhood.Interwoven, in what feels like catharsis, is his searing honesty about his mistakes in professional and personal issues. Studded with gems of wisdom borne of decades of hard experience, the dimensions of this book are many.One of the most interesting and contemplative titles I’ve read in years.

I read this book straight after Do No Harm as I loved Henry Marsh’s first book. Whereas, Do No Harm was more about brain operations, issues and procedures, this one is more about the authors private life and his relationship with his job. Having been a craniotomy patient and having had one of the described procedures, I do find these books very interesting and quite cathartic.