Memoir to savoir

The Beauty in Breaking
by Michele Harper

Wow, what to say. The narratives of her shifts at the hospitals are fascinating. Especially the ones near the end. She chose certain patients and certain experiences, described them in frightening and loving detail, and then afterward, linked them into her own life journey. She seems to be a person who uses the worst parts of life to instigate growth in self-understanding. And that is cool.

But overall, the book is a highly introspective, almost grueling interior journey through her own mind. I found it pretty interesting and only just a tiny bit tedious when she describes each step of a yoga session with scientific attention to detail.

The blurbs I'd read had made me think that a major portion of the book would be about her battles with racism and hospital administration, but that's not true. There is a section where she's unable to advance in her chosen position for no other reason--we guess--than the obstinacy of a white, male hospital administration which is not wanting to advance a highly qualified black female. But that's a minor episode in the book, and she doesn't dwell on the anger it must have generated.  She' had a lifetime of dealing with cruel and unfair treatment, not by changing the system but by changing herself. Yet...I think that just by existing--and excelling--she's changed the system just a little bit.

It's a beautiful book. But only read this if you're expecting a memoir-style, introspective journey. If you're looking for on-the-floor emergency room drama, not this one.