An Amazing Murmur of the Heart by Cecil Helman
01 May 2014
A searching look at the disappearance of the patient as a person from 21st century medicine, told through the stories of his many patients by the author of best-selling Suburban Shaman. Cecil Helman – GP, medical anthropologist and acclaimed writer – looks back on a life-time of encounters with patients to ask ‘Where has the patient gone?’ and answers that patients ‘are still here, waiting for their doctors to notice them again, to shift their attention away from all their magic machines and high tech tests, and to listen to their stories again. And hidden away in those stories, to hear the faint, almost inaudible, murmuring of their hearts.’ Whether you are on the receiving or the delivery end of health care, Cecil Helman’s humane and penetrating account will open your eyes to what happens when patient and doctor meet, and how that interaction might transcend the current focus on single symptoms and test results.
Dr Cecil Helman very sadly died of motor neurone disease shortly after completing this, his final book.
Date of Publication: 22 May 2014
ISBN: 978-1-78161-019-0
Website: An Amazing Murmuring of the Heart
Publisher: Hammersmith Books Limited
Reviews: Book Brunch, British Journal of General Practice, Times Literary Review, Jewish Chronicle.