Best Medical Memoirs

This list of medical memoirs includes books written by both patients and medical professionals. If you love memoirs, this list is for you.

This list of best medical memoirs could also be titled, your family might have a lot of medical issues if you enjoy reading medical memoirs.

Sometimes, I compile lists that I think my readers will find both enjoyable and helpful. At other times, I compile lists that I find beneficial. Today’s list fits in that second category.

This list of medical memoirs is one that I compiled to help me keep track of the books I have read and the ones I want to read. As I was putting together the list, I realized that some of my readers who enjoy memoirs might find it helpful as well.

It is no secret that I love memoirs. I have been reading them since I was a teenager. I enjoy reading memoirs about dysfunctional families, food, Christianity, and more.

My love of medical memoirs began eight or nine years ago when multiple people in my family started having some rare health issues. When I started having a ton of health issues after having COVID multiple times, I began reading even more memoirs that focused on the medical world.

Our family jokes that we like to keep it weird in the medical world because when it comes to our family, we tend to be in the rare one percent when it comes to medical things.

We also have several family members who work in the medical field. So, not only do my family members enjoy memoirs from the patient’s perspective, but we also enjoy memoirs from the doctor’s or medical worker’s viewpoint.

I love medical memoirs because they make me feel like others understand what it is like to be in the small percentage of people with a medical condition, even if it is not the same condition as mine.

I also enjoy reading books from the perspective of doctors or medical professionals because it helps us understand what they have to go through to get where they are and to do their job every day.

Many people have a negative perception of medical professionals, but the reality is that they are people too. Yes, there are bad doctors and nurses, but the vast majority of those in the medical field work long hours under challenging circumstances to do their job. Reading memoirs helps us understand them better.

One of my favorite types of medical memoirs is when the doctor becomes the patient, allowing the memoir to be written from both perspectives.

Best Medical Memoirs

Today’s list of medical memoirs is a little different than my regular lists. Most of our lists only list books that we have read or authors that we love. Today’s list includes medical memoirs that I have read, as well as my to-be-read list of medical memoirs.

Over the years, as I have visited new and used bookstores, I have amassed a collection of memoirs. I have a whole shelf just for my medical memoir books. I also have quite a few on my Amazon wishlist, so I decided to include both medical memoirs that I have read and ones that I want to read.

The first list of books is all the books that I have read and enjoyed. The second list is all the ones on my to-be-read list.

Be Patient by Tilly Rose. This was a recent read that I enjoyed. It might even make my list of favorite books of the year. It’s about being a patient, navigating the English medical system, and living with multiple rare medical conditions.

This Is Going To Hurt by Adam Kay. This is another book about the British medical system, but it is written by a doctor. This book shares a raw look at the medical world. It is another one that I really enjoyed.

The Lady’s Handbook for Her Mysterious Illness by Saray Ramey. This memoir is not for everyone, but if you are a woman who has had a lot of female issues or autoimmune issues, you might find this book helpful.

This is what I wrote after reading this book. I have never felt so seen when it comes to medical problems as I have reading this book. My family’s issues are different than Sarah Ramey’s, but at the same time, we can relate to so much of this book. 

Food Saved Me by Danielle Walker. The title of this book is “Food Saved Me,” but it is about so much more than food.

This book made me feel like others understand the complex relationship between food and health, but it did it in a way that balanced natural and conventional medicine. There is a place for both, and I think Danielle Walker did a great job sharing her story of how changing her diet changed her life, and so did listening to medical professionals.

Holding It Together When You Are Hypermobile by Christie Cox. This was a recent read that I really enjoyed. This is another one that won’t be for everyone, but if you or someone in your family has EDS, POTS, or a connective tissue disease, I think you will find this book helpful.

The Invisible Kingdom by Meghan O’Rourke. This is my current read, and although I am only about halfway through it, I am really enjoying it.

It is Meghan O’Rourke’s story of living with a chronic illness and her years of trying to get a diagnosis. I think the author does an excellent job of sharing her experiences with both conventional and more natural medicine. She gives a candid look at the pros and cons of both.

The Pact by Drs. Sampson Davis, George Jenkins, and Rameck Hunt. This memoir is very different than the other ones that I have shared. This book is written by three men who grew up in Newark, New Jersey, surrounded by poverty, crime, and temptations, but made a pact to become doctors.

This book tells the story of overcoming numerous challenges on the path to all three of them becoming doctors.

To Be Read Medical Memoirs

This is my list of medical memoirs that I hope to read. Most of them I already own, so they are waiting on my shelf to be read. Since I haven’t read these, I can’t provide a full review, but all of them sound like they will be interesting reads. If you have read any of them, I would love to hear about them in the comments.

Being Mortal by Atul Gawande. Medicine and What Matters In the End.

A Thousand Naked Strangers by Kevin Hazzard. A Paramedic’s Wild Ride to the Edge and Back

Breathtaking by Rachel Clarke. This is the memoir of a palliative care doctor in the United Kingdom during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many people may not be ready for books about COVID, but this one is high on my list to read. As someone with long COVID, I am actually looking forward to more books like this being written about COVID and those who are living with the long-term issues of having COVID. I hope this book focuses on COVID from a health standpoint, rather than an overly political one.

The Beauty in Breaking by Michele Harper. A memoir of an emergency room doctor.

Final Exam by Pauline W. Chen. A Surgeon’s Reflection on Mortality.

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi. A doctor’s view of stage IV lung cancer and how he processed being the sick patient. This one is super popular and has been on my to be read list for years. I need to read it finally.

The Real Doctor Will See You Shortly by Matt McCarthy. A Physician’s First Year. This is a memoir of the author’s time as an intern at a New York hospital.

All Bleeding Stops by Stephen M. Cohn, MD. Life and Death in the Trauma Unit.

Bad Call by Mike Scardino. A Summer Job on a New York Ambulance.

Unnatural Causes by Dr. Richard Shepherd. The Life and Many Deaths of Britain’s Top Forensic Pathologist.

Floppy by Alyssa Graybeal. Tales of a Genetic Freak of Nature at the End of the World.

Forged Through Fire by Mark. D. McDonough, MD. A Reconstructive Surgeon’s Story of Survival, Faith, and Healing.

Chasing My Cure by David Fajgenbaum. A Doctor’s Race to Turn Hope into Action.

Brain On Fire by Susannah Cahalan. My Month of Maddness. A memoir of a mysterious illness and a struggle for a diagnosis.

Smile by Sarah Ruhl. The Story of a Face. A memoir of a paralyzed face and being in the unlucky ten percent of Bell’s palsy patients.

The Gift of Perspective by Lindsey Roy. Wisdom I gained from Losing a Leg and Two Lungs.

The Story of a Heart by Dr. Rachel Clarke. Two Families, One Heart, and the Medical Miracle That Saved a Child’s Life.

Special Heart by Bret Baier. A Journey of Faith, Hope, Courage, and Love. This is Bret Baier’s memoir of his son’s congenital heart disease and the journey it took his family on.

Do No Harm by Henry Marsh. Stories of Life, Death, and Brain Surgery.

Admissions by Henry Marsh. Life As A Brain Surgeon.

Walk On Water by Michael Ruhlman. The Miracle of Saving Children’s Lives.

Your Thoughts

If you have read any of these, I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments. I would also love to know if you have any recommendations to add to my list of medical memoirs to read.