Synopses & Reviews
“This book is a testament to the extraordinary depth, powers, and resiliency of childrens spirits.” Marion Wright Edelman, president, Childrens Defense Fund If I Get to Five is a one-of-a-kind book by a one-of-a-kind human being. The medical world knows him as Fred Epstein, M.D., the neurosurgeon who pioneered life-saving procedures for previously inoperable tumors in children. His patients and their families know him simply as Dr. Fred, the “miracle man” who has extended them both a healing hand and an open heart.
Throughout his career Epsteins young patients have been his most important teachers and trusted guides. They are children whooften by sheer force of willhave refused to relinquish life and all its gifts. In this inspiring book, these children teach us the lessons we all need to learn in order to live life to the fullestlessons about seizing the moment and facing our deepest fears, about embracing the joy and wonder of everyday life. Most of all, they teach lessons about uncommon couragethe courage to do whats hardest, to believe in what we dont understand, to love without boundaries.
If I Get to Five takes us inside a world unlike any other, from the high-stakes, high-tech operating room where life and death are separated by a heartbeat to the sickrooms and recovery rooms where parents discover the limits and power of their faith. But most compelling of all is the journey inside the hearts, minds, and souls of the wisest children you will ever encounter.
No one who reads this remarkable book will ever look at childrenor adversityin the same way.
Fred Epstein, M.D., is the founding director of the Institute for Neurology and Neurosurgery at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City. He has served as president of both the International Society of Pediatric Neurosurgery and the American Society of Pediatric Neurosurgery. Epstein lives with his wife and children in Greenwich, Connecticut.
Joshua Horwitz is the president of Living Planet Books, a book-packaging firm in Washington, D.C., where he lives with his wife and three daughters. He is the coauthor of a book about the book of Genesis, Wrestling with Angels.
Throughout his career as a pioneering pediatric neurosurgeon, Dr. Fred Epstein's young patients have been his most important teachers and trusted guides. In this inspiring book, Dr. Epstein's patients teach us the lessons we all need to learn in order to live life to the fullestlessons about seizing the moment and facing our deepest fears, about holding someone's hand, and about embracing the joy and wonder of everyday life. Most of all, they teach lessons about uncommon couragethe courage to do what's hardest, to believe in what we don't understand, to love without fear and without boundaries.
If I Get to Five takes us inside a world unlike any other, from the high-stakes, high-tech O.R. where life and death are separated by a heartbeat to the sickrooms and recovery rooms where parents discover the limits and power of their faith. It also tells the inspiring story of Fred Epstein's lifefrom his struggles with severe learning disabilities as a child to his groundbreaking accomplishments as a surgeon. Recently, when Dr. Epstein suffered a traumatic brain injury and faced a daunting rehabilitation, the advice of the children he'd saved helped illuminate his own path to recovery. Most compelling of all, however, is the journey inside the hearts, minds, and souls of the wisest children you will ever encounter.
"We tend to think of children as fragile, little people," says Dr. Fred Epstein. "To me, they're giants." If I Get to Five is a tribute to the hidden strengths of childhood and the unstoppable life force that dwells within each of us.
"This book is a testament to the extraordinary depth, power, and resiliency of children's spirits. It is also a fresh reminder to all parents of what a precious gift each child is."Marian Wright Edelman, President, Children's Defense Fund
"If I Get to Five is a magnificent tribute to human resiliency and hopefulness. From Dr. Epstein's portrayals of children who have found meaning amid horror to his own superbly interwoven autobiography of a boyhood marred by academic failure, we see the emergence of a truly great man. Readers will feel energized by this remarkable portrayal of life's uphill battles."Mel Levine, M.D., author of A Mind at a Time
"Epstein, a pediatric neurosurgeon at New York City's Beth Israel Hospital, has written an inspiring book recounting the struggles of not only his patients, but himself as well. After a long career treating patients for brain injuries and cancer, Epstein recently had a near-fatal bicycle accident that turned the tables on him. Suddenly, the expert surgeon found himself on the receiving end of a scalpel. While the book touches upon his own challenges during the slow recovery and rehabilitation process, Epstein draws more upon the examples of his young patients to successfully banish fear from his life. He candidly examines the lives of not only those patients who have made brilliant recoveries under his care, but also the children who weren't so lucky. The book's title derives from words spoken by Naomi, a four-year-old whose brain tumor would eventually take two surgeries to eradicate. Though the child seemed to inherently understand the gravity of her situation, she made plans: 'If I get to five, I'm going to jump ropebackward!' Epstein and Horwitz handle topics such as hope and spiritual awareness gracefully, without being preachy, and the book should serve as an important tool for families or individuals coping with grave illnesses."Publishers Weekly
"A four-year-old tumor patient inspired the title of Epstein's book as well as a new perspective on the lessons adults can learn from children about resiliency in the face of medical crises. Epstein drew on those lessons when he helped establish a neuroscience center at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York and in the midst of his own personal crisis after suffering a head injury and brain damage. [In this book, he] details his journey from a surgeon fascinated by technology to one with a more humanistic approach, which he expresses through touching his patients, talking and listening to them more deeply, and using the wisdom and bravery he has learned from sick kids. He poignantly recalls cases of children who have helped their families deal with the trauma of brain injury even as they themselves have been the ones undergoing gruesome surgery and taxing rehabilitation. Epstein also includes letters and poems from children and parents, conveying the importance of faith and resilience. A truly inspiring book."Vanessa Bush, Booklist
Review
“To shake hands with Dr. Fred Epstein is to be touched by an angel in a scrub suit.” —Steve Dunleavy,
New York Post “A magnificent tribute to human resiliency and hopefulness. From Dr. Epsteins portrayals of children who have found meaning amid horror to his own superbly interwoven autobiography of a boyhood marred by academic failure, we see the emergence of a truly great man. Readers will feel energized by this remarkable portrayal of lifes uphill battles.” —Mel Levine, M.D., author of A Mind at a Time
Synopsis
A world-renowned pediatric neurosurgeon shares the lessons of courage, compassion, and resilience that he's learned from his exceptional young patients
"If I Get to Five is a one-of-a-kind book by a one-of-a-kind human being. The medical world knows him as Fred Epstein, M.D., the neurosurgeon who pioneered life-saving procedures for previously inoperable tumors in children. His patients and their families know him simply as Dr. Fred, the "miracle man" who has extended them both a healing hand and an open heart.
"I simply can't accept the idea of kids dying, " is how Epstein explains his commitment to saving patients. As a child, he had to overcome severe learning disabilities to realize his dream of becoming a doctor. Later, as the world's leading pediatric neurosurgeon, he did whatever it took to rescue children that other doctors had given up on.
Epstein credits his young patients as his most important teachers. "We tend to think of children as fragile, little people, " he writes. "To me, they're giants." "If I Get to Five relates the unforgettable experiences he's shared with children-lessons in courage, compassion, love, and hope-that we can all draw on to overcome adversity at any stage of life. In "If I Get to Five, Epstein meditates on these lessons at a time when they parallel his own experiences, as he recovers from a near-fatal head injury.
"If I Get to Five is a riveting profile of courage and compassion. No one who reads this remarkable book will ever look at children-or adversity-in the same way.
Synopsis
“This book is a testament to the extraordinary depth, powers, and resiliency of childrens spirits.” —Marion Wright Edelman, president, Childrens Defense Fund If I Get to Five is a one-of-a-kind book by a one-of-a-kind human being. The medical world knows him as Fred Epstein, M.D., the neurosurgeon who pioneered life-saving procedures for previously inoperable tumors in children. His patients and their families know him simply as Dr. Fred, the “miracle man” who has extended them both a healing hand and an open heart.
Throughout his career Epsteins young patients have been his most important teachers and trusted guides. They are children who—often by sheer force of will—have refused to relinquish life and all its gifts. In this inspiring book, these children teach us the lessons we all need to learn in order to live life to the fullest—lessons about seizing the moment and facing our deepest fears, about embracing the joy and wonder of everyday life. Most of all, they teach lessons about uncommon courage—the courage to do whats hardest, to believe in what we dont understand, to love without boundaries.
If I Get to Five takes us inside a world unlike any other, from the high-stakes, high-tech operating room where life and death are separated by a heartbeat to the sickrooms and recovery rooms where parents discover the limits and power of their faith. But most compelling of all is the journey inside the hearts, minds, and souls of the wisest children you will ever encounter.
No one who reads this remarkable book will ever look at children—or adversity—in the same way.
About the Author
Fred Epstein, M.D., is the founding director of the Institute for Neurology and Neurosurgery at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City. Epstein lives with his wife and children in Greenwich, Connecticut.
Joshua Horwitz is the president of Living Planet Books, a book-packaging firm that specializes in health, psychology, and spirituality titles. He is the co-author of
Wrestling with Angels and lives in Washington, D.C.