Synopses & Reviews
At the age of 49, Dr. Thomas Graboys had reached the pinnacle of his career and was leading a charmed life. A nationally renowned Boston cardiologist popular for his attention to the hearts and souls of his patients, he had a beautiful wife, two wonderful daughters, positions on both the faculty of Harvard Medical School and the staff of Bostons Brigham and Womens Hospital, and a thriving private practice.
Today, Graboys is battling a particularly aggressive form of Parkinsons disease and progressive dementia, and can no longer see patients or give rounds. Despite the physical, mental, and emotional toll he battles daily, Graboys continues his life-long mission of caring for the world one human being at a time by telling his story so that others may find comfort, inspiration, or validation in their own struggles.
Review
Praise for the Life in the Balance
[A] small wonder. Unsentimental and unpretentious, it manages to hit all its marks effortlessly.
[Graboys] does one of the best jobs on record of doggedly unpeeling the onion-skin layers of alternating ego and vulnerability that encase the doctor turned patient”The New York Times
"A powerful and poignant portrayal of a physician who refuses to have illness rob him of his dignity and joy. A unique and inspiring memoir that captures the resiliency of the human spirit." Dr. Jerome Groopman, Professor, Harvard Medical School, and author of How Doctors Think
Beautifully written, searingly honest, this book lets us see the impact of serious illness on a man who is both a doctor and a patient.”Rabbi Harold Kushner, author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People
I was blown away. ...An eye-opening read. ...A remarkable book.” Dr. Timothy Johnson, ABC News Medical Correspondent
About the Author
Thomas Graboys, M.D. is a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, President Emeritus of the Lown Cardiovascular Research Foundation in Brookline, Massachusetts, and Senior Physician at Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston. In 1985, Dr. Graboys was part of the team of doctors who won the Nobel Peace Prize for their work with the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War. Parkinsons disease and dementia forced his premature retirement from active clinical practice in 2006.
Peter Zheutlin is a freelance journalist whose work has appeared in the Boston Globe, the Christian Science Monitor, The New York Times, AARP Magazine, and dozens of other newspapers and magazines in the United States and abroad.