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Do No Harm

Stories of Life, Death, and Brain Surgery

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Do No Harm

By: Henry Marsh
Narrated by: Jim Barclay
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About this listen

What is it really like to be a brain surgeon, to hold someone's life in your hands, to drill down into the stuff that creates thought, feeling and reason?

In this brutally honest account, one of the country's top neurosurgeons reveals what it is to play god in life-and-death situations. Henry Marsh gives us a rare insight into the intense drama of the operating theatre and the exquisite complexity of the human brain.

©2014 Henry Marsh (P)2014 W F Howes Ltd Medical Physics Professionals & Academics Science Human Brain Inspiring Thought-Provoking Heartfelt Surgery

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Editor reviews

The incredible life of a brain surgeon in the NHS and the heart-breaking stories of his patients are described in the honest and revealing unabridged audiobook Do No Harm, written by brain surgeon Henry Marsh and narrated by Jim Barclay. Take a fascinating look into the neurosurgical operating room and gain a deep sense of the weight of responsibility the performing surgeon must bear forever. Told with the deepest compassion and loyalty to the lives of others, Marsh writes with eloquence about the profound significance of an organ that makes us who we are as individuals. Available now from Audible.
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Brain surgery is amazing. You are operating at a microscopic scale in a minefield primed with arteries carrying high pressure blood, on a soft fatty substance that contains the thoughts and memories of a fellow human being. Henry Marsh takes you down the operating microscope and shares his excitement and fear with the reader. Experienced as an audiobook, the narrative crackles in the middle of your own brain; I mostly took it all in at one listen (rare for me).

I suspect that writing this book was a cathartic experience for Marsh, and I sincerely hope it succeeded for him. As a brain surgeon, for thirty years, he has had to deal with the emotional burden of his day to day work having an impact on his patients that ranges from lifesaving, to death and worse. Marsh unflinchingly examines this question, without hubris, without delusions, with a searching honesty that is probably the quality I value most in a human being. He didn’t have to write this book (his job is being a surgeon), he is not a great writer (over keen on circumlocutions such as, ‘the contrast could not be greater with…’ and adding atmosphere via the weather), and I feel grateful that he has shared his very personal experiences.

The book gives fascinating insights into the relationship between surgeon and patient, these asymmetric strangers, from the doctor’s point of view.

Marsh sails by the political issues of the NHS; he simply is not interested. He hardly mentions rising costs or waiting lists, presumably because economics and management are simply not his bailiwick. He snipes at the farcical outcomes of targets and rules, he mildly regrets the loss of status and authority of consultant surgeons, he occasionally notes the outrageous costs involved - £4000 worth of one-time use kit littering the operating theatre floor. With winning insouciance he mentions how glad he is to enjoy private health care whenever he is ill, and feels no need to provide further explanation or apology, beyond his simple desire for dignity and his own, en-suite, hospital room.

By the way, once you have finished this book, you can see brain surgery videos on Youtube. Having read the book, they don’t seem as gory as they would without the book to guide you through.

Narration
I don’t think it is right for non-fiction narrators use accents to add colour to quotations (as I’ve said before). In this book, the patients speak with humble, cap-doffing, uneducated voices, while Henry himself speaks with an authoritative, received pronunciation, 'confident consultant' voice. I find it deeply patronising.
Stopping points are nicely coordinated with the book chapters.

An examined life, profoundly honest, freely shared

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An entertaining read but like most books of this type the humour is tempered with sadness & frustration. Very good at humanising surgeons.

Funny but thought-provoking

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this is a great book and very engaging. the author is brutally honest occasionally cynical and grumpy but very worth listening to. some of the criticisms of the nhs smart a little - having worked in hospitals I empathise but the nhs is what it is and everyone in my experience works hard to do their best. We all wish we had the good old days - or do we? Many people died earlier and the numbers being treated were a fraction of now. highly recommended audiobook

very entertaining and interesting

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Very interesting insight into the day to day work of a neurosurgeon, focusing on different cases for each chapter.

I’ve always liked to think that in another life, I might have been a neurosurgeon, it being such a worthwhile role and also, centred around one of the most fascinating parts of the body - the brain. Perhaps a little naively, I’d never stopped to think about how heart breaking and depressing it can be and this book was a particular eye opener for that.

Nevertheless, the stories are told with humour and the narrator is fantastic, so it was thoroughly entertaining.

Entertaining yet heart breaking insight into the work of a brain surgeon

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Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this book, a candid account of the trials and tribulations of Mr Marshes career. The book is set out in a case study style, with medical/life/career scenarios discussed within. There really is something for everyone in this book, technical terms and concepts are explained with the skill one could expect from a seasoned professional. He discusses the moral and ethical dilemmas faced within his career and the field in general as well as incorporating some very charming stories. Some even had me at the point of tears!
The narration was on the whole very good. The narrator has an interesting and very textured voice which I thought suited the book pretty well, he also demonstrates an expansive skill for accents.

Negatives
as mentioned by other reviews, the narrator voices most of the patients with local accents, almost making it seem like they are all simple, blue collar types - especially those who were difficult or awkward to treat.
At times the author can seem pompous with delusions of grandeur, however, I believe this is perhaps the intent. The book general follows the flow of his career chronologically and it seems the pomposity and hubris decreases as the book goes on in line with his inner feelings and awareness of mortality progress - so do bare with it!

A heart felt portrail of a career in neurosurgery

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