Blog Tour: Past Medical History by Donald B. Stewart (review)

Past Medical History
written by Donald B. Stewart
published by Ds Art

find it here: (affiliate links) Amazon, Goodreads

Why did I pick this book: I participated in the blog tour hosted by Pump Up Your Book. (I received a copy of this book for review purposes.)

Did I enjoy this book: It’s great!  Stewart is funny and honest, and though his grammar might need a bit of polish, the book is enjoyable enough that I’ll pretend I didn’t notice.  He may not quite believe it, but Stewart is incredibly brave, and as someone who veered away from a career in nursing at the last possible moment, well, I can only say I wish I’d figured things out as soon as he did.

Past Medical History is a quick little evening read, and though it tackles some serious subject matter, it’s light-hearted enough not to alienate.

Would I recommend it: Of course!  Past Medical History is the perfect dovetail of Grey’s Anatomy and Scrubs: Real Life.

Will I read it again: Yes.

About the book:  Past Medical History is a compilation of short stories chronicling the life of Dr. Don Stewart, who grew up with the singular goal of becoming a physician, then quit the day he earned his medical license to make a life and a living as an artist. It’s The Devil Wears Prada meets The House of God, with a character who sees his own career circling the drain, pronounces it DOA, and turfs himself to an art studio for treatment. It’s Patch Adams, with an attitude; The Things They Carried, dressed up in scrubs and a white lab coat.

This series of stories draws a clear picture of a doctor who recognized the pitfalls of his chosen profession, discharged himself from the hospital, then took his life in a more creative, and far healthier direction.

 

About the author: Don Stewart has a bachelor’s degree in Biology and Art, with honors, from Birmingham-SouthernCollege, and an MD from the University of Alabama School of Medicine. He also served a year-long surgical internship at the Mayo Clinic, where he published some of his first composite drawings, and won awards for poetry and short fiction.

Dr. Stewart’s short stories have since been published in Pulse–voices from the heart of medicine, The Dead Mule School of Southern Literature, The Placebo Journal, and The Journal of Irreproducible Results, where he is listed as honorary Art Editor. For four years he served as Contributing Editor to Informal Rounds, the newsletter of the University of Alabama Medical Alumni Association.

For the past quarter century he has made his living as a self-styled Visual Humorist, hammering words and pictures together at the DS Art Studio Gallery in Birmingham: www.DSArt.com.  You can also find him at www.PastMedicalHistoryBook.com.

His latest book is the autobiography, Past Medical History.

Find Dr. Stewart here: web, blog, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads