heatherbermingham's review against another edition
5.0
Whoa, this book. This book, about what happens at Memorial Medical Center during Hurricane Katrina as well as in the aftermath, is one of the most interesting, devastating, thought-provoking books I've read in quite a while. The first half of the book is a retelling of the events in the hospital during the hurricane and the subsequent evacuation. The second half is about the investigation and grand jury trial of a doctor and two nurses accused of euthanizing patients they couldn't get out. It's hard to read about the anarchy that takes over the hospital because of ineffective disaster planning, the storm, flooding, lack of preparedness, loss of power, broken communication with the outside world, and a leadership vacuum but it's also so, so interesting. At times I found myself both horrified by and in awe of the staff in the hospital working in awful circumstances. Tons of interesting questions to ponder. Who should be evacuated first in disasters? Which patients get the limited resources when power goes down? The ones more likely to recover? The ones with more years ahead of them? The ones with a better quality of life ahead of them? Who decides that and how? Does the responsibility of a medical provider toward patients change in disasters when their own lives are at risk as well? Or is their responsibility greater then? This is one of those books I thought about even when I wasn't reading it.
cati's review
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
I read this so fast because the topic of Memorial Hospital after Katrina has been a huge interest of mine since I learned about it. I agree that the second part is kind of boring, but that's because it's hard to keep track of legal jargon, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. The first part of this book was so horrifying I had trouble functioning because I my thoughts were just filled with the scenes of fragile patients and the humidity. I can't recommend this book enough. Thank you, Sheri Fink, for your investigating and bringing this story to light.
sde's review against another edition
3.0
First, a disclaimer: My brother lived in New Orleans at the time of Katrina, so this book was a little too close to home. He was lucky enough to evacuate, and his apartment had minimal damage, and it was still a horrible experience. I can't even imagine what it was like for people stuck at the hospital.
This is a very detailed book, and the author did a yeoman's job of tracking down people connected with Memorial at the time of Katrina. It reflects an amazing amount of work. The first part of the book really makes the reader feel the fear and chaos that was happening at the hospital while those in it had no idea what was going on or if anyone was coming to rescue them.
What really struck me is how so much time and money was spent on planning for a bioterrorism attack, and almost nothing on planning for hurricanes, even though the latter is exponentially more likely to occur in New Orleans. It reminded me of how we often fear the rare event and ignore the common. For instance, we have training for what to do in an active shooter situation at work, but we don't have basic first aid training. The CDC spends a lot of effort on things like Ebola, which has affected a handful of Americans (literally) instead of Lyme Disease which has debilitated several people in my small circle.
The second half of the book, which involved the investigation and trial was less gripping for me. It makes sense that the author had to get a lot more of that material second hand - people are not going to talk about things they were on trial for or might have gone to trial for - but it felt a lot more distant. Also, we never really get a real sense or idea of why the medical people gave such high doses of morphine. What were they really thinking at the time? It didn't seem like a case where the workers just wanted to get out of there. It seems like a horrible action in the book, but we don't get to know the main culprits with a lot of depth. I understand why that is, but it was somewhat unsatisfying.
The incident still has a lot of real world implications, though. A few days after finishing the book, I came across articles in two sources - a Jesuit publication and the New York Times about palliative care, assisted suicide, and the fine line between the two and the difficulties for medical staff.
This is a very detailed book, and the author did a yeoman's job of tracking down people connected with Memorial at the time of Katrina. It reflects an amazing amount of work. The first part of the book really makes the reader feel the fear and chaos that was happening at the hospital while those in it had no idea what was going on or if anyone was coming to rescue them.
What really struck me is how so much time and money was spent on planning for a bioterrorism attack, and almost nothing on planning for hurricanes, even though the latter is exponentially more likely to occur in New Orleans. It reminded me of how we often fear the rare event and ignore the common. For instance, we have training for what to do in an active shooter situation at work, but we don't have basic first aid training. The CDC spends a lot of effort on things like Ebola, which has affected a handful of Americans (literally) instead of Lyme Disease which has debilitated several people in my small circle.
The second half of the book, which involved the investigation and trial was less gripping for me. It makes sense that the author had to get a lot more of that material second hand - people are not going to talk about things they were on trial for or might have gone to trial for - but it felt a lot more distant. Also, we never really get a real sense or idea of why the medical people gave such high doses of morphine. What were they really thinking at the time? It didn't seem like a case where the workers just wanted to get out of there. It seems like a horrible action in the book, but we don't get to know the main culprits with a lot of depth. I understand why that is, but it was somewhat unsatisfying.
The incident still has a lot of real world implications, though. A few days after finishing the book, I came across articles in two sources - a Jesuit publication and the New York Times about palliative care, assisted suicide, and the fine line between the two and the difficulties for medical staff.
lohanesian's review against another edition
4.0
It has become cliché to use the phrase, but this an extraordinarily “fair and balanced” treatment of the horrific events at one New Orleans hospital during Hurricane Katrina, and the drive for justice afterward. I like that the focus is on the various people involved, because in the end it is human choices that drive this story.
The story is as compelling as a disaster movie but also engages with some fascinating ethical and legal issues. Whether you for or against euthanasia, you will be forced to reexamine that position in situations where there is an absence of information and direction from government or other authorities. And in such an absence, people with good intentions, dedicated and compassionate, can become villains in the moral clarity afterwards. Hindsight is 20/20, as they say. It is a lesson for all of us to judge others with humility. If confronted with a Katrina-like disaster, would our choices look heroic and noble in the light of day? And yet many people rise to the occasion in just such a scenario; should not the same “everyday” standards of equality and dignity still apply?
The structure of this book was very effective. Roughly the first 1/2 covers Katrina itself; the next 1/3 the investigation and legal proceedings, the last rest is on disaster preparedness post-Katrina. It is the last half of the book that really puts the first half into context, explaining the history of the concepts of triage and euthanasia. In an age where the unexpected has almost become commonplace (Ebola!) this book is a good lesson in preparing for everything.
The story is as compelling as a disaster movie but also engages with some fascinating ethical and legal issues. Whether you for or against euthanasia, you will be forced to reexamine that position in situations where there is an absence of information and direction from government or other authorities. And in such an absence, people with good intentions, dedicated and compassionate, can become villains in the moral clarity afterwards. Hindsight is 20/20, as they say. It is a lesson for all of us to judge others with humility. If confronted with a Katrina-like disaster, would our choices look heroic and noble in the light of day? And yet many people rise to the occasion in just such a scenario; should not the same “everyday” standards of equality and dignity still apply?
The structure of this book was very effective. Roughly the first 1/2 covers Katrina itself; the next 1/3 the investigation and legal proceedings, the last rest is on disaster preparedness post-Katrina. It is the last half of the book that really puts the first half into context, explaining the history of the concepts of triage and euthanasia. In an age where the unexpected has almost become commonplace (Ebola!) this book is a good lesson in preparing for everything.
syrisa's review
I bought the book to better understand what happened during both Hurricanes Katrina and Rita since I was 12 at the time. It brought back some unpleasant and slightly unresolved feelings that happened during that time. I will try to finish the book but unfortunately what I'll have to do right now is take breaks when it gets overwhelming.
ckanta's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
4.0
mmchampion's review against another edition
5.0
Wow! This is a scary story, and the scariest part is that it is REAL. Fink (an investigative reporter) does an awesome job of writing about that which could be riddled with tedious details. I could not put the book down even though I knew from the very beginning what was going to happen. It's crazy how life and/or death can be at the discretion of the doctors we trust to keep us well.
tanya_the_spack's review against another edition
5.0
Horrifying from every level and every angle. A thorough, well-written book.