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Michele Harper

Author of The Beauty in Breaking: A Memoir

1 Work 609 Members 24 Reviews

Works by Michele Harper

The Beauty in Breaking: A Memoir (2020) 609 copies, 24 reviews

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Not exactly the kind of book I was looking for, but inspiring in its own way. It had a spiritual and philosophical component too that I wasn't expecting, but I liked it. It makes me want to practice more yoga and meditation.
 
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sophia.magyk | 23 other reviews | Jan 3, 2024 |
I love medical memoirs. I gravitate toward them by default, so when this one showed up on my radar, it was a no-brainer. Harper's story is poignant and at times heartbreaking: exactly what you'd expect from a memoir written by an ER doctor who spends part of her career working for a VA hospital in Philadelphia.

There's also a deeply spiritual bent in Harper's storytelling that I didn't expect but fully appreciated. Her spirituality is non-traditional (she mentions the goddess a handful of times), but that's exactly that made it so appealing. I hadn't realized how much it would touch my soul to see my own spiritual beliefs reflected back at me in a mainstream book by a highly-respected doctor.

Although the dialogue was at times stilted and Harper's turns of phrase occasionally awkward and convoluted, there's also so much beauty in this book. In the writing, in the storytelling, and in the deeply human stories of love and loss.
… (more)
 
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Elizabeth_Cooper | 23 other reviews | Oct 27, 2023 |
I really wanted to like this but it felt very disjointed, self-congratulatory, and overall not a very cohesive series of stories. It kind of just felt like reading patient files with a hint of "btw I was abused and I'm smart" and I think it would have been more interesting to read just as case studies kind of separated from Michele herself. I wanted there to be more about how her childhood actually shaped her. I did appreciate the parts about her being a Black woman in medicine.
 
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ninagl | 23 other reviews | Jan 7, 2023 |
An intimate look at emergency medicine in modern urban America as well as the survival strategy of one accomplished black female doctor working within the constraints of that system. We should all be so lucky to be treated by a medical professional with Dr Harper's professional skills, empathy, energy, and communication abilities. I hope she is still publishing and practicing 25 years from now.
½
 
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dele2451 | 23 other reviews | Aug 6, 2022 |

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Works
1
Members
609
Popularity
#41,276
Rating
½ 3.7
Reviews
24
ISBNs
5

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