World-renowned neurosurgeon Rahul Jandial returns to How To Academy with a raw and moving account of the lessons we can learn from patients confronted with their own mortality.
As one of the world’s leading brain surgeons, Dr Jandial is the last hope for many patients who have extreme forms of cancer – patients who can’t be saved but deserve more time.
He joins us with an account of the resilience, courage and belief he has witnessed in his patients, and the lessons he has learned from them. Both an unflinching account of extreme surgeries and a profound, moving and introspective memoir, this livestream talk will reveal the depths of a surgeon’s psyche who is pushed to his limits, day in, day out.
From keeping a gun victim’s heart pumping with his own hand, to saving a woman from paralysis and performing brain surgery while time is running out on a haemorrhaging patient, we see how making life and death decisions and facing unimaginable pressure has shaped one man’s life. Now, he shares the many truths about human nature that he has learned along the way: from how we deal with trauma, loss, addiction, failure and threat to our innate belief and sense of self.
From a life spent balancing the line between life and death, Rahul reveals what it means to survive life’s challenges.
Praise for Rahul Jandial’s Life on a Knife’s Edge:
‘A beautifully written and fearless depiction of both brain surgery and the mind of a surgeon. Riveting.’ – Jim Down, author of Life Support
‘Is this a memoir or a science book? An exposé of the shortcoming of our healthcare system or a paean to the wonders of modern medicine? The answer is YES, to all those things and more. Jandial takes us deep into the day-to-day life of his profession as a brain surgeon while simultaneously taking us even deeper into the inner-workings of our own biology. It’s an unconventional approach, and a bit disarming at first blush, but pays off in spades. I loved this book.’ – James Nestor, New York Times bestselling author of Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art
‘A reminder that what makes us stellar physicians and surgeons are not our skills with our hands and/our knowledge but rather our empathy and ability to connect with our patients.’ – Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa
