Booknomics

While doctors are venerated for their frontline effort during the pandemic and well-known for their illegible prescriptions, not many of us know that a large number of physicians have succeeded in the writing arena. Doctors have the perfect opportunity to observe patients, empathize with them and make sense of the human condition.

Here are some stellar writers who are medical physicians as well:

Khaled Hosseini

Khaled Hosseini began writing The Kite Runner while he practiced medicine, spending the early hours of the day to finish his writing quota for the day. The success of The Kite Runner led him to take a sabbatical from the medical profession. Listen to him talk about his medical career here.

Robin Cook

If there’s one writer who was incessantly worried about a pandemic-like situation, it’s medical thriller writer and physician Robin Cook. His character Jack Stapleton is a character who was concerned by the possibility of super spreader respiratory illnesses. Famous books by Robin Cook include Coma, Outbreak and Pandemic.

Atul Gawande

Atul Gawande is a doctor by morning, writer by night sort of multi-tasker. His books are an intersection of medicine, compassion and solutions. His books The Checklist Manifesto and Being Mortal talk about treatment management and humanist interventions when faced with critical illness.

Siddhartha Mukherjee

Siddhartha Mukherjee wrote The Emperor of All Maladies intermittently during his medical practice and oncology research. At any one time, he juggles multiple disciplines with an effort to understand the root of the disease. Read about his writing experience here.

W. Somerset Maugham

The famous novelist, short story writer and playwright Somerset Maugham once said, “I do not know a better training for a writer than to spend some years in the medical profession. The doctor, especially the hospital doctor, sees it [humanity] bare.” Famous books by him include The Razor’s Edge, Of Human Bondage, The Painted Veil, etc.

Anton Chekhov

Anton Chekhov, one of the world’s most celebrated short story writers, was a dedicated doctor. He was fascinated by the lives of his patients and his compassion shines through in his writing. Many of his stories focus on aspects of the medical profession such as Anyuta, Ionych, A Boring Story, A Doctor’s Visit, etc.

Arthur Conan Doyle

Arthur Conan Doyle, the author of the Sherlock Holmes stories, practiced medicine for a decade. He focused on ophthalmology and his unsuccessful practice ended up being a boon to the detective fiction genre.

Abraham Verghese

Abraham Verghese studied medicine in Ethiopia and India and ended up practicing medicine in the United States. He took a swing at his writing dream by applying to the Iowa Writing Workshop. Books by him include Cutting for Stone and My Own Country: A Doctor’s Story. Learn more about his journey here.

Taslima Nasrin Sarkar

Most know this outspoken author and Ananda Purashkar winner for works like her 1993 novel, Lajja. But did you know that Nasrin also practiced as a gynecologist for many years before turning to full-time activism? Her experiences as a doctor have formed the cornerstone of much of her writing and played a central role in the development of her ideologies and passion.

 

Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar

Shekhar’s award-winning writing embodies the subaltern perspective, bringing to life Santhal culture in three dimensions. His works, The Mysterious Ailment of Rupi Baskey, and The Adivasi Will Not Dance are both winners of the Hindu Literary Prize, with the former also winning the Yuva Puraskar, among other accolades. Unsurprisingly, Shekhar is no less distinguished when it comes to his day job as a medical officer with the Government of Jharkhand.

Kamal Kumar Mahawar

Mahawar’s acclaimed book The Ethical Doctor sheds light on unethical practices that plague the medical profession in India. Mahawar’s brilliant analyses examine the various roles of policy, the judiciary, the government, and of medical professionals, and how these intersect – sometimes to the detriment of patients.

 

Nawal El-Sadaawi

Two-time Nobel Prize nominee Nawal El-Sadaawi was best known for her literature on feminism, Islam, and Arab history. Before she was a prolific writer, she graduated from medical school in 1955 and practiced as a physician for decades. As with Nasrin, much of El-Sadaawi’s work is influenced by her experiences as a doctor, leading her to be vocal against practices such as female circumcision. Unsurprising, then, that one of her earliest works was titled Memories of a Woman Doctor

Paul Kalanithi

Indian-American neurosurgeon Paul Kalanithi’s When Breath Becomes Air chronicles his battle against lung cancer, and was completed posthumously. A New York Times Bestseller, When Breath Becomes Air gives us a look into terminal illness from the dual perspective of someone who was both doctor as well as patient.

 

Michael Crichton

Who doesn’t know and love the exciting action thrillers penned by Michael Crichton? Crichton holds an MD from Harvard, but never pursued a medical career, opting instead to devote his time to writing – his true passion. And lucky for us he did, or else the world may still have been waiting for a Jurassic Park to come along and shape our cultural landscape.

 

Let us know if you have any physician writers in mind and we can add to this list.

Here are some medical authors from the Pothi.com Store:
InVerse Medicine by Upreet Dhaliwal
Cricket Medicine Essentials by Naveen Bhansal
Drug Autobiographies in Pharmacology by Sushil Sharma
Power after B.D.S by Dr. Abhishek Jungi

 

Article contributors: Neelima, Anushka