The Soul of Care
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  • Published: 18 August 2020
  • ISBN: 9780141992419
  • Imprint: Penguin Press
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 272
  • RRP: $26.00

The Soul of Care

The Moral Education of a Doctor

Formats & editions
Paperback
18 Aug 2020
EBook
4 Jun 2020
Audiobook
6 Aug 2020
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The moving memoir of a doctor who became a family caregiver and learned why care is so central to all our lives

When Dr Arthur Kleinman, an eminent Harvard psychiatrist and social anthropologist, began caring for his wife, Joan, after she was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease, he found just how far the act of caregiving extended beyond the boundaries of medicine. In The Soul of Care, he delivers a deeply inspiring story about what it means to grapple with illness from both sides, as an experienced doctor and a loving husband.

Caregiving is long, hard, unglamorous work - at moments joyous, more often tedious, sometimes agonizing, but always rich in meaning. Describing the practical, emotional and moral aspects of caring, Kleinman explores how we must ask uncomfortable questions of ourselves and of our doctors. Poignant and honest, The Soul of Care is an uplifting story about what really matters in our lives.
  • Published: 18 August 2020
  • ISBN: 9780141992419
  • Imprint: Penguin Press
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 272
  • RRP: $26.00
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Praise for The Soul of Care

Deeply affecting. . . A testament to the human capacity to draw sustenance from the memories of love, even as those memories are disappearing in the person loved. It is an important book

Kay Redfield Jamison, author of An Unquiet Mind

Heartfelt, beautifully written, incredibly moving, and so instructive . . . This story will stay with me

Abraham Verghese

One of the most moving books I've ever read. Unforgettable . . . Arthur Kleinman reminds us of what truly matters in work, life, and death

Howard Gardner, author of Truth, Beauty, and Goodness Reframed

At once a manifesto for decent health care and a brave exposing of an inner life, The Soul of Care gives language for what we all crave - effective, generous health care that nourishes those who give and those who receive until they recognize their oneness

Rita Charon

Beautiful and deeply moving. A truly extraordinary work that will change how we think about our lives and the society we live in

Michael Puett, author of The Path

A personal and professional memoir like no other: how the founder of the field of medical anthropology learned that caring meant listening, and how at the peak of his career, when personal tragedy struck, Kleinman learned the deepest meanings of care

Ellen Winner, author of How Art Works

One of the most humane doctors and profound thinkers, Arthur Kleinman has insightful, moving, and novel things to say about our capacity to give and get care. Powerful, intimate, poignant, and helpful

Nicholas A. Christakis, author of Blueprint