Readers won’t find miracles but rather a sensitive doctor who writes well about an ongoing epidemic.
A physician who focuses on pain management illuminates his specialty.
After a chapter describing the nervous system and another on the history of pain relief—opium has been around since prehistory—British anesthesiologist Lalkhen takes up pain as experienced by patients and dealt with by doctors. The author makes it clear that both could use further education on the subject, which is undeniably complex. A sprained ankle is agonizing while soldiers suffering gruesome battle injuries sometimes feel little pain. In Chinese and Korean cultures, it’s often considered shameful to complain during childbirth, and few women receive analgesics; other cultures insist on “a more vocal response.” While it may be understandable for a patient to not fully comprehend the social and psychological factors that influence pain as much as the physical damage, it’s inexcusable for a doctor. New analgesic drugs have been appearing for more than two centuries, beginning with morphine in 1804. Although many surgeons remain casual about postoperative pain, the treatment of short-term pain remains straightforward. Chronic pain, however, is another story; sometimes it persists after the injury heals. In most cases of chronic back pain, neck pain, neuropathy, and even arthritis and in syndromes such as fibromyalgia, there is no injury and nothing to be “fixed”—but there are numerous ways to help. Sadly, many doctors continue to use procedures—e.g., surgery or nerve injections—that rarely work and prescribe drugs that produce side effects and addiction without relieving much pain. Lalkhen describes his multidisciplinary clinic, where doctors work with physiotherapists, nurses, psychologists, dieticians, and even alternative healers to help sufferers who often arrive addicted and desperate after undergoing repeated failed procedures. The author emphasizes that chronic pain is not curable, but a collaborative approach in which patients actively participate improves quality of life, self-confidence, and the ability to move, function, and return to work.
Readers won’t find miracles but rather a sensitive doctor who writes well about an ongoing epidemic.Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-982160-98-2
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Scribner
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2020
An above-average celebrity memoir from an intriguing spirit.
The longtime Hollywood actor looks back.
“What does it mean to be a ham?” asks the author, rhetorically. “Was I a ham? I was naturally and inordinately theatrical. I liked to carry on. I liked attention. I liked extravagant speech. I liked to emote. I liked to talk.” All of these qualities are abundantly evident in Kilmer’s memoir, which is as much a spiritual journey as it is a chronicle of his life and career. The author recounts the depth of his Christian Science faith, his formative years in a family of privilege in Los Angeles, his teenage romance with fellow actor Mare Winningham (“my first real girlfriend”), his training and rebellion at Juilliard, and his decision to leave Broadway for Hollywood. There, he writes, “I was not yet a burgeoning talent but ‘Cher’s lover,’ ” when she was in her mid-30s and he in his early-20s. After scoring big with Tom Cruise in Top Gun, Kilmer turned down Blue Velvet and Dirty Dancing: “Neither part spoke to me.” He played Jim Morrison in Oliver Stone’s The Doors, which he considers “one of the proudest moments of my career.” Marlon Brando and Sam Shepard went from being idols that Kilmer worshipped to becoming friends. He was slated to star as Batman in three films but jumped ship after Batman Forever, which he considers “so bad, it’s almost good.” He married and divorced British actor Joanne Whalley and wooed Daryl Hannah (“kind of the female me, only better”), and he wrote and starred in a one-man show as Mark Twain. When he was hospitalized for surgery due to his throat cancer, he prayed, he read Twain and Christian Science’s Mary Baker Eddy, and he “didn’t wrestle with my angels. I sang and danced with them.” Kilmer was never a shrinking violet, and he still refuses to wilt.
An above-average celebrity memoir from an intriguing spirit. (photos)Pub Date: April 21, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9821-4489-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: March 11, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
The lessons to draw are obvious: Smoke more dope, eat less meat. Like-minded readers will dig it.
The chef, rapper, and TV host serves up a blustery memoir with lashings of self-help.
“I’ve always had a sick confidence,” writes Bronson, ne Ariyan Arslani. The confidence, he adds, comes from numerous sources: being a New Yorker, and more specifically a New Yorker from Queens; being “short and fucking husky” and still game for a standoff on the basketball court; having strength, stamina, and seemingly no fear. All these things serve him well in the rough-and-tumble youth he describes, all stickball and steroids. Yet another confidence-builder: In the big city, you’ve got to sink or swim. “No one is just accepted—you have to fucking show that you’re able to roll,” he writes. In a narrative steeped in language that would make Lenny Bruce blush, Bronson recounts his sentimental education, schooled by immigrant Italian and Albanian family members and the mean streets, building habits good and bad. The virtue of those habits will depend on your take on modern mores. Bronson writes, for example, of “getting my dick pierced” down in the West Village, then grabbing a pizza and smoking weed. “I always smoke weed freely, always have and always will,” he writes. “I’ll just light a blunt anywhere.” Though he’s gone through the classic experiences of the latter-day stoner, flunking out and getting arrested numerous times, Bronson is a hard charger who’s not afraid to face nearly any challenge—especially, given his physique and genes, the necessity of losing weight: “If you’re husky, you’re always dieting in your mind,” he writes. Though vulgar and boastful, Bronson serves up a model that has plenty of good points, including his growing interest in nature, creativity, and the desire to “leave a legacy for everybody.”
The lessons to draw are obvious: Smoke more dope, eat less meat. Like-minded readers will dig it.Pub Date: April 20, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-4197-4478-5
Page Count: 184
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: May 5, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2021
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