Daniela Lamas

I had no idea how many tragic paths there are to winding up dependent on a ventilator long-term. I felt a bit panicky reading about them, as well as some of the other catastrophic health outcomes that Dr. Lamas has encountered in her career as a pulmonary and critical care doctor. I had also never heard of post-intensive care syndrome, and the work that Dr. Lamas is doing on it is tremendously important and valuable. Again, though, it's all a bit terrifying. You Can Stop Humming Now is a worthwhile addition to the (for lack of a better term), "Doctors Writing and Reflecting on What They Do" genre, of which I'm inexplicably and inordinately fond.… (més)

I will openly admit that I am a sucker for medical emergency television shows. Whenever Grey's Anatomy goes off the air, it will literally feel like losing a loved one for me. You Can Stop Humming Now is a piece of nonfiction that relates to the themes in these types of medical shows, but it goes in a bit of a different direction. Dr. Daniela Lamas' book centers more around the patients' lives after surviving medical traumas rather than the actual traumas themselves. Plus the added bonus of pulling at your heart and soul because these are actual experiences that real people miraculously lived through adds a more human interaction with the stories told. That being said, though, it was an okay book; not great, not terrible, but just kind of there.
I will say that I went into reading it expecting to be beyond confused by the medical terminology I expected to read from this doctor writer. I was pleasantly surprised, though, at how Lamas did not make me feel dumb. Apologies for my aboriginal statement, but I cannot think of any better way to phrase it. I expected my complete lack of medical knowledge to hinder my understanding of the book, but I was actually able to comprehend the writing because Lamas did not write this book to only be read by medical professionals. Even a high school English teacher life myself could understand the details of each story without being bombarded by an overdose (sorry...I just couldn't avoid that pun) of completely foreign medical jargon.
The stories were interesting and heart-breaking and hopeful and disheartening...and I was fine with it. Even though Lamas danced wonderfully around not making it too medical, she did tend to provide the extreme amount of details that I would expect a medical professional is probably used to. I got enraptured by the stories, I felt sympathy for these people and their life-altering experiences, but then Lamas wrote on for about 10 pages too long...for each chapter. While I praise her writing capabilities to appeal to the masses, I wish she would have streamlined each story just a bit more. Some details were necessary and added meaning to the story, but other details tended to make my mind wander and, as much as it pains me to say, lose interest.
Lamas' focus on life after trauma was a phenomenal approach and one that we don't see very often. Because her book contained multiple stories of multiple people during multiple times throughout her medical career, I expected the length of each tale to be shorter than they were.
The diversity of patients, male and female, young and old, healthy and unhealthy, was wonderful. The reader could see how these frightening medical conditions and emergency procedures could happen to absolutely anyone. My only beef was the length, which is so strange for me to say. I've never allowed the length of a book or story determine my opinion of the words contained within it, but Lamas's book would have possibly had a more lasting effect on me if I had not tuned out towards the end of each story. If she writes another book, I will definitely give it a chance because I think she is a great writer. I just hope she finds a way to write more concisely and only providing enough detail to keep me curious without causing my mind to wander off the pages.… (més)