Hardback

Advance Praise

"The searing honesty of Something For the Pain makes the heart glad and breaks it at the same time."  -- Randall Kenan, author of The Fire This Time

"Austin's many brushes with the crises of strangers…remind us of what's precious about the desire to help others." – Ted Conover, author of Newjack: National Book Critics Circle Award Winner and Pulitzer Prize finalist.

“Something for the Pain is remarkable for its compassion, humanity, and scrupulous honesty.”—Michael Collier, author of Dark Wild Realm

" Blood, yes, and pain aplenty-this is a book about the body. But it is also about the spirit..."   -- David Bradley, author of The Chaneysville Incident

"If you are considering a career in emergency medicine, you must read this book."—Eugenia Quackenbush, MD - assistant professor of Emergency Medicine, UNC School of Medicine

Reviews

  

Boston Globe

9/28/08

“Austin gives a stunning account of the chaos of the emergency room, the constant drama of urgent situations calling for immediate and decisive action. He pulls us inside the chronic exhaustion ER docs fight against and fully engages us in the difficult juggling doctors do to balance the need for immediate medical intervention against the niceties of careful listening and compassionate concern.”

Libraryjournal.com

(American Library Association)

8/5/08 (Starred Review)

★ This vivid memoir of an ER Doctor will make readers by turns cry and cringe.  A definite page-turner and a riveting debut;  highly recommended to public, hospital, and medical sciences libraries. 

Kirkus Reviews

7/1/2008

“...Austin examines the diametrically opposed perils of cynical detachment and overemotional involvement, pondering the question of just how empathic a clinician can be and still be competent.

An ER physician gives serious thought to what he does, how he does it and what it does cost him. 

Publisher’s Weekly

6/25/2008

“...a relentlessly honest look at modern emergency medicine ...What makes this inspiring medical memoir stand out is the courageous measure of Austin’s humanity..”