Book Review: A Medical Affair by Anne McCarthy Strauss
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Summary:
While under the care of her pulmonologist after a life-threatening asthma attack, Heather Morrison enters into an affair with her doctor. This affair violates the state’s code of conduct and his medical treatment violates the Hippocratic oath. Heather’s life is shattered as a result. After the doctor terminates the relationship, Heather begins research for her own healing, and armed with this information, she initiates a civil lawsuit. Although it is a work of fiction, A Medical Affair was extensively researched. A Medical Affair is a critical book for women who want to make educated decisions regarding their relationships with their doctors.
Review:
When I first started reading this one, I’ll be honest – I wasn’t quite sure I would like it very much. I didn’t understand Heather’s attraction to Jeff. It just seemed too fast to me – she goes to the hospital and two visits later she’s having sex with her doctor on the exam table even though she knows he’s married. It seemed too rushed to me and I struggled to connect with the story at that point. I will say when we moved past that part and into the meat of the story, I highly enjoyed it. It seemed fast-paced, it was complex, and it was interesting. I was holding my breath when it came to parts of the lawsuit and especially during the parts about her pending adoption. But then…the ending I didn’t love. It was fast and almost rushed again and I felt a little cheated out of a resolution. I actually had to go back and re-read parts to help me understand what happened. I can appreciate that the author tried to show how patients can rely on their doctors so quickly and start unhealthy relationships, but I think it came too late for me. If I skipped over how fast the affair started and how little care Heather seemed to have about sleeping with a married man, I think I would have enjoyed this story a lot more, and maybe not have minded the fast ending. One last point – I wasn’t sure I understood why certain POV’s came in at the end, with Heather’s lawyer and a reporter. They didn’t quite fit with the story. Other than my critiques, it’s an interesting book that touched on a subject I didn’t know a lot about and I hope more people will become informed on this topic!
3 stars
