Published June 2024
★★★
These are the memoirs of a doctor who was born and raised in India and eventually specialized in oncology. I'm a fan of both memoir and medical books—not to mention books that take place in cultures that are not my own—so naturally I was curious. (Also, I read The Reluctant Doctor a while back and wanted to know how the experiences might differ! Quite a lot, as it happens, for any number of reasons, but let's call it another data point on the map.)
Hope, Faith & Destiny was written with Dr. Sawkar's grandchildren in mind, and it's the sort of thing that I wish more older adults would do. He's not a trained writer, of course, but these are stories that would otherwise someday be lost to time. I would have loved some more details of time and place (what did Dr. Sawkar's childhood home look like? Did he have a school uniform? What were the medical school facilities like, and how did they differ from the facilities when he moved to the US? Other than food and family, what about India did he find himself missing?), because that sort of thing is always fascinating to me, but his voice is clear throughout the book. I also would have loved more patient stories, but they aren't really the focus of the book.
All in all, an interesting and quick read, and a good use...for once...of my temporary Kindle Unlimited affliction.
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