First published 2025
Dr. David Sandberg stands in operating rooms where children's lives hang in the balance. As an internationally recognized pediatric neurosurgeon, he navigates the most complex organ in the human body while parents wait in agony outside. Sandberg reveals his private thoughts during these critical moments when split-second decisions carry life-changing consequences. He delivers devastating news to families, confronts dangerous surgical complications, and wrestles with choices that would break most people. The memoir follows his journey from young doctor to seasoned surgeon, taking readers through his most difficult cases and greatest victories. Sandberg also travels to underserved regions where basic neurosurgical care remains nearly impossible to access, working alongside local doctors who fight to bring change to their communities. As a father himself, he understands that each patient represents someone's entire universe, and this knowledge weighs on every decision he makes.
Genres: science, medical, non-fiction, biography-memoir
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
208 pages · Kindle Edition · Pegasus Books
Content warnings: medical-trauma