Oxygen: A Novel [B0741]

2009 PB in nice clean condition. With the compassion of Jodi Picoult and the medical realism of Atul Gawande, real-life anesthesiologist Carol Cassella's riveting national bestseller seamlessly melds compelling women's fiction and medical drama to create an "involving debut that's just what the doctor ordered" (People). Dr. Marie Heaton is an anesthesiologist at the height of her profession. She has worked, lived, and breathed her career since medical school, and she now practices at a top Seattle hospital. Marie has carefully constructed and constricted her life according to empirical truths, to the science and art of medicine. But when her tried-and-true formula suddenly deserts her during a routine surgery, she must explain the nightmarish operating room disaster and face the resulting malpractice suit. Marie's best friend, colleague, and former lover, Dr. Joe Hillary, becomes her closest confidante as she twists through depositions, accusations and a remorseful preoccupation with the mother of the patient in question. As she struggles to salvage her career and reputation, Marie must face hard truths about the path she's chosen, the bridges she's burned, and the colleagues and superiors she's mistaken for friends. As her carefully structured life begins to collapse, Marie confronts questions of love and betrayal, family bonds and the price of her own choices. Set against the natural splendor of Seattle, and inside the closed vaults of hospital operating rooms, Oxygen climaxes in a final twist that is as heartrending as it is redeeming.

From recent Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "This novel is exquisitely plotted and at times breathtakingly (pun intended) well written; making it (for me) very hard to put down. Amazing that this is a debut novel by Carol Cassella. Truly recommended."; "This is a beautifully written book. It gives an inside view, up close and personal of the inner workings of the OR through the eyes of Dr. Marie Heaton, an anesthesiologist with a flawless record. The author herself is a practicing anesthesiologist, giving the story realism and credibility. I truly loved the descriptions of the technical process of how anesthesia works, along with the relationships between the assistants and surgeons while working together. Cassella presents the dilemma Marie faces with its many sides of blame and fairness. I also loved the insights into human nature with all our flaws and vulnerabilities. Very highly recommended, and far beyond the standard medical thriller."