Island Practice: Cobblestone Rash, Underground Tom, and Other Adventures of a Nantucket Doctor
“If you were as entranced as I was with John Berendt’sMidnight in the Garden of Good and Eviland Susan Orlean’sThe Orchid Thief, you’ll find similar pleasures inIsland Practice.”—Huntington News“Much in this book by Pam Belluck comes as a revelation. Some of it is fascinating; some of it is hilarious; and some of it is sad and very troubling. In Island Practice, Belluck has created a remarkable portrait of a physician and the island community to which he remains steadfastly devoted.”—from the Foreword by Nathaniel Philbrick, author ofIn the Heart of the SeaandThe Last Stand“Pam Belluck has dissected the antics and heroism of a Nantucket doctor who doubles as the resident wizard. This physician not only makes house calls (even to tree-houses), but also invites patients to drop in at his house for treatment. If you suffer from Nantucket Fever—or any other ill while on that island—Dr. Tim Lepore is your man.”—Dava Sobel, author ofLongitudeandGalileo’s Daughter“Through the improbable story of an eccentric and intensely creative Nantucket doctor—the man has operated with flints!—Pam Belluck has crafted an elegant and wildly entertaining depiction of the struggle to maintain humanity and empathy in the face of health care ’s ongoing industrialization. A natural storyteller with a reporter’s eye for detail and a stand-up comic’s dry wit, Belluck leaves the reader with an urge to feign illness just to have an excuse to visit her subject. A truly wonderful read.”—Warren St. John, author ofRammer Jammer Yellow HammerandOutcasts United“If you want to understand the ‘real’ Nantucket, you must readIsland Practice. Dr. Tim Lepore personifies the island’s fierce, quirky, and independent spirit. This is a book about an extraordinary man—a doctor, yes, but also a community hero. His story is as engrossing as the best fiction . . . but it’s all true.”—Elin Hilderbrand, author ofSilver Girland other novels“[An] absorbing debut. . . . An intriguing biography of a unique—and on Nantucket, irreplaceable—doctor.”—Kirkus“Page-turning prose. . . . Inspiring and entertaining, Lepore ’s story and his beloved island come to life in Belluck’s hands.”—Publisher’s Weekly“A vibrant, throbbing, and sometimes painful book about life on an island and all the messiness that goes along with helping people through hard times if you’re the local doctor. . . .Island Practiceis chock full of colorful anecdotes of island life, humor, empathy, color ful and sometimes X-rated medical emergencies, and the mundane that make up the life of a country, or island, doctor.”—Nantucket Inquirer and Mirror“Funny, startling, and sobering by turns.”—Columbus Dispatch“This is a riveting portrait of a dynamic, headstrong physician. Medical nonfiction fans will find much to enjoy. Lepore may remind readers of Dr. Paul Farmer from Tracy Kidder’sMountains Beyond Mountains.”—Library Journal“Thank goodness for writers like Pam Belluck who, inIsland Practice, presents Dr. Tim Lepore, a cross between Marcus Welby and Hawkeye Pierce of M*A*S*H fame. . . .Island Practiceis a work of evocative imagery and human description. It is readable, captivating, and almost cautionary in its description of what we have lost in today’s world of medicine. Author Pam Belluck has integrated medical, personal, and family issues into a fascinating portrait of a remarkable man.”—New York Journal of Books“[Belluck is] an energetic reporter who found in Lepore an irresistible subject.”—New York Times Book Review“A fun profile of Nantucket’s gun-toting, marijuana-prescribing, house-call-making local doc.”—Peoplemagazine“Throughout, Belluck’s prose is beautiful and lyrical . . . the Lepore she gives us is a fascinating character.”—Boston Globe“Island Practiceis a thorough dissection of a man doing his best to stand up to impersonal twenty-first-century medical practices. . . . What’s more, the book sketches a complex portrait of Nantucket itself—the stuff you won’t see inFrommer’s—that makes you glad that at least one guy is ready for anything.”—Minneapolis Star Tribune“[I]ntriguing cases handled by Lepore are described in the new bookIsland Practice, written by Pam Belluck, aNew York Timeshealth writer.”—msnbc.com“New York Timeswriter Pam Belluck . . . clearly knew great material when she found it.”—Nantucket Chronicle“Island Practicegives readers an inside look at the peculiar challenges of health care on the island while reflecting on those that all communities face.”—Boston Globe’s“White Coat Notes”“New York Timesstaff writer Belluck saw a story that begged to be told . . . readers who laugh out loud on a subway . . . should be warned ahead of time that it’s hard to stop laughing.”—GateHouse News Service