MWA 1: Review 

Eliana Trujillo

Gwyneth Henke

English 1120

19 February 2023

The Memoir The Beauty in Breaking by author Michele Harper is the type of book you could read in one sitting even if you don’t enjoy reading like me. Harper starts off the book with a hooking introduction and a taste of what’s to be expected in the chapters to come. This is a book about her journey, so it is personal. Considering it is personal coming from a human just like us all, there may be things spoken about that are relatable to some readers. There were some events in the story that I related to Dr. Harper. The biggest thing in this book is making the best out of any difficult situation and starting over. This is a skill we should all have because in life there will always be ups and downs, and the best thing we can do is to make the best of it. 

Dr. Harper is an African American emergency room physician who experiences things like us but is willing enough to bring us along her journey. The best thing is that everything said in this book is true, it is based on real-life moments. This book isn’t just about Dr. Harper’s medical journey and experiences, but it is about letting go of fear when the future is murky, how to tell the truth when its simpler to overlook it, how to understand compassion isn’t the same as justice, but most importantly self-love. 

I found this book very interesting because medicine is something I am interested in, and I truly believe everyone interested in medicine has something that inspires them to proceed with the field. Me, I have always cared for animals and my family, but it took me cliff-jumping into a lake and needing shoulder surgery to know this is my passion. Although, even if I wasn’t interested in medicine this would be a book that I could finish in one sitting. The way she writes the book makes you want to follow along with her journey and find out what happens next. It's a cliffhanger. 

Dr. Harper shares a variety of events that occur. Her first chapter is, Michele: A Wing and a Prayer, next is Dr. Harper: The View from Here, Baby Doe: Born Perfect, Erik: Violent Bahvior Alert, Dominic: Body of Evidence, Jeremiah: Cradle and All, In the Name of Honor, Joshua: Under Control, Paul: Murda, Murda, Sitting with Olivia, and the last chapter being Jenny and Mary: What Falls Away. All of her chapters involve real people and events that landed them in the ER with Dr. Harper. My favorite chapter was chapter 2, Baby Doe: Born Perfect. It got to me in a way I did not expect any of her chapters too. You have to read it to find which is your favorite chapter because with this book everyone is bound to have one. I have always wondered what it is like to be a doctor and what it takes. Reading this book has helped me have a greater appreciation for them considering they are technically life-saving superheroes. 

I went on ahead and watched an interview with Douglas Reifler, Michael Vitez, and interviewee Dr. Michele Harper while they discuss multiple topics. The topics consist of: Introduction, why she wrote the book, the symbolic relationship between patients and doctors, the fruits of writing the book, the writing process, becoming a writer, glass ceilings in medicine, growing up in an abusive household, finding a balance in life, balancing telling your story and protecting privacy, what her standard is for privacy, how do you differentiate between compartmentalizing patients and encounters, how can the college learn from these activities, do you see yourself practicing medicine long term, favorite authors, Philadelphia, COVID experience, advocacy, radical honesty, and just mercy. They converse and go into specific detail about each topic. 

Why she wrote the book was the first thing that was questioned. Dr. Harper says the seed was planted in residency. Throughout her journey, many events were memorable and necessary to share with us. She uses an example of a patient in a domestic violence relationship and questions the scars she is going to be left with not just physically but mentally, “There were stories that just stayed with me. People from just all just aspects of their lives, like the woman who was brought in covered in cuts, small cuts all over her body. Not deep enough, not significant enough, medically to kill her, but certainly to cause pain and suffering” (9:29-9:50). They discuss sensitive topics in the book that help bring awareness to real-life things that we all suffer from. I appreciate her doing so because when we readers read about even just one experience, this opens our minds and helps us both wonder what we can do and question why such things even happen. 

All the topics remained interesting but the first that I think we have all wondered about is the symbolic relationship between patients and doctors. Dr. Haper gives an example by speaking in chapter two of Baby Doe: Born Perfect and shares how being a part of the family's grief creates a portal for healing for both the patients experiencing a loss and the physician, “Early as an attendee a newborn was brought in and we knew that infant had expired, but we still did the medical thing, we worked on this baby because it’s a baby, much longer than was reasonable, but just to prove to ourselves, to God, to the universe, to the family literally everything was done, and somehow that knowledge would help with the healing process” (12:21-12:43). Dr. Harper and Michael Vitez then go on to discuss growing up in an abusive household since this is something she sadly had to experience, which is more common than not for many people. She explains her challenges influenced her to be a doctor because she used the same skills, “a snapshot in time”, and whether there was a danger or not. 

They discussed finding a balance in life since this is a struggle for many doctors, and even for us individuals. For her what lies at this balance is knowing that life is always uncertain and this grounding her, “of course I know though, that life in uncertain, and I know that it’s a journey and I know that how we manage any situation will prepare us for the next, and I think it’s that knowing that grounds me and helps me navigate the challenges” (26:16-26:37). I think Dr. Harper explains finding balance in life while being a physician perfectly, I would say this applies to anyone regardless of the career.

Coming from someone who does not read in their free time, this is one book I did read in my free time without any issues. If I did not have other responsibilities, I would have been able to finish it in a day. So, with that being said I recommend it to those who don’t read in their free time like me or those who do read in their free time. It is a worthwhile read. Dr. Harper is not only a physician but an author. She is a very talented physician and author, so I am glad I spent the hours I did reading her book and recommend you all to do the same.

Works Cited

“The Beauty in Breaking: A Conversation with Dr. Michele Harper .” Bing, Microsoft, https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=the%2Bbeauty%2Bin%2BbRreaking&docid=608029771845150342&mid=9147A4CAC319AAD808A09147A4CAC319AAD808A0&view=detail&FORM=VIRE. Accessed 5 Feb. 2023.