Short collection of stories about rural doctoring. Poignant gentle humor. ( )

This book took me back to my childhood. While listening to it I could clearly picture in my mind the doctor’s office my parents took us to. I loved that doctor. He was so kind. In hearing of the kinds of payments received I remembered one time we went in and there were a couple of live chickens in the waiting room. They were payment from another patient. It makes me laugh now.
I listened to this book on Audible. The narrator sounded a lot like some of my family when we would sit on the front porch and talk about life and what all was going on with our family, friends and community. I greatly enjoyed listening to him.
The book isn’t a long read. It might sound a bit scattered to some, especially if they aren’t familiar with the porch gossiping. These are a collection of short memories from various good hearted doctors mainly in the Smokies, though I did note the mention of Harlan, Kentucky. There were also what I’ll call sound bites. Those little sentences or sayings possibly coming from the communities or others in the office, made me smile. I think though they might confuse some who aren’t used to the one sentence comments that would be made on the porch. There really wasn’t anything to set them apart from the short stories being told. Listeners might not readily grasp that they are just comments tossed out.
While the stories are told with humor they are infused with the problems of Eastern Kentucky and Tennessee, (probably elsewhere but I can’t speak for those places). Poverty, alcoholism, domestic violence are sprinkled throughout. Some might take issue but I saw it all there and just because some might not want to hear them spoken of doesn’t make the problems magically disappear. Sometimes when I hear people who want to erase things, (like not using certain words or talking about some issues that were normal occurrences), I feel like we are trying to sweep them under the rug. When you forget your history you open the door to it happening again. Realistically we are still dealing with the same issues regardless of all the cries of it’s unacceptable to use those words or to talk about those issues. If you are someone who is sensitive to hearing about the past in the language from the past, this might not be a good match for you. But if you are someone who accepts that we were not perfect then, (and are not now), you may find these stories a touching or humorous, (sometimes both at the same time), glimpse into the past.
I haven’t come across a doctor who compares with Doc Acker from my youth. I wish I could because I could trust that he was giving me his best, regardless of my ability to pay, and allow me to keep my dignity. The doctors from this book, and so many who have worked in poor areas, brought something that I find lacking with many of today’s doctors. They knew the people they were treating. They lived among us. They may have treated our parents, cousins and our children so they knew not only our medical and family histories but our community histories. They knew who had addictions. They knew who was dealing with abuse issues or job loss. They combined that information to give us their best medical care even if we couldn’t afford it. This book with its memories shines a light on that.
Oh, and the dog story ... have tissues ready. That black & white dog! I’ve got tears just thinking of that loyal friend! ( )

This seems more a series of very short stories all on the topic of practicing medicine in the Appalachians. There is some attempt to group similar topics together but most chapters center on one story or one particular topic.

I found it interesting but there was not an attempt to segue between each chapter so sometimes, to me, it seemed there was a disconnect as I ended one chapter and started the next.

These doctors (mostly men) treated patients often with little or no backup from medical specialties, often far away from hospitals, sometimes with no hope of payment. There was community. These doctors knew their patients--sometimes knew generations within the family. The focus was more on the person than it is in today's medicine. ( )

nonfiction, audiobook, medical, rural, short-stories
Comprised of numerous reminiscences from multiple country doctors preferring to practice in the backwoods of Appalachia from the 1920's till fairly recently. With minimal alterations, the incidents could be backwoods NSW, Minnesota/Wisconsin, or Alberta. But then, I've been a nurse since the Revolutionary War (or at least the reenactments). I absolutely loved it!
For some idiotic reason this Whispersync has been hiding in my TBR pile since March 2016!
Carey Jones is perfect as narrator. ( )

Great stories about the encounters of rural doctors. I laughed out loud at several stories and saw some family members in a few of the stories, too. ( )