The Beauty in Breaking - Michele Harper

⭐ 8.0/10

(Originally written by Beans)

This is a memoir about a black ER physician. She’s worked in the South Bronx and in Philadelphia so you know she’s seen some stuff.

This was an interesting read. I went into it expecting it to be more traumatic and heartbreaking, and while there were definitely elements of that, that wasn’t the focus. Which looking back now was good for me.

Her focus was more on her acting as a healer to the people she was around and to herself. She had a bad childhood and a bad marriage so she was constantly dealing with her broken past. But it wasn’t the bad type of healing where everything can be fixed with the essential oils; she made it clear that she believes in modern medicine and that it needs to be utilized. However, she also stressed the importance of human connection, eating and living right, and listening to our bodies. Some of it was mumbo jumbo but some of it was really insightful.

She also wrote really beautifully. The book flowed really well and there were some deep nuggets of truth throughout. It was an interesting experience to get a look into the ER room during this time, and I feel like I have a new appreciation for our health care workers - an appreciation I feel daily.