If there is one takeaway from Do No Harm, it’s that brain surgery is not practiced by detached surgeons who are emotionally uninvolved with the outcome at hand. Henry Marsh is a practicing brain surgeon, and the stories in Do No Harm, are touching, intimate, and gripping. He gives the reader a first hand account of what it’s like to be a brain surgeon, and pulls back the curtain on the profession.

Whether or not you’re interested in medicine, you’ll find Marsh’s book a compelling read. With an unusual amount of candor, he describes what it’s like to make life-changing decisions in a short amount of time. When the decision is correct, it can be thrilling. When incorrect, the surgeon has to live with the decision he made for the rest of his or her life.

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Learn More: Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death, and Brain Surgery by Henry Marsh