Name: Akane's review of Five Days at Memorial by Sheri Fink
Item: Five Days at Memorial
Rating: 4
Author: Akane

Sheri Fink

Reconstructs five days at Memorial Medical Center after Hurricane Katrina destroyed its generators to reveal how caregivers were forced to make life-and-death decisions without essential resources.

Life and Death in a Storm-ravaged Hospital

Five Days at Memorial

Kathleen Mullins

It's a heavy read because of the content, but really well done. If you like reading about real world disasters, I recommend.

Akane

It's a heavy read because of the content, but really well done. If you like reading about real world disasters, I recommend.



Queena Li

Tanya Sutton

This was an incredible example of reporting on a sensitive subject. I'd highly recommend it!

Taryn Viera

Elaina

Jason Steele

Alecx Motus

Jessicamarie Fox

Peggy Walker

Connie

Toby Fehily

Christine W

Katie Billings

Patty Pforte

Liz Prinz

Mandi Jayne

Alissa Kirchner

Alina Shiotsu

Catherine Nicolai

Lisa Miller

Sarah Agterhuis

In the tradition of the best writing on human behaviour and moral choices in the face of disaster, physician and reporter Sheri Fink reconstructs five days at New Orleans' Memorial Medical Center during Hurricane Katrina and draws the reader into the lives of those who struggled mightily to survive and to maintain life amidst chaos. After Katrina struck and the floodwaters rose, the power failed, and the heat climbed, exhausted caregivers chose to designate certain patients last for rescue. Months later, several health professionals faced criminal allegations that they deliberately injected numerous patients with drugs to hasten their deaths. Five Days at Memorial, the culmination of six years of reporting, unspools the mystery of what happened in those days, bringing the reader into a hospital fighting for its life and into a conversation about the most terrifying form of health care rationing. In a voice at once involving and fair, masterful and intimate, Fink exposes the hidden dilemmas of end-of-life care and reveals just how ill-prepared we are for the impact of large-scale disasters - and how we can do better. A remarkable book, engrossing from start to finish, Five Days at Memorial radically transforms our understanding of human nature in crisis.

Edouard Chavassieu

Breana Goscicki

I.m. ruzz

Kathleen Mullins &
Five Days at Memorial by Sheri Fink

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Kathleen Mullins &Five Days at Memorial by Sheri Fink

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Five Days at Memorial by Sheri Fink