“This gem of a thematic anthology achieves the seemingly impossible—twice. First, in more than 400 pages, it contains not a single clinker. Second, it returns poetry to the people, for one or another of these poems about sickness, hospitals, and suffering affords inspiration, comfort, knowledge, or emotional impact for virtually everyone.”—Booklist

“[This anthology] asserts that the body's emergencies inspire poetry; so urgent are their subjects, some of the poems seem almost to have been written in blood, without a moment's pause to ponder their implications… [Mukand's work] admirably attempts to bring together some of the most important poetry on illness, work that lays bare the awful, exquisite, and jutting bones of the body disrupted.”—Parnassus

“…patients and their families may learn that they are not alone in their trials: others have traveled the difficult ground, measured it, and passed along their discoveries. Thus, any one who is mortal can profit from reading this book.”—Literature and Medicine

“I have lived with this volume for two months and might spend another two years extracting wisdom and pleasure from these poems. They are not esoteric, yet they are profound and full of condensed insight. The poems explore and illuminate the varieties of medical experience for patients, friends, and family members, and health care professionals.”—Paul A. Fiore in the Journal of the American Medical Association

“Every physician will recognize here the challenges, joys, and sorrows that make medicine such a difficult and rewarding profession.”—Journal of Family Practice