Physicians’ memoirs are offering readers a unique window into the challenges and rewards of a life in medicine, according to recommendations released this week by the American Medical Association (AMA).
The AMA’s “Shadow Me” Specialty Series, which provides advice from physicians across various specialties, highlighted ten memoirs as particularly insightful for both medical students and practicing doctors. The list, published February 12, 2026, aims to broaden understanding of the medical field and the pressures faced by healthcare professionals.
Among the recommended titles is In Shock: My Journey from Death to Recovery and the Redemptive Power of Hope by Rana Awdish, MD. Devang Sanghavi, MD, a critical care medicine specialist, described the book as “a must-read for all medical students,” noting its depiction of a physician’s personal experience with a life-threatening medical event and subsequent recovery.
Another standout is Final Exam: A Surgeon’s Reflections on Mortality by Pauline W. Chen, MD. Cardiothoracic surgeon Jennifer Abelson, MD, of Confluence Health in Wenatchee, Washington, emphasized the book’s exploration of death as an unavoidable component of surgical practice. Confluence Health is part of the AMA Health System Member Program.
Other memoirs on the list include Norman Cousins’ Anatomy of an Illness as Perceived by the Patient: Reflections on Healing and Regeneration, praised by ob-gyn Diana Ramos, MD, as a reminder of the human element in medicine. Susannah Cahalan’s Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness, recommended by pathologist Scott Koepsell, MD, for its depiction of a neurological disease treated with blood purification; and Kay Jamison’s Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness, highlighted by psychiatrist Lisa MacLean, MD, of Henry Ford Health, also an AMA Health System Member Program participant, as a testament to success despite mental health challenges.
Paul Kalanithi’s When Breath Becomes Air received multiple endorsements, including from Michelle Puzdrakiewicz, MD, a pediatric hospitalist with Ochsner Health, another AMA Health System Member Program participant and medical oncologist Omar T. Atiq, MD, who described it as a poignant reflection on life’s fragility. Anesthesiologist Gerald R. Callas, MD, and gastroenterologist Walter Park, MD, also recommended Kalanithi’s memoir for its perspective-shifting qualities.
The AMA list also includes What Matters in Medicine: Lessons from a Life in Primary Care by David Loxtercamp, MD, praised by family physician Christopher Garofalo, MD; Black Man in a White Coat: A Doctor’s Reflections on Race and Medicine by Damon Tweedy, MD, recommended by radiation oncologist Sheila Rege, MD, for its insights into the doctor-patient relationship; Frank Vertosick’s When the Air Hits Your Brain, highlighted by neurosurgeon Nitin Agarwal, MD; and David Weill’s Exhale: Hope, Healing and a Life in Transplant, noted by transplant hepatologist Nigel Girgrah, MD, of Ochsner Health, for its candid portrayal of the challenges of transplant medicine, including physician burnout.
The AMA also offers a Specialty Guide to assist medical students in choosing their area of focus, utilizing the FREUD™ database for residency and fellowship information.
