No Crying Allowed

From the Author of Lend Me a Kiss,The Weird Animal Club, and Bedtime Dinosaur Stories for Kids


From the time author Christopher J. Knott-Craig was fourteen years old, he wanted to be a heart surgeon. He had followed Professor Christiaan Barnard’s career and first heart transplant in December 1967, and he wanted to be like him and work for him. Knott-Craig started his cardiac surgery training in 1980, and about six months later, his professor suggested he try a different specialty. Undaunted, he begged for a second chance, which the professor reluctantly granted.

Through perseverance, hard work, and determination, Knott-Craig became an internationally recognized pediatric cardiac surgeon. In No Crying Allowed, with self-deprecating humor, he shares a collection of essays chronicling the trials and tribulations he experienced on his journey to following his dream to succeed.


Chris Knott-Craig has assembled an anthology of essays describing some of the challenges and triumphs he has experienced during his remarkable career as a pediatric heart surgeon.  Above all, the takeaway message is the importance of persistence in the face of what often appear to be insurmountable obstacles to a successful career in this daunting field of endeavor.

—Richard Jonas MD, President of the

American Association of Thoracic Surgeons