Doctors and Friends
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
“A prescient, human and hopeful portrait of medical experts on a pandemic’s frontlines.”—People
Hannah, Compton, and Kira have been close friends since medical school, reuniting once a year for a much-needed vacation. Just as they gather to travel in Spain, an outbreak of a fast-spreading virus throws the world into chaos.
When Compton Winfield returns to her job as an ER doctor in New York City, she finds a city changed beyond recognition—and a personal loss so gutting it reshapes every aspect of her life.
Hannah Geier’s career as an ob-gyn in San Diego is fulfilling but she’s always longed for a child of her own. After years of trying, Hannah discovers she's expecting a baby just as the disease engulfs her city.
Kira Marchand, an infectious disease doctor at the CDC in Atlanta, finds herself at the center of the American response to the terrifying new illness. Her professional battle turns personal when she must decide whether her children will receive an experimental but potentially life-saving treatment.
Written prior to Covid-19 by a former emergency medicine physician, Doctors and Friends incorporates unexpected wit, razor-edged poignancy, and a deeply relatable cast of characters who provoke both laughter and tears. Martin provides a unique insider’s perspective into the world of medical professionals working to save lives during the most difficult situations of their careers.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Martin's riveting latest (after The Antidote to Everything) focuses on a group of doctors during a pandemic. Infectious disease expert Kira Marchand is on vacation in Spain with her friends from medical school when she hears about an unusual illness, and the group encounters two sick people. The artiovirus, which in some cases leads to a rapid-onset dementia dubbed "AAROD" ("with apologies to Alex Rodriquez," Kira quips), turns out to be in the family that Kira and her erstwhile lover Declan, who develops vaccines, have been studying. In the days before and after their returns from their trip, the group of friends and their loved ones are felled by varying degrees: Compton, an emergency-room doctor in New York who recovers from a case of artiovirus she contracted in Spain, struggles with losing her husband and caring for her children while also working nonstop. Hannah, an OB-GYN, finally conceives after trying for years, and looks forward to delivering their friend Georgia's baby, but the virus puts them in danger. Kira, who advises the White House à la Anthony Fauci, reflects on a heart-wrenching ethical dilemma involving her ailing son and daughter. An ER doctor, Martin fills the hospital scenes with vivid descriptions and moving moments. This fully realized account of a fictional pandemic manages to convey the deeply personal as well as the bigger picture.
