Twelve Patients

Life and Death at Bellevue Hospital

By: Eric Manheimer

Narrated by: Eric Manheimer

Length: 13 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

In the spirit of Oliver Sacks Awakenings and the TV series House, Dr. Eric Manheimer's Twelve Patients is a memoir from the medical director of Bellevue Hospital that uses the plights of 12 very different patients - from dignitaries at the nearby UN, to supermax prisoners from Riker's Island, to illegal immigrants, and Wall Street tycoons - to illustrate larger societal issues.

Manheimer is not only the medical director of the country's oldest public hospital, but he is also a patient. As the audiobook unfolds, he is diagnosed with cancer and is forced to wrestle with the end of his own life - even as he struggles to save the lives of others.

©2012 Eric Manheimer (P)2012 Hachette

Story good ... narrator ... not so much!

Though interesting story, I just couldn't get past the narrator's reading of it. The monotone, flat, reading of the narrator ruined the story for me. I will need to pick this up and read it myself some time.

excellent stories and narration

I don't think I've ever read a medical book as moving and truthful as this. And he reads with real involvement, you believe what he says.

touching stories.

While the stories were insightful, giving you the feeling of actually sensing the characters turmoil, the doctor should have let someone else read the book to us. He sounds flat and for lack of other words, like he is reading out loud in class.
I think I would have enjoyed reading this book instead of listening to it.

Author should not have narrated

The flat intonation of the author, and his rambling style was a huge detractor from the stories. The stories of these individual patients are in depth, but almost too much to hold my interest. Or was it the narrator. The author seeks to paint a picture of this person's life, not just focus on their disease. He wants us to see the patient not just this snapshot in time when he comes in for treatment, but his or her dreams, family, work, personality. It's a wonderful way to help practitioners to be wholistic in their approach to health care. Sometimes the author jumped from patient to patient without any indication of a change and this made it hard for me to follow. I have not been able to get through the book, still have 4 chapters to go and nothing is drawing me to finish it.

reader made it full and hard to follow.

the story as a whole is good, but because the reader reads every part in the same full voice, its had to feel for the characters.

Great content. Deserves better reading.

Many thanks to the good doctor for sharing his experiences! But remember that three-legged stool, i.e., content, packaging and promotion? In audio books the reader is the primary packager. Some books can’t miss because of their content. This is such a book. But it would have been much better read by someone else. The trouble with authors reading is that they know their own material too well and they fail to realize how it is being delivered. They wrongly assume that others will always catch the full weight of their ideas. It is a kind of blindness. Sometimes a sentence lacks the inflection that carries the listener along. This makes it hard to follow and with such compelling stories that is sad. Reading a book for oneself can be passive in a sense because the mind gives the content its due. Reading a book to another person must be done actively. The zest must be put in where it is needed. Listeners just won’t bother backing the book up to re-read like they can so easily re-read paper books. I am not being hard on the author. It is taken for granted that not all songwriters can sing. Aircraft engineers are not test pilots. Architects are not carpenters. I am glad that I can listen to the book again. And I will when I have more time and can concentrate on it.

Incredible story

As a nurse of over 40 years, this was a fascinating read. I laughed and cried.
Dr Eric is a masterful storyteller. I was particularly touched by his personal story of his treatment for head and neck cancer. My husband was treated for the same illness and experienced most of the same symptoms, fears, and thoughts.
I wish the medical director in my hospital was 1% as connected to his institution as Dr Eric. What a better world it would be.

Rings so true

Would you listen to Twelve Patients again? Why?

Yes. I am a nurse who deals with patients and events very similar to the ones Manheimer describes. He very effectively captures the difficulties, anguish and satisfaction of being in the medical profession. He also weaves in the societal ills that lead to physical illness.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Manheimer's story is one of the most affecting.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

How did you get to this place.

Any additional comments?

Moving, meaningful and realistic. I am a nurse manager and I plan to buy a copy for each of my 30 nurses.

Riveting tour of Bellevue from trusted insider

Where does Twelve Patients rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Top 25%

What was one of the most memorable moments of Twelve Patients?

When Dr. Manheimer learned that he had cancer and was now also a patient.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

Overall yes, seem to drag a few times but still riveting.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Stirred my emotions, compassion, fear of being sick, voyeurism, sense of getting real life, privileged information/life stories although names and identities are hidden.

Any additional comments?

Good opportunity to better understand a section of New York Cities daily life, covering all economic and cultural levels. Felt like I was there at Dr. Manheimer's side. I really enjoyed this audio book.

Good stories, needs a pro narrator

Patient stories from a kind, enthusiastic doctor's perspective. The author is very respectful of his patients' humanity and strengths as well as their weaknesses. His work would be better served with a professional narrator. Perhaps this was more of a home grown production, but his writing would shine if read with the performance of a professional emoting the feelings with which it was written.