Five Days at Memorial

Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital

By: Sheri Fink

Narrated by: Kirsten Potter

Length: 17 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The award-winning book that inspired an Apple Original series from Apple TV+ • A landmark investigation of patient deaths at a New Orleans hospital ravaged by Hurricane Katrina—and the suspenseful portrayal of the quest for truth and justice—from a Pulitzer Prize–winning physician and reporter

“An amazing tale, as inexorable as a Greek tragedy and as gripping as a whodunit.”—Dallas Morning News

After Hurricane Katrina struck and power failed, amid rising floodwaters and heat, exhausted staff at Memorial Medical Center designated certain patients last for rescue. Months later, a doctor and two nurses were arrested and accused of injecting some of those patients with life-ending drugs.

Five Days at Memorial, the culmination of six years of reporting by Pulitzer Prize winner Sheri Fink, unspools the mystery, bringing us inside a hospital fighting for its life and into the most charged questions in health care: which patients should be prioritized, and can health care professionals ever be excused for hastening death?

Transforming our understanding of human nature in crisis, Five Days at Memorial exposes the hidden dilemmas of end-of-life care and reveals how ill-prepared we are for large-scale disasters—and how we can do better.

ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New York Times Book Review • ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Chicago Tribune, Seattle Times, Entertainment Weekly, Christian Science Monitor, Kansas City Star

WINNER: National Book Critics Circle Award, J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize, PEN/John Kenneth Galbraith Award, Los Angeles Times Book Prize, Ridenhour Book Prize, American Medical Writers Association Medical Book Award, National Association of Science Writers Science in Society Award

©2013 Sheri Fink (P)2013 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

2014, Carnegie Medal, Short-listed

2013, Los Angeles Times Book Prizes—Current Interest—Winner

2014, National Book Critics Circle Awards, Winner

2015, PEN/John Kenneth Galbraith Award for Nonfiction, Winner

2014, Ron Ridenhour Book Award, Winner

“The journalist and doctor Sheri Fink published a meticulous investigation of these deaths in the New York Times Magazine and on the Web site of ProPublica, in 2009. Her work won a Pulitzer Prize. And now comes the book. In Five Days at Memorial, the contours of the story remain the same, yet Fink imbues them with far more narrative richness, making the doctors seem both more sympathetic and more culpable. Fink also expands on the ethical conundrums, which have festered over time and seem to gain fresh urgency.” (The New Yorker)

"“That so many people, starkly divided over the question of whether crimes had been committed, come off as decent and appealing makes this book an absorbing read. Dr. Fink brings a shimmering intelligence to its many narrative cul-de-sacs, which consider medical, legal and ethical issues. . . . By reporting the depth of those gruesome hours in Memorial before the helicopters came, and giving weight to medical ethics as grounded in the law, Sheri Fink has written an unforgettable story. Five Days at Memorial is social reporting of the first rank.” (Jason Berry, The New York Times)

Mind blowing

This book is absolutely worth the long listen. It is (often) disturbing at times but very thought provoking. I recommend to anyone especially those who work in hospitals.

No justice

This book is about a woman that gets away with murder because she has doctor in front of her name no justice for the victims

Wow!

I’m a serial self proclaimed “partial book reader”. I was introduced to the book by the Apple TV drama series and was drawn to know more of the actual facts. I cannot believe the non partisan overview this book explored in all angles of medical ethics. As a nurse my heart hurt. As an advocate in jist and equitable end of life care I saw glimmers of hope and also deep sorrows. I devoured every page. I learned. I grew. I thought. It’s truly a marvel.

If you enjoyed the apple series…then definitely listen!

I enjoyed the show on apple and saw it was a book. I was surprised by a lot of the story- I think I was too involved in my own personal life to remember this happening. But what I find most amazing is that this occurred post 9/11 and now after covid has occurred - we are still so unprepared. When will we learn?
Very gripping story. Crazy to think what this hospital and everyone involved went through.

Heart breaking.

I just got my EMT license and started working in the Emergency Room 3 months before Katrina. I was in an ER 2 hours away and we were preparing to take in patients from them along with refugees. It was eye opening hearing the entire story as to what happened on the inside.

Shocking Read

This book was a non-stop page turner. I could not believe the life's choices that medical professionals made. I can't believe that people actually play God. Justice was definitely not served. My heart goes out to the families who lost their loved ones at Memorial Hospital, and to the survivors and the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Important and tragic work

What did you love best about Five Days at Memorial?

It was a gripping account of what happened at one hospital in New Orleans during and after Hurricane Katrina. I had very little difficulty differentiating between who was who and who did what, and that was due in no small part to the author's little reminders here and there.
Kirsten Potter was a great narrator choice for this book.

What other book might you compare Five Days at Memorial to and why?

Hospital by Julie Salamon (spelling?) Five Days was a much ebtter read, for the simple reason that it had a specific event to tie itself to, rather than Hospital (which just kept on going).

Have you listened to any of Kirsten Potter’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

A long time ago I heard her read one of the Lisa Gardner books. She did a great job... this one, by its subject matter, was a different type of read, but Ms. Potter is still stunning.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No. I kept having to pick it up and put it down - not because it wasn't interesting, but because there were some passages that were so hard to read.

Any additional comments?

This book is a thorough expose on what can happen when hospitals are not prepared in the cases of emergency. While I do not think anything was done maliciously out of poor intentions, the circumstances during those five days at memorial provide a backdrop of how everything that can go wrong, will.

A Must Listen for Anyone In or Out of Healthcare

Anyone that even thinks they want to be in healthcare or one day be taken care-of in a hospital (which eventually will be everyone) needs to experience this true story. We cannot possibly understand a person until we walk at least a mile in their shoes.... or in this case 5 days. 5 days that will test your limits of everything you thought was either right or wrong... or indifferent to. WARNING: if you have an inkling of a soul, you will cry. You will feel angry. You will be appalled. You will feel horrible. Yet, in the end, you will see from the horror, does come a shred of light.

Very thought provoking

This book was deeply insightful and made me realize the tough decisions medical staff and administration must make during crisis. I found myself sympathetic to all involved. The medical staff, the families, the prosecutors, the defense... Beautifully written to give the reader all views and to come to their own conclusion. In the end, though, it was the epilogue that touched me the most as it captured the moving stories of so many other health facilities who were able to save so many.

Interesting and thought provoking.

This investigative report reveals a suspenseful narrative, and engages the reader to critically think about end of life decision-making.