The Face Laughs While the Brain Cries

The Education of a Doctor

By: Stephen L. Hauser M.D.

Narrated by: Stephen L. Hauser M.D.

Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

A doctor’s powerful and deeply human memoir about the mysteries of the brain and his 40-year quest to find a treatment for multiple sclerosis.

Stephen L. Hauser is an acclaimed physician and neuroimmunologist who has spent his career performing cutting-edge research on multiple sclerosis (MS), a devastating brain disease that affects millions of people worldwide. His work has revolutionized our understanding of the genetics, immunology and treatment of MS, and led to the development of B cell therapies―the most effective therapy for all forms of MS and the only therapy currently in place for progressive MS patients.

The Face Laughs While The Brain Cries is a riveting memoir that follows Dr. Hauser from his unorthodox upbringing among the colorful cast of characters responsible for his development into a tenacious and innovative researcher, to the life-changing medical breakthroughs he has made against extremely long odds. Along the way, listeners will learn the incredible stories of many of his patients, whose bravery, strength, and optimism in the face of a debilitating illness were instrumental to the progress that has been made in the fight against MS. This heartwarming book, written in accessible prose and related with equal measures of humor, empathy, and excitement, is sure to inspire.

©2023 Stephen L. Hauser, M.D. (P)2023 G&D Media

His drug has not cured MS

I have m s and it has ruined my life. His drug does not help those of us who have progressed. Insurance companies deny us expensive drugs and tell us to try everything cheaper first. He gives you a happy ending that is so far from the truth. I am in assisted living at age sixty one and I don't have enough money to live here. Where will I go? But he is a good narrator. His story is suspensful but not true.

Life Changing

I loved listening to this book!! I just finished it for the first time and going to start again today. I can’t be more grateful for the dedication to the profession and the MS community that Dr. Hauser has made.
The story was very interesting, full of great information and composed in a way that it’s understandable.
Keep up the great work Doctor!

Incredible Story and Man

Narration was great- very fun to hear the story from the author’s voice.

Hauser’s passion, compassion, and ingenuity sparkle in this memoir of his life. The story is unexpectedly fast pace and an easy, quick read. I am completely unfamiliar with the medical world, but the technical aspects of the story are told in a way that is both comprehensible and edifying to a non-specialist reader. It is clear that he has had much practice breaking down these concepts to the lay person, no doubt from his extensive experience as a clinician. He is an inspirational man who nobly turned a personal tragedy into his reason d’etre. We need more people like him on this planet.

Very highly recommend.

A riveting story I couldn’t stop listening to

It’s a medical drama, mystery, and fascinating memoir all rolled into one amazing book. The author does a fantastic job explaining the complexity of the human body — and the many obstacles to developing treatments for disease — in a way that’s easy to understand without being oversimplified. From in-fighting amongst researchers to government bureaucracy to the challenges of getting funding from pharmaceutical companies who are watching their bottom line, this story was eye-opening to the level of dedication, compassion, and sheer will required to make meaningful advances in medicine. It was beautifully narrated by the author, who felt like a friend by the end of the book. Highly recommend!

Fantastic story of the changes in medicine

Enjoy the memoirs of this beautiful mind as he tells of his fascinating journey in the field of neuroimmunolgy. As someone afflicted by MS, I'm thankful for his ongoing work and taking the time to tell his story.

A remarkable memoir by a remarkable doctor!

This memoir by Dr. Hauser reminds one of just how little we frequently know of those whose contributions to society are greatest. His perseverance in trying to identify the myriad mutations that are associated with multiple sclerosis would in and of itself comprise a normal scientist's complete body of work...but, for Dr. Hauser, it was simply one of many key contributions that he has made to understanding this disease. Most inspiring of his work has been his defiance of conventional wisdom to pursue B cells as a target of therapeutic intervention for MS while his contemporaries were focused elsewhere. Those efforts are today benefitting hundreds of thousands of patients. Finally and perhaps most inspiring was to hear this memoir through the words of the author himself from which the listener could sense his modesty, passion and humor directly. if Dr. Hauser's work is not worthy of a Nobel Prize in Medicine, then perhaps he should settle for one in Literature!

Heartfelt

Read by the author, which is usually a concern. (No one can be great at everything.) But that is not at all a bad thing here. No one else could portray the human events with their full meaning and heartfelt impact. Half biography, half medical mystery. Well worth the time to listen, even if the mystery isn't completely solved. Perhaps the story will inspire more to work on such mysteries.