Exhale

Hope, Healing, and Life in Transplant

By: David Weill MD

Narrated by: David Weill MD

Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's Summary

Exhale is the riveting memoir of a top transplant doctor who rode the emotional roller coaster of losing and saving lives - up until the point when it was time for him to get out.

A young father with a rare form of lung cancer who has been turned down for a transplant by several hospitals. A kid who was considered not “smart enough” to be worthy of a transplant. A young mother dying on the waiting list in front of her two small children. A father losing his oldest daughter after a transplant goes awry. The nights waiting for donor lungs to become available, understanding that someone needed to die so that another patient could live.

These are some of the stories in Exhale, a memoir about Dr. Weill’s 10 years spent directing the lung transplant program at Stanford. Through these stories, he shows not only the miracle of transplantation, but also how it is a very human endeavor performed by people with strengths and weaknesses, powerful attributes, and profound flaws. 

Exhale is an inside look at the world of high-stakes medicine, complete with the decisions that are confronted, the mistakes that are made, and the story of a transplant doctor’s slow recognition that he needed to step away from the front lines. This book is an exploration of holding on too tight, of losing one’s way, and of the power of another kind of decision - to leave behind everything for a fresh start. 

©2021 David Weill, MD (P)2021 Recorded Books

Captivating

My brother is a donor and I just received the recipients thank you letter from the man who received his lungs before reading this book, it was through and through fulfilling and genuine also I feel like I know more about the medicinal field that makes me appreciate the gift of life in a way I never saw it before; a must read for anyone and everyone to expand their knowledge and learn more about the process and weight that goes alongside organ donation and transplantation

A must read for transplant professionals

As a lung transplant coordinator for over 20 years, this book hit home. Dr. Weill eloquently presents life and transplant-the hurdles and amazing gift. I saw glimpses of myself, as well as beloved doctors and patients. And this book made me cry.

SUCH A BLESSING!

To say that this book touched my heart and soul wouldn’t even begin to explain how much I deeply loved it! We as a family were beyond blessed to have this wonderful human save my husband’s life in 2011. What a treat to read this book...couldn’t put it down...sweet surprise to see that two chapters were about our journey ❤️ It was so lovely to really get to learn all about Dr Weill’s life outside of Stanford. This man saved my husband...it was tough to watch how he spoke to him; BUT it worked and deep in my soul I know Matt would not be here if it wasn’t for that tough conversation. We love him even more after reading and listening to the audio version (I highly recommend this; his beautiful southern accent brought me back to many of our visits in the ICU or his office at Stanford). Please read this book, I promise you won’t be able to put it down and you will really get a raw view of human kindness and compassion from an amazing doctors viewpoint. For the rest of our lives we will forever be thankful to this wonderful man. I am so happy he wrote this book and the world gets to see what a spectacular person he is. We adore you Dr. Weill and I hope someday we can see you face to face to properly thank you. Enjoy your gorgeous family as you are all so lucky to have one another. All our love, Kim and Matt Iden

Fascinating Memoir

Memoir is my favorite genre of book, and Exhale by David Weill, MD is an excellent one. Exhale is a captivating combination of the author’s interesting backstory and personal healing process, heartfelt tales of his patients’ successes and losses, and a fascinating dive into the organ transplant process.


Learning how doctors race against time to find a suitable match before their patients are too sick to remain viable transplant candidates is enthralling. Many of the patients’ stories are heartbreaking, and you can definitely understand the personal and emotional toll being a transplant physician for 20 years took on Dr. Weill.


As with most memoirs, having the author read the audio version gives Exhale a deeper level of personalization so I highly recommend listening to this engaging and well written book. Whether or not you think you have any interest in organ transplantation, you will be intrigued by Exhale.