We crossed the Knife Edge a second time, skirted around the base of K2, and ducked down behind a rock shelter to have a quick lunch before finishing our descent. During a second breakfast break we met two section hikers that said, “oh, you two are section hiking, right? Depending on the season and time of day, there can be quite a crowd at the summit of Mount Katahdin, all eager to take photos with the 5,267-foot summit sign. There were some very detailed stories of heart surgery which was pretty interesting, and a lot of musings with varying degrees of interest to me. The warm morning sun had slightly melted the snow so it was slick, and without crampons, we both had to be extra careful with our steps.

KNIFE EDGE | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary KNIFE EDGE | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary

I thoroughly enjoyed reading his second book, I am yet to read his first Fragile Lives but I will be reading that as soon as it comes back into my local library.

Apparently there were so many mountains goats in this area earlier in the year they had to airlift multiple goats out of here because they were becoming aggressive with hikers. Colorado born and bred, she loves backpacking, trail running, backcountry skiing, and packrafting, especially with her husband, one-year-old daughter, and lovable rescue mutt Tally. It’s widely accepted that such boldness may be a boon in a discipline that requires quick thinking and decisive action. Although the author repeats throughout the book how surgeons cannot inherently allow themselves to feel empathy for their patients (or they would never get past their first death), there are plenty of examples whereby the authors obvious care for his patient is shown.

KNIFE-EDGE definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary KNIFE-EDGE definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary

Being a doctor, can never be easy and I mean it though I am not but I have seen them struggling and trying to cope up. This book is more or less a memoir and we can't say a personal one but definitely it focuses on his own career of 35 years as a cardiac surgeon. He has a good excuse, he argues: a head injury incurred while playing rugby in medical school transformed him into a risk taker. So, although we were only 45 minutes from the summit, we both agreed without hesitation that it was time to turn around.His career has been characterized by fearlessness and ruthless ambition; leaving empathy at the hospital door as thousands of patients put their lives in his hands. Two memoirs by NHS doctors in a row, though very different people, agree on one thing: the NHS is not doing too well these days. Fragile Lives succeeds on many levels: political battle cry, chronicle of bloody feats, history of modern cardiology, tribute to patients and paean to surgery.