Fragile Lives: A Heart Surgeon's Stories of Life and Death on the Operating Table

The Macclesfield Library group read ‘Fragile Lives’ by Stephen Westaby for our April meeting which you very kindly provided by Harper Collins through the Reading Agency website. On unveiling the book at our April meeting a number of members were unsure and felt uneasy about the subject – at our meeting last night (4th May 2017) to discuss the book – everyone loved it! All 10 members said they thoroughly enjoyed the book and found it absolutely fascinating. Below are some of the group’s thoughts:

‘step into the boots of a heart surgeon- discover his humble beginnings and his pioneering developments. Extremely readable and absolutely fascinating’

‘surprisingly engaging’

‘fascinating and an easy read’

‘ Working class boy made good’
‘ Heart surgeon at the ‘cutting edge’

‘was willing each patient on whilst reading the book, wanting to see everyone survive but life
isn’t Hollywood’

‘fascinating to be a fly on the wall observing the life of a charismatic English heart surgeon- a great book and very readable’

‘an amazing insight into the world of heart surgery’

‘a wonderful insight into a fascinating man’

‘a well written, graphic and honest account of the life of surgeons. An easy read but an interesting one- I enjoyed the technical jargon’

We usually read fiction and reading this will definitely make us choose more non-fiction.