Do you dream of penning something more involved than a patient note? The following novelists have managed to find success in both the literary and medical fields—and it all started with a really good book. Ethan Canin, MD, internist, member of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, and author of several fiction books, including his most recent, A Doubter's Almanac What book made you want to write? The Stories of John Cheever by John Cheever When did you read it? I read it during my freshman year of college, when I was on an engineering track, taking all physics, math, and science courses. How did it inspire you? This thick, red volume contains such elegant, complicated, pensive, and yet consistently redemptive stories as "Goodbye, My Brother," "The Country Husband," "The Fourth Alarm," "The Lowboy," and—perhaps my all-time favorite Cheever story—"The Day the Pig Fell Into the Well," a far-ranging wonder about family and class that is much more serious and complex than its title suggests. When I felt what Cheever could do to me merely with the rhythm and sound of his words, I was hooked. I wanted to do that too, for another person. Tess Gerritsen, MD, internist and author of several suspense novels, including the Maura Isles/Jane Rizzoli series that is the inspiration for the television series Rizzoli & Isles What book made you want to write? The Hidden Staircase, from the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series When did you read it? When I was about seven, when I realized that I wanted to be a writer. How did it inspire you? Not only did it introduce me to the pleasures of mystery novels, but it also featured a self-reliant girl detective who turned out to be a terrific role model for all girls. Raoul Wientzen, MD, pediatrician and author of the 2013 novel The Assembler of Parts What book made you want to write? Catch-22 by Joseph Heller When did you read it? I read it in mid–high school, when I was 16 or 17. How did it inspire you? While there were many books that kindled my interest in becoming a writer, Catch-22 was the spark that put things aflame. The crazy structure, the crazy humor, and the crazy characters regarding the craziness of war all come together so powerfully. It made me want to write creatively about things that really matter—moral things, spiritual things, human things. Lisa Genova, PhD, neuroscientist and author of Left Neglected, Love Anthony, Inside the O'Briens, and Still Alice, which inspired the Academy Award–winning film of the same title What book made you want to write? The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks When did you read it? In my first year of college. I was 18 years old. How did it inspire you? This book ignited my passion for neuroscience. How do our brains allow us to think, move, speak, remember, have personalities and emotions and desires? Dr Sacks was as fascinated by the experience of having a brain that works, and sometimes doesn't, as he was by the physiologic functions of the brain itself. He wrote, "In examining disease, we gain wisdom about anatomy and physiology and biology. In examining the person with disease, we gain wisdom about life." Examining the person with disease—this is what I try to achieve with my writing. Robin Cook, MD, ophthalmologist and author of 33 books, including The Year of the Intern andComa What book inspired you to write medical thrillers? The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton When did you read it? In 1969, just after I had written my first book, The Year of the Intern, which was a fictionalized psychological study of the first year of graduate medical education. How did it inspire you? Written by my friend and fellow MD, Michael Crichton, it made me realize that the sociology of medicine and medical technology could be used as the basis of a thriller. Source
