My Patients and Other Animals: A Veterinarian's Stories of Love, Loss, and Hope

(Hardback)

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A moving memoir of a life spent in the company of animals-a veterinarian sheds light on the universal experience of loving, healing, and losing our beloved pets, and the many ways they change our lives. The pursuit of a childhood dream has taken Suzy Fincham-Gray on a journey in veterinary medicine from pastoral farms on the English-Welsh border to emergency rooms in urban American animal hospitals, with thousands of stories collected along the way. In this unforgettable literary debut, she writes about some of the most emotionally challenging and rewarding cases of her career. Like many physicians, Fincham-Gray tends to see her patients at often life-or-death moments. While dramatic, these stories expand into deeper explorations of our complex, profound relationships with the animals in our lives. She describes the satisfaction of diagnosing and treating difficult diseases and the universal experience of loving a pet, and-inevitably-raises questions about their end-of-life care. We meet Grayling, an Irish wolfhound in need of critical treatment; we learn about the fulfillment of caring for a chronically ill pet from the story of Zeke, a silver-brown tabby cat who likes to eat just a little too much; and we fall in love with Monty and Emma, Fincham-Gray's own adopted cat and dog, who change her life in joyful and unexpected ways. Fincham-Gray depicts the sleepless nights she spends waiting for her pager to call her to the clinic, the cutthroat competition among residents, and what it's really like to care for patients who can't advocate for themselves. Warm and humorous, Suzy Fincham-Gray is a rare breed-a clinician with an intimate, elegant literary style. She writes with the same tenderness she brings to her patients, whose needs she must meet with her mind, her hands, and her heart. "Suzy Fincham-Gray gives readers rare insight into the making of a compassionate doctor. Her passion for both science and the animals she cares for, combined with her eloquence as a writer, made me want Suzy as both my dogs' veterinarian and my own friend."-Teresa J. Rhyne, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller The Dog Lived (and So Will I)

Reviews

Suzy Fincham-Gray gives readers rare insight into the making of a compassionate doctor. Her passion for both science and the animals she cares for, combined with her eloquence as a writer, made me want Suzy as both my dogs veterinarian and my own friend.Teresa J. Rhyne, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller The Dog Lived (and So Will I)

A beautifully written look at modern veterinary medicine . . . Fincham-Gray, who also has an MFA in creative writing, has created a wonderfully introspective look at the role of the veterinarian.Booklist (starred review)

Written with candor, humility, and humor, this memoir tells of the professional evolution of a veterinary medicine graduate to a more seasoned internal medicine practitioner. This compelling read is highly recommended for anyone interested in veterinary medicine or who has a love of animals.Library Journal

Affecting dispatches from the life of an animal doctor . . . In this affably written amalgam of pedagogic and heartwarming material, the author chronicles her early years as a medical professional . . . Pet fanatics and animal lovers in general will savor these bittersweet stories exploring the enduring human-animal bond. A fervent, anecdotal memoir infused with heart, compassion, and a natural love for animals on every page.Kirkus Reviews

Fincham-Gray explores in her candid debut the intricacies of her profession from inside the medical exam room. . . . The medical aspects of the narrative will likely draw future veterinarians to the book, but its the tales of Fincham-Grays patients that will keep general readers hooked.Publishers Weekly

Engrossing, visceral . . . My Patients and Other Animals is at its best when the author is at her nerviest, removing the romantic sheen from per profession and replacing it with a more realistic and complicated portrait. If its sometimes tragic, its also consistently rooted in compassion.USA Today

This beautiful, tender, and magnificent read isnt just about one womans love and care for animals and the people who love them, or about this veterinarians big heart and deep intelligence. Its also about the ethical complexity of caring for other living beings, and a clear-eyed look at what binds us to other creatures of the world and why that matters.Emily Rapp Black, New York Times bestselling author of The Still Point of the Turning World

Agem of a book . . . Fincham-Grays nonstop life taking care of all sorts of nonhuman animals in need is a deeply inspirational and personal journey and a model for all, filled with joy, sorrow, tears, love, and loss.Marc Bekoff, author of Canine Confidential: Why Dogs Do What They Do

Fincham-Gray writes extremely well, and her enthusiasm shines through on every page. I enjoyed reading this book, and while doing so I was made aware of the authors absolute dedication to her work. Like James Herriot, she portrays her profession in a very good light.Jim Wight, author of The Real James Herriot: A Memoir of My Father

Author Bio

Suzy Fincham-Gray is a veterinarian and board-certified small-animal internal medicine specialist. She holds an MFA in creative writing from the University of California, Riverside-Palm Desert. She lives in San Diego with her husband, daughter, three cats, and two dogs. Her extended family still live in England, but they often visit with suitcases crammed with Marmite. My Patients and Other Animals is her first book.