Life and Death Decisions

(Paperback)

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Just brilliant... The book of the Decade.' - Tim Flannery

I found Dad dead on the side of a dirt road. I was sixteen; he was forty-nine.

After Lachlan McIvers father suffers a sudden, fatal heart attack it sends him into a spiral of grief and outrage. This tragedy inspires him to become a doctor and he eventually finds his calling providing care for communities in some of the most remote and neglected parts of the world.

In this no-holds-barred memoir, Lachlan recounts his experiences treating patients and tackling health problems across dozens of countries, from rural communities around Australia and the islands of the South Pacific, through natural disasters and civil war zones, to the headquarters of the World Health Organization and Mdecins Sans Frontires (Doctors Without Borders) in Switzerland.

Lachlan is forced to confront not only the frustrations of trying to provide medical care in extremely under-resourced environments, but broader crises such as health inequities, climate change and drug-resistant infections. He also faces his own personal battles, including with depression, alcohol abuse and bankruptcy.

This is a deeply human look at the personal cost of our broken global health system, and how we must work together to change it for the better. Its what we need right now.

PRAISE FOR LIFE AND DEATH DECISIONS:

ahugely important and enjoyable book that will restore your faith in humanity and what is possible Deeply moving and at times tragic but never losing a sense of optimism or hope. Sir Jeremy Farrar

Life and Death Decisionstells us the very human stories that shine a light on some of the biggest challenges of our time, including climate change and inequality. Lachlan's work in some of the most difficult places on earth brings a better understanding of how much we all have in common and why it is so urgent to work together to solve these urgent problems. Dr Kate Gregorevic, author ofStaying Alive

An honest, powerful and riveting book that demonstrates Lachlan's courage in the face of the hardest of circumstances. Levison Wood, author ofWalking The Nile

Life and Death Decisionscuts close to the bone. McIverdeftly dissects the malaise of modernity in a memoir that pulls no punches,that's set against the backdrop of the climate crisis,and drug resistant bacteria in the arse end of times.Life and Death Decisionsis all at oncebrave,funny, shocking, and down to earth in one human's outrageously honest account of humanity.Aaron Smith, author ofTHE ROCK: looking at Australias heart of darkness from the edge of its wild frontier.

To callLife and Death Decisionsa memoir is to undersell the vast importance and reach of this outstanding, brilliant work. Lachlan McIvers book is a gripping, masterfully written account of humanity writ on both its largest scale and its most intimate detail. It is a forensic and anatomical exploration of the heart-breaking challenges of global health inequity, all the while written with joy, honesty, vulnerability and optimism.Life and Death Decisionsis a full-on blast of humanity, articulated so powerfully it is impossible to put down, and it gives the reader an all-access pass to humanitarian medicine. McIver takes us on a wild ride across the planet, into the homes and the hospitals of the poverty-stricken, the corrupt, the violent, as well as the places of family and love, with a devastatingly piercing eye for the details that matter. ReadingLife and Death Decisionsas a doctor had my heart-racing so many times, I finished the book in one sitting, spent. A book as important as this comes along only once in a generation or so, and it not only deserves a wide readership, but commands it. These are the words, and deeds, of hope. -Dr Michelle Johnston, author of the novelsDUSTFALLandTINY UNCERTAIN MIRACLES

Lachlan is a wonderful, colourful and courageous storyteller. This medical memoir highlights some critical challenges we are facing.-Tania de Jong AM. Soprano, Global Speaker, Social Entrepreneur, co-Founder Executive Director of Mind Medicine Australia

a detailed look at his works many complexities and the daily push/pull he must negotiate. Compelling stuff. - The AU Review

Reviews

a detailed look at his works many complexities and the daily push/pull he must negotiate. Compelling stuff. * The AU Review *

Author Bio

Dr Lachlan McIver specialises in rural & remote medicine, tropical medicine and public health, and did his PhD on the health impacts of climate change. Originally from Millaa Millaa in Far North Queensland, his travels to date have spanned almost one hundred countries. He has co-authored close to fifty scientific publications in medical journals and textbooks on topics ranging from environmental health and infectious diseases to anaesthetics and emergency medicine. He is an adjunct Associate Professor at James Cook University in Australia and the co-founder of the international non-profit organisation Rocketship Pacific Ltd, which focuses on improving health in Pacific island countries. He currently lives in Switzerland, where he works as the Tropical Diseases & Planetary Health Advisor at the Geneva headquarters of Doctors Without Borders (Mdecins Sans Frontires).