From Chekhov to Maugham to William Carlos Williams, doctors have long given voice to their unique perspectives through literature. Writer, M.D. celebrates this rich tradition with a collection of fiction and nonfiction by today’s most beloved physician-writers, including,

• Abraham Verghese, on the lost art of the physical exam

• Pauline Chen, on the bond between a med student and her first cadaver

• Atul Gawande, on the ethical dilemmas of a young surgical intern

• Danielle Ofri, on the devastation of losing a patient

• Ethan Canin, on love, poetry, and growing old

These essays and stories illuminate the inner lives of men and women who deal with trauma, illness, mortality, and grief on a daily basis. Read together, they provide a candid, moving, one-of-a-kind glimpse behind the doctor’s mask.