Summer times are reading times. From childhood devouring Lotta books, through adolescence with J.R.R. Tolkien and detective fiction, to a more promiscuous diet in adulthood. The ROM that still sticks in my mind is a sunny rocky outcrop with icy-cold tension by Alistair MacLean in “Arctic Station Zebra Doesn’t Answer”.

Oliver Sacks is one book that has meant a lot to me. His deep humanism, combined with a sharp analysis of the way the brain works, gives me a basis for connecting body and soul into the whole. I met Sachs once when I was a medical student. He came to Sweden with a friend who was due to be investigated for epilepsy surgery. He took the opportunity to visit my father, Lars-Eric Bottiger, who was then writing a book about doctors as writers. Sacks was a shy person and so am I, so unfortunately there was no deep conversation.

Another reading tip from the crowd of medical writers is “Notes of a Young Doctor” by Mikhail Bulgakov, born in Kyiv in 1891. I think all young colleagues of today can learn about Bulgakov’s challenges and lessons as a new doctor in the country. years ago.

Issue 32-33 / 2022 from Läkartidningen also contains an interesting read, not least on epilepsy surgery. Johan Zelano confirms in his medical comment Psychological impact because healthcare has access to advanced methods and this research, even in a narrow area, can benefit many patients. I agree and I think Sachs and Bulgakov would have done the same.