The Orange Wire Problem

“Decisions, especially wrong ones, love company.”

—“Protection”

“David Watts uses his considerable storytelling gifts to illuminate the mind of a doctor in his quest for the clues of diagnosis and treatment, while at the same time exercising compassion and empathy toward his patient. The informal and intimate style of the narratives is delightful.”

—Richard Selzer, surgeon and author

Western literature has had a long tradition of physician-writers. From Mikhail Bulgakov to William Carlos Williams to Richard Selzer to Ethan Canin, exposure to human beings at their most vulnerable has inspired fine writing. In his own inimitable and unpretentious style, David Watts is also a master storyteller. Whether recounting the decline and death of a dear friend or poking holes in the faulty logic of an insurance company underling, The Orange Wire Problem lays bare the nobility and weakness, generosity and churlishness of human nature.

Bedside Manners

“The mind informs but the heart makes decisions.”

—“Advance Directive”

“Even the most routine checkup will never be quite the same. Watts’s sympathy for both physicians and their patients subtly changes our understanding of what it means to heal and be healed, and to put our trust in the hands of a practitioner who is just as complex, flawed—and human—as we are.”

—Francine Prose, O, The Oprah Magazine

Have you ever wondered what life is like on the other side of the stethoscope?

Combining the grace and precision of a poet with a down-to-earth, compassionate manner, physician and NPR commentator David Watts reveals what it’s really like to be a doctor today. From difficult diagnoses, irreverent colleagues, brave survivors, and examining room embarrassments, Watts uncovers the world of contemporary medicine and shares the emotional truths and practical realities at the heart of every doctor-patient relationship.