Chief Medical Officer Examines Dichotomy of Doctors as Patients
A Timely Medical Fiction Story Amid a Global Pandemic
Dallas, TX, January 21, 2021 — Dr. Robert Schwab, chief medical officer for a hospital in the Dallas Fort Worth metroplex, announces the release of his third book, Eddie’s Boy (Paperback, $18.95), February 2021. The book tells the story of a physician who faces life after an accident that leaves him with debilitating injuries. In an instant, the doctor becomes the patient, and while the journey throughout Eddie’s Boy reflects on illness and suffering, the healing and love that transpires is a lesson for all.
In the time it takes him to drive through a stoplight at the Four Corners of Law, Dr. Landon Ratliff––distracted by the finest birthday present he's ever received and won't remember––has his midlife crisis delivered to him in an instant. When his father, with whom he has never been close, is diagnosed with a terminal condition, Landon goes home to be with family.
The reader is carried through Dr. Ratliff’s resulting journey of illness, injury, suffering, healing, love and redemption. His experiences take him to places he's visited before, but never thought he'd be. In the midst of a global pandemic, the reader is reminded of themes and emotions that surfaced in 2020.
Written with ease and eloquence, Eddie's Boy explores the things we take for granted, and the things we never knew we had. In the end, healing and love overcome suffering and loss, providing readers a hopeful final message as we begin a new year.
“Doctors identify themselves as healers. When a doctor becomes objectively sick, with COVID-19 or otherwise, they’re thrust into the role of patient. It’s a profound experience for which they’re incredibly ill-prepared,” says Schwab. “Just as Landon ultimately realizes in Eddie’s Boy, I hope readers walk away with the sense that you’re never truly alone in life––you need other people, no matter who you are.”
ABOUT ROBERT SCHWAB
Robert Schwab is a physician executive with an interest in the roles that stories play in illness and healing, and how the humanities can improve medical education. In addition to writing and speaking on these topics, he teaches an undergraduate seminar at The University of Texas at Dallas. He has published poems, stories and essays, and writes and performs songs about healthcare. His first novel, Holy Water, explored the impact of the French Quarter on a young physician’s professional development. Back Side of a Hurricane, his second novel, is about fathers and their children, and the wisdom of sitting still when chaos swirls around you. He lives in Dallas. Learn more at RobertSchwab.com or on Facebook @RobertSchwabAuthor.
Eddie’s Boy
Publisher: Warren Publishing, Inc.
Release Date: February 2, 2021
ISBN-10: 1735860018
ISBN-13: 978-1735860015
Available from https://www.amazon.com/Eddies-Boy-Robert-Schwab/dp/1735860018
