"'Wonderous and wild. I loved this book' James Nestor, bestselling author of Breath
'Moving, raw and unflinching' Julia Samuel, bestselling author of This Too Shall Pass
How do you carry on when things go deadly wrong?
When Dr Rahul Jandial operated on Karina, an eleven-year-old girl whose spinal cord was splitting in two, he had to make an impossible decision. He followed his head over his gut and Karina was left permanently paralysed, altering both patient and surgeon's lives for ever. This decision would haunt Rahul for decades, a constant reminder of the fine line between saving and damaging a life.
As one of the world's leading brain surgeons, Rahul is the last hope for patients with extreme forms of cancer. In treating them, he has observed humanity at its most raw and most robust. He has journeyed to unimaginable extremes with them, guiding them through the darkest moments of their lives.
Life on a Knife's Edge is Rahul's beautifully written account of the resilience, courage and belief he has witnessed in his patients, and the lessons about human nature he has learned from them. It is about the impossible choices he has to make, and the fateful consequences he is forced to live with.
From challenging the ethics of surgical practices, to helping a patient with locked-in syndrome communicate her dying wish to her family, Rahul shares his extraordinary experiences, revealing the depths of a surgeon's psyche that is continuously pushed to its limits."
"Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Life Lessons from a Brain Surgeon written by Rahul Jandial, read by Graham Winton.
**THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER**
'You're amazing I could talk to you (Rahul) all day' Chris Evans
'This is a gripping new book' The Times
World-leading neuroscientist and neurosurgeon Dr Rahul Jandial draws on his years of work with patients suffering from the most extreme cases of brain damage, disorders and illnesses to reveal what they can tell us about the science of the mind.
From a languages teacher who has to choose whether to lose her ability to speak Spanish or English after brain surgery, to a former TV exec, now homeless, who discovers that his life-altering despondency is the result of a tumour, to a fainting teen who learns that deep breathing can mean the difference between life or death, these stories uncover the secret workings of the brain.
Blending cutting-edge research and beautiful storytelling, Life Lessons from a Brain Surgeon is a vital resource on the best ways to boost your memory, control stress and emotions, minimize pain, unleash your creativity, raise smart kids and reduce the risk of Alzheimer's. This is a deeply practical and readable book, which will take you on an expedition through the anatomy of the most fascinating - and mysterious - of organs.
Rahul's new book Life on a Knife's Edge is out June and available to pre-order now."
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