The Doctor Stories is Richard Selzer's selection of his own short stories, culled from three decades of writing, along with two new stories and an introduction detailing his literary beginnings. Drawing from his classic books, Selzer portrays the interactions of people at moments of crisis and drama. His signature style is apparent in every sentence: humane, observant, passionately descriptive, and particular, always connecting the intimate with the largest questions of life and death. Richard Selzer is a former surgeon and Yale School of Medicine professor. He has received many awards for his writing, including a National Magazine Award, a Pushcart Prize, and a Guggenheim fellowship. He is the author of several collections of stories and essays as well as a memoir, Down from Troy. He lives in New Haven, Connecticut. PEN/Faulkner Award NomineeThe Doctor Stories is Richard Selzer's selection of his own short stories, culled from three decades of writing. Published for the first time along with his favorites are two new stories—"Avalanche" and "Angel, Tuning a Lute"—and an introduction in which Selzer details his literary beginnings. Each piece in this compilation explores what it means to be a doctor, to tend to the sick and dying, and to heal. Drawing from his classic books, including Confessions of a Knife and Letters to a Young Doctor, Selzer portrays the interactions of people at moments of crisis and drama. With writing that is both lyrical and precise, Selzer brings us closer to the world of medicine and the inner workings of the human body. His signature style is apparent in every sentence: humane, observant, descriptive, and particular, always connecting the intimate with the largest questions of life and death. Table of ContentsIntroductionAvalancheAngel, Tuning a LuteWhither Thou GoestImeldaFetishesTube FeedingPipistrelThe Marked Marvel's Last ToeholdMercyPoe's Light-houseTillimSarcophagusPages from a Wound Dresser's DiaryThe Mirror: A Tale of AranAlexis St. MartinRaccoonFour Appointments with the Discus ThrowerLuisImagine a Woman"The Black Swan" RevisitedTom and LilyA Worm from My NotebookWitnessChatterboxImposterf1Semiprivate, FemaleBrute "[Selzer writes of] the care of the terminal and the treatment of the frail with such vividness and a disarming awe that it is hard to imagine he has not lived through most of what he recounts."—Fitzhugh Mullan, Washington Post Book World"Disturbing and biting, touching and uplifting . . . The Doctor Stories identifies strength in frailty, rapture in healing, and meaning in the single details of everyday life."—Journal of the American Medical Association"Any time I want to, I can walk a few blocks down the street and spend an hour or two in the sparkling company of one of the most magnetic and fascinating personalities I have ever encountered. For those not fortunate enough to live to so close to Richard Selzer, the next best thing is one of his extraordinary books. In The Doctor Stories, we have his best work, and more. He has exceeded even himself."—Sherwin B. Nuland, M.D., author of How We Die"It is the language of sickness that Selzer puts on display with a surgeon's deliberate care . . . Selzer's fiction is refreshingly old-fashioned."—The New York Times Book Review Read Less