Reviews for Another Day in the Frontal Lobe

“As the tofu comparison suggests, Dr. Firlik likes vivid examples, and she has a gift for translating medical issues into everyday terms…”
—New York Times – read full review

“This is a book of remarkable breadth, covering the state of the science and the art of the practice, the study of consciousness, personal stories… and the future of cognitive enhancement, transcranial magnetic stimulation and something called ‘a brainlift.'”
—Los Angeles Times

“It is close to amazing that a surgeon could make her life and her work interesting to a lay readership, but she does, and she does it with wit, with flair—and with sharp writing that never ascends to the out-of-reach level of medicine-speak.”
—Deseret Morning News, Salt Lake City, Utah – read full review

“A thoroughly entertaining and candid look at the rarefied world of modern neurosurgery.”
—Cleveland Plain Dealer

“Not only is Firlik a breezy and engaging writer, she has urgent things to say about the nature of modern medicine and the ethical issues raised in any decision to operate on the brain.”

—O Magazine – read full review (pdf file)

“This witty and lucid first book demythologizes a complex medical specialty for those of us who aren’t brain surgeons.”
—Publishers Weekly

“A medical rarity — only five percent of this country’s 4000 neurosurgeons are women — Firlik lets us in on the secrets of her job.”
—Library Journal

“In her macabre and quirky memoir, Firlik devotes a whole chapter to noggin-busting tools, gushing over a prized cranial drill.”
—Wired Magazine– read full review (pdf file)

“Doctors are notorious for their black humour and Firlik is no exception. She writes with wit and style… Brain-curdling stuff.”
—Iain Finlayson, The Times

“From page one you will be unable to prevent yourself from being gripped by Firlik’s horribly fascinating account of her gory job… in a no-nonsense chatty style… her book is both fascinating and informative, packed with reassuring descriptions of modern medical marvels and surgical advances.”
—Val Hennessy, Daily Mail

“[Firlik’s] writing is vivid and arresting – I like her description of neurosurgeons at work, hunched over their patient’s’ heads “picking at things, sucking things out, little by little, sometimes for many lonely hours at a time.””
—Financial Times

“Exactly the sort of book you would want a brain surgeon to write”
—John O’Connell, Time Out Spectator

“Entertaining, yet strangely disturbing”
—The Independent

“Brain Matters is constructed around a series of graphic accounts of her neurosurgical activities, strung together via a chatty account of her progress through the ranks of the medical hierarchy.”
—Steven Rose, The Guardian

“Firlik excels in her sometimes grisly, sometimes amusing (in a dark-humorous way), always informative, personal (father was a surgeon), and professional (“part scientist, part mechanic”) story of becoming a neurosurgeon… From a day-in-the-life sketch of a neurosurgery residency to an astonishing report on a performance-enhancing procedure to improve brain function, Firlik maintains a highly personal and engaging style.”
—Booklist

“Firlik tells about some of her most dramatic, intriguing and bizarre cases, adding wry asides and imparting a dash of her philosophy.”
—The Arizona Republic, Phoenix, AZ

[Firlik] writes with candor and a self-deprecating wit that seems untainted by false modesty.”
—Houston Chronicle

“Broaching topics such as tools, risks, emotion and death, Firlik brings tremendous empathy, passion and a surprising dry wit.”
—Seed Magazine – read full review (pdf file)

“. . . Firlik recounts some of her more wrenching cases. In the process, she demonstrates unusual empathy — sometimes a rarity in her specialty, one of medicine’s toughest . . .”

—The Washington Post – read full review

“‘Another Day in the Frontal Lobe’ is no ordinary memoir. .  .”

—The Free Lance-Star – read full review

“Her descriptions of her work are original . . .”
—Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

“‘Another Day’ provides a fascinating look into the oh-so-routine practices brain surgeons face daily.”
—Bookmarks Magazine

“… a friendly, witty, and remarkably candid tour through a brain surgeon’s daily life.”

—American Scientist

“For readers curious about cutting-edge brain surgery, the chapters on epilepsy surgery and stereotactic radiosurgery alone are worth the price of the book.”
—Journal of Neurosurgery

“(Firlik) demystifies some of the technical aspects of surgery, while making readers feel like privileged insiders.”

—The Lancet

“A breathless and inspiring perspective on a fascinating field.”
—Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)

“Firlik tells a good story. One after another, in fact.”
—Daily News – read full review

“Oliver Sacks has company on the bookshelves.”
—The Windsor Star (Canada) – read full review

“Firlik’s book is in the tradition of Rudy Giuliani and Erin Brockovich. Books that glorify the American dream come true have always found an audience.”
—AANS Bulletin – read full review (pdf file)

“Katrina Firlik is one of those rare individuals who have graciously opened the door to the secretive life of a brain surgeon. She is at once engaging and incredibly informed. Her stories will make you laugh out loud and cry in silence as you see patients through the eyes of a brain surgeon. You will read this book and immediately want to call your best friends and tell them about it.”
—Sanjay Gupta, M.D., staff neurosurgeon, Emory Clinic, and senior medical correspondent, CNN and Time

“Firlik writes with a surgical attention to detail and a literary eye for style. She proves to us that fact can, indeed, be stranger than fiction — and every bit as entertaining!”
—Tess Gerritsen, author of Body Double

“At times funny, at times wrenching, and utterly intriguing throughout, this is partly the story of how a neurosurgeon is made and partly something more. Katrina Firlik’s engaging tale gives us all a chance to peer into heads alongside her, and to grasp how it is that ordinary human beings can do this extraordinary work.”
—Atul Gawande, M.D., author of Complications: A Surgeon’s Notes on an Imperfect Science

“With openness, simplicity, and candor, Dr. Katrina Firlik demystifies neurosurgery for the layperson. The reader shares her fulfillment in saving a life, smells the human bone dust coming off a drill, and tastes the black humor that allows neurosurgeons to face the stress of their patients’ diseases. Neatly done with unprecedented clarity.”
—Dennis Spencer, M.D., Harvey and Kate Cushing Professor of Neurosurgery, chairman, Department of Neurosurgery, Yale University School of Medicine