The world star of neurosurgery, the doctor who performed several thousand operations on the spinal cord and brain, the owner of a huge number of professional awards - all this is about Henry Marsh. Immediately after retiring, he released a book that became a bestseller in a matter of days! We invite you to meet this unique person.
Henry Marsh biography
The future neurosurgeon was born on March 5, 1950. It happened in the UK. Henry's father is a well-known law professor who in the 60s of the last century became the founder of the human rights organization Amnesty International. Marsha’s mother is a refugee from Nazi Germany, she came to Britain in 1939.
Henry Marsh studied at Dragon School in Oxford and Westminster School - St. Peter's Royal College, located in Westminster. Henry later studied philosophy, political science, and economics at University College and Oxford University.
Career
When asked about what event he might call the most significant in his life, he responds with confidence - the first observation of a brain operation. He then just came to medicine, it was after this that Marsh decided to engage in neurosurgery.
He served as a senior neurosurgeon consultant at St. George's Hospital, located in south London. This hospital is one of the largest brain surgery centers in the UK. Henry Marsh specializes in brain surgery under local anesthesia. It is worth noting that since 1992, Marsh has been working with neurosurgeons in countries that were once part of the Soviet Union. He pays special attention to neurosurgical care in Ukraine.
Henry's activities became the main theme of the British documentary, released in 2007, which was called “The English Surgeon”. As for his personal life, Marsh is married to Kate Fox, a social anthropologist. The neurosurgeon dedicated the book to his wife. In addition, Marsh is the father of three children. The doctor devotes free time to the manufacture of furniture and work in the apiary.
Henry Marsh's book “Do no harm”
"Stories about life, death and neurosurgery" simply won the hearts of the British - in a couple of months they bought up about 170 thousand copies! This is not surprising, because in his book Marsh shared his thoughts, examples from medical practice. The experts were amazed at the sensational figure - only medical workers should have become the target audience. However, to date, the book has been translated into 17 languages.
So what does Henry Marsh write about in Do No Harm? The doctor says that making mistakes or encountering the mistakes of other people, we usually reassure ourselves with general phrases such as "it is human nature to make mistakes." But will these words console someone who has become a victim of incompetence? Will they bring relief to a doctor who could not help? Patients want to believe that the specialist who will perform the operation at his workplace is absolutely infallible and omnipotent. In their opinion, he does not get tired and cannot feel bad, and even more so - he is not distracted by extraneous thoughts. But what is it like to really be a surgeon and know that it is on your actions that a person’s life depends? Every neurosurgeon asks himself this question sooner or later. Henry Marsh has pondered these issues throughout his career. The result of reflection was this book - frank, exciting and piercing. The main idea of this book of Marsh fits into two words: “Do no harm”.
History of the book
In numerous interviews, the neurosurgeon talked about how he worked on his book. It all started with a regular teen diary, which Marsh kept from 13 years old. In recent years, this has become a kind of therapy, in addition, Henry, whose work was extremely extreme, did not want all his experience to disappear. The writer admits - when the idea of creating a book based on diary entries appeared, he assumed that the work would turn out to be open and even shocking. But what he did not expect was unprecedented popularity among the layman.
March on Writing and Secrets of Mastery
It is worth noting that the book of Henry Marsh “Do no harm” is not the only one in his bibliography. In 2014, the doctor released biographies of famous neurosurgeons. And more recently, the book “Calling. About choice, duty and neurosurgery. " And in his teens, Marsh wrote poetry. As soon as he turned 22 years old, he burned all his lyric works, considering them extremely bad. What, incidentally, is now regretting.
Henry has no special secrets of writing skills. He tells reporters that the main rule of a good writer is reading a large number of books. He also mentions that his best friend is the Delete button. Another important rule is to never use two words where it is possible to do one. Neurosurgeon Henry Marsh has no reason to decorate his text with a lot of adjectives, metaphors. The fact is that every day he observes a lot of stories right at the workplace, so he has enough reasons to write notes. That is why the book “Do no harm” is written simply and readily, which “catches” readers.
Quotes from the book
The book was so popular that readers instantly grabbed it into quotes. One of the most popular: "Psychological studies have shown that the most reliable way to your own happiness is to make others happy." Henry writes about the human brain. He calls it the mystery of nature and compares it with the stars in the night sky and the whole universe.
A lot of Henry Marsh writes about the activities of doctors. For example, he says that inside each surgeon there is a small cemetery where he goes from time to time to pray. The writer also notes that the surgeon is simply obliged to reveal the truth to patients, but at the same time he should not deprive them of their last hope. But the surgeon’s most important quality is the combination of steel nerves, a lion’s heart and female hands.
Secrets of longevity from a British neurosurgeon
In a recent interview, Henry Thomas Marsh shared the secrets of longevity that he managed to reveal. Among them are the following:
- getting a good education;
- belonging to the middle class;
- moderate alcohol consumption;
- regular exercise;
- learning foreign languages.
Henry says proficiency in at least one foreign language significantly reduces the chances of getting dementia. It is very important to play sports. Marsh himself ran at least 60 kilometers a week. However, after a knee injury, the doctor was forced to give up running, replacing it with physical exercises. He combines them with regular cycling trips - for the last 40 years the man has not used any other type of transport! The neurosurgeon advises to stop smoking and even more so the use of narcotic substances.