Hundreds of Interlaced Fingers: A Kidney Doctor's Search for the Perfect Match

by Vanessa Grubbs M.D.

Overview

A young, hopeful doctor’s memoir—an unforgettable love story and an informative journey into the world of medicine and kidney transplantation that ultimately asks: What does it mean to let go of something that you love, even if it is life itself?

When Vanessa fell in love with Robert, she had no idea that the relationship would thoroughly transform her life. Robert suffered from end-stage kidney disease, which required him to endure years of debilitating dialysis to stay alive, at least until his failed organ could be replaced by a kidney transplant. Although Vanessa was a primary care doctor, she developed a deeper understanding of the difficulties Robert faced with dialysis and in finding a donor. Despite their being early in their relationship, she volunteered one of her own kidneys—and discovered that she was a match. This life-affirming experience forged a bond that would become a pillar of Vanessa and Robert’s marriage—and the beginning of her new career.

Motivated by Robert’s experience and her newfound knowledge, Vanessa became a nephrologist—a kidney doctor—and discovered far more about the realities of the specialty. Shaped by Vanessa’s remarkable experiences as a doctor, a woman of color, a mother, and a kidney donor, Hundreds of Interlaced Fingers is a love story, an exposé, and a clarion call for us all to consider the dualities of both loving and letting go.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062418180
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	06/12/2018
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	592,197
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Dr. Vanessa Grubbs is an associate professor of medicine and a nephrologist at the University of California, San Francisco and has maintained a clinical practice and research program Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital since 2009. She received her undergraduate and medical degrees from Duke University and teaches writing for patient advocacy to medical students and practicing physicians. She lives with her husband, teenage son, and two dogs in Oakland, California. Hundreds of Interlaced Fingers is her first book.

Table of Contents

Part I If He Only Had Her

1 Someday Comes 3

2 Ulterior Motives 9

3 Bid Whist 19

4 The Other Robert Phillips 39

5 Peanut in a Box of Worms 58

Part II But Will She Stay

6 Complications 73

7 Another Dialysis Machine 85

8 The Candle Is Lit 92

9 Knuckleheads and Nerds 106

Part III She Is a Thing of Beauty

10 Her 117

11 Babies 131

12 Zebras 135

13 Horses 154

Part IV You're Gonna Miss Her When She's Gone

14 Expectations 163

15 Ready or Not 172

16 Changing Times 185

Part V Letting Her Go

17 Dirty White Boy 207

18 Three Ladies 219

19 What Lies Ahead 239

Acknowledgments 247

Frequently Asked Questions 249

Editorial Reviews

Dr. Grubbs’ extraordinary story reminds us all of the Samaritan function of being a physician. Not only did she train as a kidney specialist because of the man she loves, but also gave him one of her kidneys. This gripping, heartfelt memoir is a deeply insightful look at health care in America as experienced by doctor and patient.” — Abraham Verghese, author of Cutting for Stone

“Part memoir, part medical guide, Dr. Vanessa Grubbs has written an unforgettable journey of the way love, health, and illness affect us all—doctors and patients. If you loved Jessica Zitter’s Extreme Measures or Atul Gawande’s Being Mortal, Dr. Grubbs’s beautifully written book will connect with your heart and soul. Her book is a wonderful guide for people facing kidney disease, complete with information on how to navigate the health care system.” — Angelo Volandes, Harvard physician and author of The Conversation

“Dr. Vanessa Grubbs, one of the few black female kidney doctors in the country, has written an intense, ambitious, and fascinating book. It’s a must-read for anyone who is or who knows anyone having kidney issues, on dialysis, or considering transplant.”   — Victoria Sweet, MD, award-winning author of God’s Hotel: A Doctor, a Hospital, and a Pilgrimage to the Heart of Medicine

“Hundreds of Interlaced Fingers is a love story—love for a man, love for the profession of medicine, love for humanity, love for life. In the sure hands of Vanessa Grubbs, it is a story told beautifully, courageously, and honestly. You’ll never forget Vanessa and Robert, and you’ll never view medicine quite the same way again.” — ROBERT WACHTER, MD, author of New York Times bestseller The Digital Doctor

“Thoughtful and endearing.” — Washington Post

From the Publisher

Thoughtful and endearing.

Washington Post

Hundreds of Interlaced Fingers is a love story—love for a man, love for the profession of medicine, love for humanity, love for life. In the sure hands of Vanessa Grubbs, it is a story told beautifully, courageously, and honestly. You’ll never forget Vanessa and Robert, and you’ll never view medicine quite the same way again.

ROBERT WACHTER

Part memoir, part medical guide, Dr. Vanessa Grubbs has written an unforgettable journey of the way love, health, and illness affect us all—doctors and patients. If you loved Jessica Zitter’s Extreme Measures or Atul Gawande’s Being Mortal, Dr. Grubbs’s beautifully written book will connect with your heart and soul. Her book is a wonderful guide for people facing kidney disease, complete with information on how to navigate the health care system.

Angelo Volandes

Dr. Vanessa Grubbs, one of the few black female kidney doctors in the country, has written an intense, ambitious, and fascinating book. It’s a must-read for anyone who is or who knows anyone having kidney issues, on dialysis, or considering transplant.”  

Victoria Sweet

Dr. Grubbs’ extraordinary story reminds us all of the Samaritan function of being a physician. Not only did she train as a kidney specialist because of the man she loves, but also gave him one of her kidneys. This gripping, heartfelt memoir is a deeply insightful look at health care in America as experienced by doctor and patient.

Abraham Verghese

Thoughtful and endearing.

Washington Post

Dr. Vanessa Grubbs, one of the few black female kidney doctors in the country, has written an intense, ambitious, and fascinating book. It’s a must-read for anyone who is or who knows anyone having kidney issues, on dialysis, or considering transplant.

VICTORIA SWEET

Part memoir, part medical guide, Dr. Vanessa Grubbs has written an unforgettable journey of the way love, health, and illness affect us all—doctors and patients. If you loved Jessica Zitter’s Extreme Measures or Atul Gawande’s Being Mortal, Dr. Grubbs’s beautifully written book will connect with your heart and soul. Her book is a wonderful guide for people facing kidney disease, complete with information on how to navigate the health care system.

ANGELO VOLANDES

Dr. Grubbs’ extraordinary story reminds us all of the Samaritan function of being a physician. Not only did she train as a kidney specialist because of the man she loves, but also gave him one of her kidneys. This gripping, heartfelt memoir is a deeply insightful look at health care in America as experienced by doctor and patient.

ABRAHAM VERGHESE

2017-04-30
A nephrologist's memoir of navigating the kidney disease of a loved one.Grubbs (Medicine/Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital) came by her medical specialty honestly: she fell in love with and later married a man with end-stage kidney disease; a few months into their relationship, she donated a kidney to him. The author's absorbing first book leads with that personal interest story, but it doesn't end there. Moving around, occasionally confusingly, in time, Grubbs explores how an African-American girl from a country town in North Carolina came to become a doctor and move to San Francisco. She darts in and out of her experiences in medical school and residency, occasionally landing in a room with one of her patients. While her husband, Robert, is sometimes overly romanticized, the author doesn't sugarcoat much else in her life. Robert's kidney replacement, which took place after a long period of dialysis, hardly ended his struggles. It took several surgeries and a considerable amount of luck before the transplanted kidney started working properly. Other medical crises, as well as conflicts between Grubbs and her husband regarding treatment, followed. Revealing details about the experiences of both patient and donor during kidney surgery will enlighten those inside and outside the loop of kidney disease. Along the path to a career in nephrology, Grubbs fell in love not just with her husband, but with the kidney as an organ, with its hundreds of strands "like interlaced fingers." The author expresses clear, not always politically correct opinions about a medical system that she believes discriminates against blacks, encourages patients to continue dialysis even when it prolongs suffering, and spends money on patients not committed to their own care. Grubbs also includes a helpful appendix of frequently asked questions about kidney disease and treatment. The book will appeal specifically to those personally affected by kidney disease but should also fascinate anyone interested in the state of health care in the United States.

Kirkus Reviews