Signs of Life: A Doctor's Journey to the Ends Of The Earth
A young doctor cycles around the world and discovers how societies treat their most vulnerable, in this thought-provoking and witty medical odyssey.

When Stephen Fabes left his job as an emergency-room doctor and set out to cycle around the world, frontline medicine quickly faded from his mind. The daily challenges of life on the road stack up as he navigates deserts—coaxing a few more miles from ‘Ol’ Patchy’ (his most faithful innertube)—and learns to live with the seeming constant threat posed by local wildlife, be it mangy dogs in Indonesia, grizzly bears in Alaska, or, in Australia, the common death adder, three words he was dismayed to find exist in sequence.

But leaving medicine behind was not as easy as it seems.

As Stephen crossed continents—on a journey that would take six years and cover more than 53,000 miles—he finds people whose health has suffered through exile, stigma, or circumstance and others, whose lives have been saved through kindness and community.

After encountering a frozen body of a monk in the Himalayas, he is drawn ever more to healthcare at the margins of the world, to crumbling sanitoriums and refugee camps, to city dumps and war-torn hospital wards.

In this gripping blend of true adventure and medical narrative, Stephen learns the value of listening to lives—not just solving diagnostic puzzles. Signs of Life challenges us to see care for the sick as a duty born of our compassion and our humanity.
1136963591
Signs of Life: A Doctor's Journey to the Ends Of The Earth
A young doctor cycles around the world and discovers how societies treat their most vulnerable, in this thought-provoking and witty medical odyssey.

When Stephen Fabes left his job as an emergency-room doctor and set out to cycle around the world, frontline medicine quickly faded from his mind. The daily challenges of life on the road stack up as he navigates deserts—coaxing a few more miles from ‘Ol’ Patchy’ (his most faithful innertube)—and learns to live with the seeming constant threat posed by local wildlife, be it mangy dogs in Indonesia, grizzly bears in Alaska, or, in Australia, the common death adder, three words he was dismayed to find exist in sequence.

But leaving medicine behind was not as easy as it seems.

As Stephen crossed continents—on a journey that would take six years and cover more than 53,000 miles—he finds people whose health has suffered through exile, stigma, or circumstance and others, whose lives have been saved through kindness and community.

After encountering a frozen body of a monk in the Himalayas, he is drawn ever more to healthcare at the margins of the world, to crumbling sanitoriums and refugee camps, to city dumps and war-torn hospital wards.

In this gripping blend of true adventure and medical narrative, Stephen learns the value of listening to lives—not just solving diagnostic puzzles. Signs of Life challenges us to see care for the sick as a duty born of our compassion and our humanity.
27.95 In Stock
Signs of Life: A Doctor's Journey to the Ends Of The Earth

Signs of Life: A Doctor's Journey to the Ends Of The Earth

by Stephen Fabes
Signs of Life: A Doctor's Journey to the Ends Of The Earth

Signs of Life: A Doctor's Journey to the Ends Of The Earth

by Stephen Fabes

Hardcover

$27.95 
  • SHIP THIS ITEM
    Qualifies for Free Shipping
  • PICK UP IN STORE

    Your local store may have stock of this item.

Related collections and offers


Overview

A young doctor cycles around the world and discovers how societies treat their most vulnerable, in this thought-provoking and witty medical odyssey.

When Stephen Fabes left his job as an emergency-room doctor and set out to cycle around the world, frontline medicine quickly faded from his mind. The daily challenges of life on the road stack up as he navigates deserts—coaxing a few more miles from ‘Ol’ Patchy’ (his most faithful innertube)—and learns to live with the seeming constant threat posed by local wildlife, be it mangy dogs in Indonesia, grizzly bears in Alaska, or, in Australia, the common death adder, three words he was dismayed to find exist in sequence.

But leaving medicine behind was not as easy as it seems.

As Stephen crossed continents—on a journey that would take six years and cover more than 53,000 miles—he finds people whose health has suffered through exile, stigma, or circumstance and others, whose lives have been saved through kindness and community.

After encountering a frozen body of a monk in the Himalayas, he is drawn ever more to healthcare at the margins of the world, to crumbling sanitoriums and refugee camps, to city dumps and war-torn hospital wards.

In this gripping blend of true adventure and medical narrative, Stephen learns the value of listening to lives—not just solving diagnostic puzzles. Signs of Life challenges us to see care for the sick as a duty born of our compassion and our humanity.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781643131955
Publisher: Pegasus Books
Publication date: 08/04/2020
Pages: 416
Sales rank: 668,975
Product dimensions: 6.10(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.50(d)

About the Author

Stephen Fabes is a physician and a member of the Royal College of Physicians and Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. His writing has appeared in The Guardian, The Telegraph, CNN, Backpacker, Adventure Travel, and Cycle. He has appeared on "The Moth" in United Kingdom and now works in the emergency department at a hospital in London.

Table of Contents

Prologue 1

Part 1 London to Cape Town 13

1 Get Him in His Stupid Face 15

2 Horripilation 25

3 Peripheries 39

Part 2 Ushuaia to Deadhorse 67

4 Spine 69

5 Flatlines 89

Part 3 Melbourne to Mumbai 113

6 Fever 115

7 Complications 137

8 Pulse 154

9 Hydration 177

10 Memento Mori 199

Part 4 Hong Kong to Calais 221

11 Plexus 223

12 Lub-Dub 247

13 Revival 267

14 Membranes 281

15 Dislocated 297

16 Consumed 314

17 Flow 336

Part 5 Home 355

18 An Audience of Friends 357

19 Rehab 366

20 On Us 376

Selected Bibliography 385

Acknowledgements 392

Author's Note 397

From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews