Open Wound: The Tragic Obsession of Dr. William Beaumont

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Open Wound: The Tragic Obsession of Dr. William Beaumont

by Jason Karlawish (Goodreads Author), The Fischer-Harbage Agency, Inc. (Contributor)

4.21 of 5 stars 4.21 · rating details · 24 ratings · 14 reviews

A shotgun misfires inside the American Fur Company store in Northern Michigan, and Alexis St. Martin's death appears imminent. It's 1822, and, as the leaders of Mackinac Island examine St. Martin's shot-riddled torso, they decide not to incur a single expense on behalf of the indentured fur trapper. They even go so far as to dismiss the attention of U.S. Army Assistant Sur...more

Hardcover, 280 pages

Published August 30th 2011 by University of Michigan Press/Regional

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Dec 05, 2011 Will Byrnes rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: american-history, public-health, science

Dr. William Beaumont, the primary focus of Dr. Jason Karlawish's historical novel, Open Wound, was a real person, a medical pioneer who researched the workings of the human stomach, revolutionizing our understanding of that crucial organ, and informing both dietary wisdom and treatment for gastric ills from that time forward. The way he was able to learn so much was a happy accident, well, happy for him. A Canadian trapper named Alexis St. Martin was in the wrong place at the wrong time, an Amer...more

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Jan 17, 2012 Aimeekay rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

This book was very well written. I had heard of Dr. Beaumont before and had always been interested in how his patient had come to have a hole in his stomach. Mr. Karlawish did an excellent job of bringing this piece of history to life. I was virtually transported back to 1822, and the years that followed, to witness Dr. Beaumont and Alexis St. Martin's often troubled interactions. I say interactions, because they were never truly friends. A friendship requires a form of respect on each side of t...more This book was very well written. I had heard of Dr. Beaumont before and had always been interested in how his patient had come to have a hole in his stomach. Mr. Karlawish did an excellent job of bringing this piece of history to life. I was virtually transported back to 1822, and the years that followed, to witness Dr. Beaumont and Alexis St. Martin's often troubled interactions. I say interactions, because they were never truly friends. A friendship requires a form of respect on each side of the fence, and while Alexis had some respect to an extent for Dr. Beaumont, Beaumont never really respect Alexis at all. However not respecting Alexis doesn't necessarily make Beaumont a bad man. Raised in the time period that he was, no one of that time period would fault him for looking at Alexis as more of a scientific breakthrough than an actual man. You have to remember this was when slavery was still common place, American Indians were all assumed to be savages and Alexi being an indentured fur trapper made him only a step higher on the social ladder of the time. Even with this outlook, Beaumont does still try to morally educate Alexis. He gives him work in exchange for his medical treatment and a place to stay. He also buys Alexi's contract from the fur company, thereby making him a free man. (however later he does basically put him back into being an indentured servant, albeit by a different name) But Alexi is young, while he idolizes the doctor for saving him, he also wants to have a life and not be constantly poked and prodded at. This leads to a constant source of problems for both of the men.
Along with the other multitude of sins they are guilty of, both men are extremely greedy. Beaumont even more so than Alexis. Alexis simply wants to be able to make an easy buck. Beaumont on the other hand wants riches as well, but he also wants his name immortalized in history. His reputation is more important to him than anything else and he sees it directly tied to whatever discoveries he can make from experimenting on Alexis' wound. Even when his experiments seem to inflict direct pain on Alexis, Beaumont simply ignores it and continues with his work.
In the end I honestly felt bad for Beaumont. He was so obsessed with his "reputation" and immortalizing his name, that he was never able to be happy. He never truly enjoyed the wealth and stature that he did accrue. He always looked at his experiments on Alexis as a failure, since they never amounted to what he felt they should. It was a constant source of embarrassment for him, even when people came to see him simply because he was the doctor who had the patient with a hole in his stomach.
As for Alexis, I thought he was selfish. Not because he wouldn't "share" his injury with the world so that the world could learn more about digestion etc.,but he was given a second chance and he didn't truly appreciate it. He squandered whatever money he had on alcohol, and was always assuming that he deserved more than what he received. I'm not saying that how he was viewed by the Dr. was correct, but he was given a second chance on life, and the Dr. offered him a fresh start and he walked away from it.
As I said before Karlawish's work was extremely well written. The only thing I didn't understand was later in the book. For the majority of the book it is written from Dr. Beaumont's perspective, then out of no where there are two small sections that switch to Alexis' point of view. While I wouldn't have minded seeing more of Alexis point of view, the two scenes just seemed out of place. They did add more information to the story. For example showing how Alexis's wife wasn't just meek and manipulated by Alexis. I actually wish there had been more of these scenes from Alexis point of view, maybe they would have helped me to understand some of his actions better.
On the whole though I think the book was very interesting. It drew me in from the beginning, and while I'm not sure if Dr. Beaumont would like entirely how he was portrayed in this book's pages, I think it would mean something to him that he has not been forgotten.

*****In compliance with FTC guidelines, I'm disclosing that I received this book for free through GoodReads First Reads. ****
(I recommend everybody should go check out all the awesome first read giveaways they have!)(less)

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Dec 16, 2011 Bunnie O'hara rated it 5 of 5 stars

“ I am a humble frontier doctor living on Mackinac Island in Michigan-my education was as apprentice to a rural doctor. Given that I always felt self conscious about my lack of a formal education I was elated to find that I had a chance to upgrade myself when a horrendous accident occurred in June of 1822. An indentured trapper suffered a life threatening wound caused by a shotgun blast to his abdomen . This wound involved the ribs, and a lobe of the lung- I had to clean out debris and wadding...more

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May 29, 2012 Sandra rated it 3 of 5 stars

Growing up in Michigan, Beaumont Hospital was extremely well respected and still is today. It was very interesting to read about him. I thought the subject matter, medical ethics, life in the 1800's, the operation of our government and militia (the army was encouraged to fight the native tribes to keep them busy and sharp), the history of medicine, was fabulous. The research was extensive. However, at times, the book read more like a non fiction documentary instead of a historical fiction novel....more

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Dec 27, 2011 charlie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Rich thematic novelization of a true story. First time author - a medical doctor - who recognized the potential in this true odd medical obsession story which captures themes of ambition, obsession, the passions of scientific research,discovery and glory, the developing american dream, the potentially unhealthy doctor-patient relationship etc etc. Packs a lot of ideas in a matter of fact detective novel style writing (i.e. short, blunt sentences without a lot of flower). Ran out of gas after a b...more

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Jan 18, 2012 Jillian rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: medical, historical-fiction, 19th-century, first-reads, frontier

I received this book for free as a First Reads giveaway.

Wow. This is one of those books that make you feel like you're still a part of the character's life even after you have stopped reading. Dr. Beaumont's story is so relatable and so tragic, it's hard to pull yourself away from his experiences.

The inside flap of the book's cover says, "even as Beaumont's care of St. Martin continues for decades, the motives and merits of his attention are far from clear." This couldn't be more true. I found...more

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Jul 26, 2012 Mag rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: science book group

Shelves: biography, history, medical-ethics, moral-issues, review-copy

This novel is written by a physician about another physician alive almost two centuries ago and deals with an interesting ethical and moral dilemma. It’s based a on a real life story of doctor Beaumont and, by today’s standards, his ethically questionable experimentation on a young man whose life he saved.
In 1822 Dr. William Beaumont, an assistant surgeon in the American army stationed on Mackinac Island on Lake Huron, Michigan, found himself called to an accident in which a young French Canadi...more This novel is written by a physician about another physician alive almost two centuries ago and deals with an interesting ethical and moral dilemma. It’s based a on a real life story of doctor Beaumont and, by today’s standards, his ethically questionable experimentation on a young man whose life he saved.
In 1822 Dr. William Beaumont, an assistant surgeon in the American army stationed on Mackinac Island on Lake Huron, Michigan, found himself called to an accident in which a young French Canadian voyageur, Alexis St. Martin, took a full blast from an accidental discharge from a gun at a very close proximity. The wound involved both lungs and stomach, was big and complicated and there was little hope that the young man would survive.
Beaumont saved the young trapper’s life but as the wound was healing it became a big fistula into his stomach. Beaumont then, instead of surgically closing it, saw it as a research opportunity and in time became obsessed with probing it and studying digestion through it. The procedure went on for years and had reluctant acquiesce from Alexis who was first dependent on the surgical care of the wound, and then on financial support from Beaumont. As to the pain inflicted by the procedure, we are told that it wasn’t so much the pain as the discomfort and the feeling of nausea and faintness that the young man was experiencing.

By modern ethical and moral standards what Beaumont did is very questionable, even if what propelled him forward was the need for serving humanity as much as the thirst for his own fame. To judge him by our own standards alone would be anachronistic, though. We know from the book that his contemporaries were divided in the appraisal of his efforts- some condemned it, some praised it and found it highly commendable. What real value it has had in furthering our knowledge of digestion the book doesn’t say. My impression is that it remained obscure and not many scientists got acquainted with it. Beaumont, being no scientist, did not conduct his research according to any strict research standards either. As to fistulas, Pavlov, to whom we owe Pavlov’s ‘conditioned reflex’, surgically made fistulas in dogs’ cheeks and stomachs to collect their saliva and gastric acid and study digestion. At least Alexis’ fistula was accidental.

Both of them and countless others used live subjects for experimentation to further medical knowledge. As Better Angels of Our Nature by Pinker informs us the ethical and moral standards have changed over the ages and are still changing in the direction of progress and minimization of pain, humility and towards providing informed consent. And, that’s a great development and one that we hopefully won’t veer from.

The book is quite engrossing and well written to boot. Reminiscent a bit of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks in its subject matter.
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Nov 30, 2011 Noran Miss Pumkin marked it as a-wishlist

This book would give anyone a stomach ache! It is a pun of course! This book covers the infamous patient that lived with a visible hole to stomach, unlike another story about a man that lived with an open chest wound-where his heart could be viewed. look forward to some reviews prior to adding this book to my medical-historical shelf.

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Feb 24, 2012 Lisa rated it 5 of 5 stars

A great book, filled with details that give a true sense of place and tension to the story. Fascinating topic, retold with the non-medical reader in mind. Ending is a bit abrupt. Highly recommend it.

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Jan 31, 2012 Kara rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads, science

Overall this was a really great read! I really enjoyed the science in it and learning about early medicine. I highly recommend this book! This is for sure a book that I will read a second time or more because you really get to know the characters. I won this through the Goodreads giveaways! It was such a great win!

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May 21, 2013 Pamela Saunders rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

this is a wonderful book written by a colleague of mine at Upenn. It is a fabulous example of narrative medicine for those interested in this field.

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Apr 02, 2012 Rebecca rated it 4 of 5 stars

Read this for bookclub at work and met the author - very interesting!!

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Jan 18, 2012 Kati rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads-win

I found the medical history interesting (if gruesome). I quite disliked the main character, which somewhat diminished my enjoyment of the book. If I was supposed to sympathize at all with Dr. Beaumont, I failed to do so. I would have liked more sections told from St. Martin's point of view... what was HE thinking and feeling?

On the whole, a very interesting book.

I won this as a Goodreads Giveaway, thank you!

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Aug 12, 2012 Susan rated it 3 of 5 stars

see my review at Reading World.

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About Jason Karlawish

Jason Karlawish is a Professor of Medicine and Medical Ethics at the University of Pennsylvania. He studied medicine at Northwestern University and trained in internal medicine and geriatric medicine at Johns Hopkins University and the University of Chicago.

He cares for patients at the Penn Memory Center. His research focuses on issues in bioethics. With support from the National Institutes of Hea...more Jason Karlawish is a Professor of Medicine and Medical Ethics at the University of Pennsylvania. He studied medicine at Northwestern University and trained in internal medicine and geriatric medicine at Johns Hopkins University and the University of Chicago.

He cares for patients at the Penn Memory Center. His research focuses on issues in bioethics. With support from the National Institutes of Health, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Greenwall Foundation, he has investigated the development of Alzheimer’s disease treatments and diagnostics, informed consent, quality of life, research and treatment decision making, and voting by persons with cognitive impairment and residents of long term care facilities. He has been an international proponent of mobile polling, a method of bringing the vote to long term care facilities that minimizes fraud and maximizes voter rights. He is a winner of the Lancet's Wakley Prize. In 2010, in a widely publicized essay in the Journal of the American Medical Association, he introduced the concept of “desktop medicine,” a theory of medicine that recognizes how risk and its numerical representations are transforming medicine, medical care, and health.

Karlawish wrote Open Wound: The Tragic Obsession of Dr. William Beaumont in part to upend the convention of the scientist as a dispassionate expert who lives above the social and political order of her times. Open Wound, a novel based on true events along the 19th century American frontier, tells how emotion and passion together with social and political pressures slowly corrupt the scientist’s character and ethics, a corruption that drives Dr. Beaumont to increasingly desperate acts. Tragically, he destroys what he most desires, the immortality of fame.

Karlawish has disseminated his work in peer reviewed publications and chapters in leading textbooks of medicine and bioethics, testimony to the Senate Select Committee on Aging and the Department of Health and Human Services Subcommittee on the Inclusion of Individuals with Impaired Decision-making in Research, and collaborations with the American Bar Association, American Association of Retired Persons, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the State of Vermont, the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, and the U.S. Government Accountability Office. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Greenwall Foundation.
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