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Oxygen

by Carol Cassella (Goodreads Author)

3.58 of 5 stars 3.58 · rating details · 2,919 ratings · 615 reviews

With the compassion of Jodi Picoult and the medical realism of Atul Gawande, "Oxygen" is a riveting new novel by a real-life anesthesiologist, an intimate story of relationships and family that collides with a high-stakes medical drama.Dr. Marie Heaton is an anesthesiologist at the height of her profession. She has worked, lived and breathed her career since medical school...more

Hardcover, 288 pages

Published July 1st 2008 by Simon & Schuster

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Community Reviews

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Dec 27, 2009 Thomas rated it 4 of 5 stars

Oxygen is about Dr. Marie Heaton, an established anesthesiologist at the tip of her career. Her life is consumed with putting people out of their pain and supplying them with oxygen; her entire existence revolves around her work. However her carefully constructed lifestyle falls apart when one of her patients dies on her operating table. Soon enough a malpractice suit is filed against her by a single mom who has lost her only child - also, she has to deal with her father's vision loss and their...more Oxygen is about Dr. Marie Heaton, an established anesthesiologist at the tip of her career. Her life is consumed with putting people out of their pain and supplying them with oxygen; her entire existence revolves around her work. However her carefully constructed lifestyle falls apart when one of her patients dies on her operating table. Soon enough a malpractice suit is filed against her by a single mom who has lost her only child - also, she has to deal with her father's vision loss and their awkward, obstructed conversation after no communication for three years. This book takes place in Seattle, and also inside the stressful, unnerving hospital rooms where thousands of near-death experiences are avoided every day.

I was close to giving this book a 3/5 stars, but realized that it was probably closer to 4/5. The one thing that made me pick it up was the hook, "With the compassion of Jodi Picoult..." because I am a huge Picoult fan. Anyway, after reading the fluffy first pages I was hooked. While the first chapter may intimidate some readers it really got me interested, even though I have no clue about anything of the world of medicine.

Cassella is obviously a talented human being - English lit. at Duke, and later on graduating from medical school to practice anestheiology. Her writing exhibits her talent tremendously. While the first part of the book was a little heavy on the medical jargon overall the writing was flawless and combined both emotion and medical skill. There is no questioning the research and expertise the author has when reading this novel. The only thing I didn't particularly like about the writing on rare occasions was that it became a bit too stiff - sometimes not "compassionate" enough, like the book jacket advertises.

For the plot I would like to split it up into two parts. The first part, the trial and lawsuit, was absolutely fabulous. Engrossing and addictive the story just grabbed me and didn't let me go - the twist in the end was one of the best I've ever read and really took me for surprise without jumping the shark. However, the second part, which was her falling apart family and relationship with her dad, was a bit weak for me and I didn't enjoy the majority of it. There is one chapter dedicated to the main character's relationship with her father when she was an adolescent and during that chapter I just had to put the book down because it seemed so unrealistic.

Other than the few things listed above, Oxygen really reads not as a debut novel but as a medical thriller filled with mystery and suspense. When I first picked up the book I never thought I would say this, but I'm really looking forward to reading Cassella's sophomore effort.(less)

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Aug 31, 2008 Karen rated it 5 of 5 stars

My Review of Oxygen: A Novel by Carol Cassella

Carol Cassella’s mixture of mystery and medical thriller, supported by the authenticity of her many years as an anesthesiologist, results in her page turning debut book, Oxygen: A Novel. Casella’s Dr. Marie Heaton is also an anesthesiologist who is passionate and professional about her life’s work. She works at Seattle’s First Lutheran Hospital where she prides herself in the care and expertise with which she conducts her everyday life as a physician...more My Review of Oxygen: A Novel by Carol Cassella

Carol Cassella’s mixture of mystery and medical thriller, supported by the authenticity of her many years as an anesthesiologist, results in her page turning debut book, Oxygen: A Novel. Casella’s Dr. Marie Heaton is also an anesthesiologist who is passionate and professional about her life’s work. She works at Seattle’s First Lutheran Hospital where she prides herself in the care and expertise with which she conducts her everyday life as a physician.

Starting out as a routine day, with a busy schedule that includes a pediatric case of an 8 year old, mentally challenged girl later in the afternoon, Dr. Heaton’s day suddenly turns into every doctor’s worse nightmare. What should have been a simple operation to remove a cyst on little Jolene Jansen’s back, results in tragedy and finds Marie shockingly facing a malpractice suit as she questions herself as to what went wrong.

What follows is Marie’s life falling apart as she is enveloped in legal paperwork, autopsy results, self recrimination, and the realization that people who were her supporters are quick to abandon her. Her one time lover, Dr. Joe Hillary, becomes the person she thinks she can count on to help her make it though this horror and try and save her career.

Add to this, a problem in Marie’s personal life as her aging father is becoming more dependent on others as his eyesight fails. Marie finds that the responsibility for his care suddenly comes to her even though her connection with her family in Texas has not been a close one for years. Her sister Lori, however, is busy raising a family and so Marie is left with not much of a choice as to the care of her father.

Everything in Dr. Heaton’s once precisely ordered life begins to crumble as everyone and every part of her life suddenly seems to be crashing in on her. How Carol Cassella brings the story to its climax and Marie Heaton’s life turns out, is told with the expertise of a seasoned writer. The truth of the profession and the workings of medical field are never glossed over by Casella as she gives the reader a REAL look at what goes on in this medical industry while still engaging us in a thriller that only leaves us wanting more from this wonderful new author.
Submitted by Karen Haney, August, 2008

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Jan 07, 2009 LJ rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary_post_1945, female_author, medical_thriller, novel

OXYGEN (Novel/Med. Mys- Dr. Marie Heaton-Seattle-Cont) – Good
Cassella, Carol – 1st book
Simon & Schuster, 2008, US Hardcover – ISBN: 1416556109

First Sentence: People feel so strong, so durable.

Dr. Marie Heaton is a skilled anesthesiologist. Her life is off track and her career at risk when a child dies during surgery and Marie is being sued for malpractice. Although she tries to keep working, she must work to find out exactly what happened during the operation in order to retain her career, f...more

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Nov 26, 2012 Tracy King rated it 2 of 5 stars

It was okay...

Here's our book club review:

Book Club met tonight to discuss Oxygen, by Carol Cassella. It is the story of Dr. Marie Heaton, an anesthesiologist at the height of her profession. She has worked, lived and breathed her career since medical school. Then things go terribly wrong during a routine surgery and she finds herself facing a malpractice suit. Marie's best friend, colleague and former lover, Dr. Joe Hillary, becomes her closest confidante as she navigates through depositions, a...more

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Sep 04, 2012 Lynetta rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: general-fiction

My colleague read this for her book club and recommended this work. We both enjoy books where we are engrossed with the character and "worry" about them as the plot develops.

Dr. Marie Heaton is in Seattle and has been an anesthesiologist for several years. She works the requisite hours and finds great satisfaction in putting people to sleep and waking them up. Her best friend is Dr. Joe Hillary, from the same department. He is a pilot and enjoys risks such as roller coasters. Her sister Lori ha...more

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Jun 30, 2012 Joyce rated it 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed the book Oxygen by Carol Cassela much more than Healer which I recently read. In Oxygen, the reader is given a very indepth look at what goes on while a person is under anesthesia for a surgery or procedure. It certainly gave me a new perspective on the role of the anesthesiologist and what actually happens to the patient during an operation. In addition to giving a lot of information about what an anesthesiologist actually does, the author did an awesome job of portraying the thoughts...more

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Oct 22, 2011 Amy rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Aug 06, 2011 Nikole rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I adore medical shows on television. When E.R. was on, I watched it religiously. When there is nothing else good on tv, I love turning on discovery health and nine times out of 10 I will find myself completely enthralled with whatever drama is on folding on screen.

Medical novels, on the other hand, is not a genre I have spend much time reading. In fact, if my memory is correct, I have only attempted to read one Robin Cook novel and was so-underwhelmed that I have never delved into fictional medi...more

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May 22, 2011 Amy (SpedBug) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: library-book, didnt-want-it-to-end

Dr. Marie Heaton’s life is her work as an anesthesiologist. She has friends, but they’re comprised of colleagues who live the same hectic, work-centric life as she. Forced to take a leave of absence from her demanding job, she finds herself returning to her most important relationships – those with her family – for support and for reparation.

Oxygen is a novel about a single medical mistake with an unconscionable result. It is about a doctor who, while struggling with guilt, refuses to be crushe...more

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Jan 28, 2011 Paul Pessolano rated it 4 of 5 stars

Dr. Marie Heaton is an anesthesiologist. She works at First Lutheran Hospital in Seattle. She has had a great career and takes pride in her profession.

Marie's life starts to unravel when a young special needs girl dies on the operation table. Marie and First Lutheran are being sued by the young girl's mother for malpractice. An autopsy finds that the girl had a previous heart condition but went undetected by everyone.

The hospital is working with Marie until they find out that they can divest the...more

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Oct 10, 2010 Lark rated it 4 of 5 stars

Dr. Marie Heaton is an experienced anesthesiologist practicing in Seattle. During surgery, her patient dies. While the entire surgical team is sued, it was ultimately Marie's fault and therefore she takes it the hardest.

What I liked about this book:
1. It hit on several medical hot-topics. Since the author is herself an anesthesiologist, I felt like everything she touched on in regards to medical malpractice is a reality. It is scary. Most doctors nowadays feel like its not "if" they will be sued...more

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Jun 09, 2010 Denise rated it 4 of 5 stars

4.0 out of 5 stars A breath of fresh air in the medical thriller genre....., September 7, 2008

This review is from: Oxygen: A Novel (Hardcover)

I'm an RN and I love medical thrillers. For the past several years, however, it's been tough to find really good ones about something new and different. This really wasn't a "thriller" per se, but it was a novel that had a hint of mystery in it -- the goal -- to find out what caused the sudden, inexplicable death of an 8 year old girl on the operating roo...more 4.0 out of 5 stars A breath of fresh air in the medical thriller genre....., September 7, 2008

This review is from: Oxygen: A Novel (Hardcover)

I'm an RN and I love medical thrillers. For the past several years, however, it's been tough to find really good ones about something new and different. This really wasn't a "thriller" per se, but it was a novel that had a hint of mystery in it -- the goal -- to find out what caused the sudden, inexplicable death of an 8 year old girl on the operating room table during an elective procedure. (I used to work in the OR, and the details about that world I loved all came back - made me want to go back and work again!! The medical details really interested me from that professional standpoint.) The anesthesiologist, Dr. Heaton, who put the child to sleep is slapped with a malpractice accusation and it even goes further than that. My blood ran cold as Marie finds out from the hospital legal team and the lawyers just what this case is going to cost her in terms of her livelihood and her career. She has focused her entire life on her job and, other than a sometime boyfriend -- colleague and friend Joe, all she has is her sister and sister's family --she has a difficult relationship with her father -- and that's about it. As her life spins out of control, she goes to see her dad and tries to piece herself back together to face the future. The resolution of the case was interesting, although a bit predictable, and I felt a lot of sympathy for Marie - she made the choice for career over wife and/or mother, and saw how quickly relationships with those you love and those who love you become the only things that really matter once the workday is done. She loved her job and she focused all she had on being the best -- but in our society and with malpractice litigation run amok, being great might not be enough to protect a doctor.
The writing was good and the pace kept me turning the pages late into the night. I hope to see more from this author!
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Nov 21, 2009 Elizabeth rated it 5 of 5 stars

I expected this book to be a fluff read. You know, a good book to read on a beach. Well, since it's winter here in Minnesota, maybe I should just say, a good book to curl up by the fireplace with. It was definitely much more than that. I request books from my library that I've read reviews of or heard about from friends. This one had so many requests. I've been waiting so long, I've forgotten where I heard about it.

Dr. Marie Heaton is a dedicated anesthesiologist. She loves the technical aspect...more

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Jul 01, 2009 Michaelsean rated it 5 of 5 stars

Oxygen by Carol Cassella was an interesting book to me. Written by a practicing anesthesiologist it tackles a subject that obviously the author knows well, but one that the average reader does not really understand that well. She does it flawlessly without making things complicated or dumbing down the medical terminology she uses.

The book is set at the fictitious Lutheran Hospital in the Seattle area. During what at first appears to be a routine surgery, there are fatal complications. Dr. Marie...more

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Jul 27, 2012 Peggy rated it 3 of 5 stars

I'd seen Carol Cassella at local Seattle7Writers events and been meaning to read the book. I found a paperback copy and took it along as airplane reading. It's always a tribute to a novel when it helps you through many airport delays. Then as I navigated one of the mid-west's hottest summers on record in a black rental car, Oxygen was as cooling as the car's air conditioner. Cassella's extremely take on the world of anesthesiology and the narrator's almost invariably scientific outlook on what w...more

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Jun 09, 2012 Anne rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

I found this book looking for fiction set in Seattle. I'm glad I found it -- otherwise, how likely would I be to come across a novel about an anesthesiologist? And to be glad of it?

I found the beginning a little off-putting, but the style changed and became more succinct as she settled into the hospital routines. There was also a great tension in the air, about what was to come. She held that tension through the terrible outcome in the OR, and then throughout the rest of the book as Marie grapp...more I found this book looking for fiction set in Seattle. I'm glad I found it -- otherwise, how likely would I be to come across a novel about an anesthesiologist? And to be glad of it?

I found the beginning a little off-putting, but the style changed and became more succinct as she settled into the hospital routines. There was also a great tension in the air, about what was to come. She held that tension through the terrible outcome in the OR, and then throughout the rest of the book as Marie grapples with legal system, and her relationships with her friend/lover, co-workers, and family.

The family relationships are particularly interesting. When the legal problem comes to a head, she flees to her sister and her sister's family in Texas.
“She squinches up her nose in humor, such a characteristic Lori expression, connected with a thousand shared experiences. Like the way she hitches up her right shoulder whenever she exaggerates the truth, bites her lip in contemplation, or laterally flares her hands before she offers her frequently obstinate opinion on what’s right or wrong for the people she loves. I am flooded with a sense of belonging, to be so intimately aware of another person’s unique watermark on the world, connecting us like the secret insignia of clans.” P. 166

And then there is the complex and mysterious relationship with her father. He's a retired history professor, 79, widowed, suffering from macular degeneration and in need of help that he's not entirely ready to accept. She goes to visit him in Houston at her sister's bidding.
“So. Here we are,” he says, a stutter of cracks running through his voice. He clears his throat. “I taught my students that there was usually a hell of a lot more to be discovered in what was omitted from a textual translation than in what was inscribed – typical of human nature, I’ve come to believe. Now I have to content myself with what I can hear, what people say or don’t say in the few conversations I have these days.” He pauses, and grips my hand, the hard knots of his joints pressing my fingers together. “Why did you come” he asks me, not sounding angry or taunting, but genuinely interested, willing to admit that we are awkward together. P.241-242

The plot twist was a surprise to me. I knew that there was a plot twist coming and tried to anticipate it -- but I was wrong. As sad and painful as the whole story was, it was also hopeful and healing on some levels.

“Condensing it to a formula, of course, belies the art of my profession – tailoring the drugs and drips and pain relief, even my words, to conjure the ideal anesthetic, unique to each patient. An ideal anesthetic should be almost imperceptible, dissolving into the background like the painted blue sky of a stage set. It should appear as effortless as a ballerina’s pirouette, or the volley of a tennis champion. When it works, when all the components blend in perfectly balanced proportion, my job becomes oddly intimate – a shared personal secret with a stranger, watching them wake up with an expression in their eyes I recognize as stark disbelief that time has passed and this frightening event is over. They have crossed this barrier and emerged intact, if changed in some indefinable way, opened up and explored, on the other side.” P. 287(less)

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Aug 15, 2011 Carolyn Gerk rated it 3 of 5 stars

Oxygen follows the story of Dr. Marie Heaton, anesthesiologist as she deals with a case in which an eight year old patient dies on the operating table.
An interesting topic, kind of felt like a slow moving Grey's Anatomy episode. The information about anesthesiology was interesting, I enjoyed heaton's reflections about the power of putting a person to sleep and holding them safely in a pain free lull during crisis. Some beautiful writing and observations are scattered throughout the novel.
Howev...more

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Nov 27, 2009 Michelle rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2009

I'm not sure how to rate this. There were parts I loved and parts that didn't do it for me. What I liked: the premise, the plot twist (also enjoyed that the twist had its OWN twist), and the tension created at the end of the book that kept me anxiously reading. What I didn't like: the B storyline (just wasn't into it and kept wanting to get back to what was happening in Seattle), too much medical jargon at the beginning that made it sterile at first, and, frankly, the protagonist. I just couldn'...more

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Jan 19, 2009 Fredsky rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Any pre-meds or even pre-ops!

Recommended to Fredsky by: Eileen

The next time your anesthesiologist looks you in the eyes and shoots a syringe of something into your I.V., don't have read this book already.

Our heroine, Dr. Marie Heaton, an experienced anesthesiologist, is naive in the ways of the normal functioning world. She doesn't read men very well, she doesn't seem suspicious of lawyers until it's too late, and she appears to have no prior knowledge that hospitals are big business and that big business will cheerfully and resolutely bite, crunch, chew...more

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Feb 02, 2012 Julie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: best-of-2012, contemporary-fiction, usa-contemporary, read-2012

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This is a fantastically satisfying read. Within the intersecting circles of thriller, medical drama and popular fiction, Carol Cassella's confident debut emerges in vivid, three-dimensional relief. With her first-hand knowledge of the field of anesthesiology, Cassella creates an original and compelling plot: a child dies in the middle of surgery and all fingers point to the one most responsible for keeping her alive -- the anesthesiologist.

For this reader, the mystery is not in the who- that is...more This is a fantastically satisfying read. Within the intersecting circles of thriller, medical drama and popular fiction, Carol Cassella's confident debut emerges in vivid, three-dimensional relief. With her first-hand knowledge of the field of anesthesiology, Cassella creates an original and compelling plot: a child dies in the middle of surgery and all fingers point to the one most responsible for keeping her alive -- the anesthesiologist.

For this reader, the mystery is not in the who- that is obvious as the stage for the disaster is set. The mystery is how the truth will be revealed. The book rolls out from the child's death during a routine operation through the months it takes to mount a malpractice suit against the doctor, Marie Heaton, and the hospital, which promises to stand behind her. Cassella deftly constructs an agonizing drama as Marie lives her weeks of personal torment, waiting helplessly for attorneys and administrators to decide her fate.

Cassella writes Marie's voice so clearly- you believe how this woman moves, behaves and reacts. Her emotions and motivations ring true- you walk in her shoes, body weary from a 24 hr shift, your heart pounds with every phone call, your hands shake as Marie tears open the autopsy report that may exonerate her from the little girl's death. Secondary characters are fully-realized as well; even walk-on roles are detailed enough to pivot the mood of the narrative.

I'm always on guard with books set in my backyard, looking for the slightest detail out of whack. Cassella nails Seattle, right down to the orientation of light on a rooftop, the playground that's across the street from Queen Anne High School Condominiums, the dim, smoky interior of Larry's Bar in Pioneer Square (the book is set prior to 2006, before Seattle's ban on smoking in eating establishments and before Larry's was closed after a New Year's Eve murder). First Lutheran Hospital is so clearly Swedish Hospital. I can see its hallways and even an operating theater, where I have gained a great appreciation for the skills of anesthesiologists in recent years.

Cassella includes a family drama, involving Marie's elderly father. He lives alone in Fort Worth and his declining health has forced a critical decision point for Marie and her sister, a Houston stay-at-home mom of three. Marie's leave from the hospital allows her time to confront her father's needs and their confused relationship. It also gives her time to consider her own lonely state and the promise of love with a trusted friend.

I'm pleased to be so pleased with a novel that, if you strip it down, is a formulaic fiction. An inciting incident leads the protagonist into crisis, sub-plots introduce characters to provide protagonist with depth and backstory, a false resolution notches up the crisis, a plot twist changes the game minutes before the end. But it works. It works because Casella's characters are real and earn your empathy, it works because the subject matter is both original and to-the-moment relevant, it works because of the author's terrific sense of pacing and attention to detail. Three cheers for the home team! This is a Northwest writer I'll be keeping an eye on.
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Jun 23, 2011 Helynne rated it 4 of 5 stars

Author Carol Cassella is an anesthesiologist herself, and it is obvious she is intricately aware of the physiological, psychological and legal aspects involved in what must be the one of the riskiest of all specialized profession in terms of looking out for the fragility of human life.. But she is also a gifted writer who eloquently gets into the mind of her alter-ego Dr. Marie Heaton, a dedicated anesthesiologist at a Seattle hospital, and all the emotions that go through her heart and mind aft...more Author Carol Cassella is an anesthesiologist herself, and it is obvious she is intricately aware of the physiological, psychological and legal aspects involved in what must be the one of the riskiest of all specialized profession in terms of looking out for the fragility of human life.. But she is also a gifted writer who eloquently gets into the mind of her alter-ego Dr. Marie Heaton, a dedicated anesthesiologist at a Seattle hospital, and all the emotions that go through her heart and mind after she loses a young patient on the operating table and faces a bewildering malpractice suit. Here is an example of her style:
“My mind separates itself from my body. I enter some hyperfunctioning realm where I race forward in emergency protocols, calling for backup help, telling Stevenson we have to stop the surgery, turn her over . . . She is dying. My God, this child is dying I can feel blood rush into my face, the team watches me, waits for me to pull off a miracle, all of us teeter on the brink of realizing that Jolene has already been starved of oxygen for so long nothing of her former self will survive.” (28).
Marie is surrounded by supportive medical staff, but the legal counsel has some and shocks for her. In addition, she must cope with a fellow anesthesiologist and former lover who is coming back into her personal life as well as her aging father with failing eyesight with whom she has always had a strained relationship. “My father, this widowed scholar, who has always, always kept his mind so locked up from me; who has never, as far as I can recall, bothered to ask me why I, the daughter of a history professor, would prefer the calculations of chemistry and pharmacology, would choose a professor where mathematical models were applied to comprehend the human condition. He has never asked why I would choose to find my answers in the objective manipulation of facts and formulas instead of his own endless parsing of the garmented scraps left by doomed populations groping to find godly design in random famines and plagues” (218).
Ultimately, Marie resolves her multiple dilemmas as the story takes some unusual twists and turns. This is not only an eloquently written story, but also an eye-opener to all of us non-medical folk (who should be grateful that whatever we do, we will never be in the delicate and potentially lethal position that many physicians find themselves on a daily basis).

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Jan 29, 2010 JoAnn/QuAppelle rated it 3 of 5 stars

This was interesting material but I thought the book was just okay. Too many words at many points in the book, too many times when the narrator just went on and on and on....and then the ending seemed hurried.

I really got annoyed with reading, over and over, about how guilty Marie felt and also about her moping around. The dreariness of her everyday life and the too-long descriptions of her angst were just too much and did nothing to advance the story. Enough already!

I found myself getting ann...more

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Mar 07, 2012 Sunflower rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction-read-2012, usa

This book was clearly written by someone who has practised medicine. Cassella says that it is not autobiographical, but that Marie's thoughts about anaesthesia "closely reflect" her own, and that she has "lifted examples out of her working life" in describing scenes around everyday hospital practice.
She almost had me with the statement "I have forgotten what it was like to be ignorant of the telltale clues that failing internal organs and multiplying infectious organisms surreptitiously display...more

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Apr 03, 2011 Sarah rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: own, mystery-suspense

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Mar 08, 2010 Elizabeth *Swords for Fighting* rated it 5 of 5 stars

was a little weary when I first picked up Oxygen. A story about an anesthesiologist? Definitely not my usual read, but I was pleasantly surprised. Oxygen was a great read! It reminded me of a hospital drama television show like Grey's Anatomy. The reader can most certainly tell that a doctor wrote this book. The medical terminology, equipment, procedures, and anything else medical related seemed extremely accurate and realistic to me.

Marie is an anesthesiologist who has a young child die on th...more

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Jan 18, 2010 Katy Major rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010, highland-library, light, fiction

Every reader knows that the amount of enjoyment that one gets out of a book often depends not only on the book, but the situation in which the book is read. This is why many a paperback romance is consumed on the beach, why volumes of short stories sit on the backs of toilets.

One of my best friends died on December 30, at the age of seventeen. Getting my head around this and dealing with it were one thing. The weeks following the funeral, when everybody slowly forgot about what had happened and...more

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Feb 01, 2009 Laine rated it 3 of 5 stars

At first I wondered why I was even reading this book. It seemed to be about another supremely narcissistic doctor moaning about unpaid medical school loans while living in a downtown loft with beautiful skylines. Or caterwauling about the lack of spouse/child fully expecting to be able to order said spouse/child in the mid to late thirties in the way the rest of us would order a turkey for Thanksgiving. Oh god. The stress of being in one of the most elite professions ever, with concurrent high s...more

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May 12, 2011 Antof9 rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011-read, couldn-t-put-it-down, courtly, fathers, liberry, made-me-cry, mysterious, upsetting, yes-another-book-club, first-novel

This book had me intrigued at page 2, and I wasn't happy when I had to put it down for interruptions. The technical medical parts I found fascinating, with enough explanation for me to believe even if I didn't necessarily understand them. Not only is it a really interesting medical "mystery", so to speak, but I thought it was very well written.

I really liked this passage. Even though I'm not a doctor, my mom taught me these things, too:

I'm sure my mother never suspected she was raising a doctor.

...more This book had me intrigued at page 2, and I wasn't happy when I had to put it down for interruptions. The technical medical parts I found fascinating, with enough explanation for me to believe even if I didn't necessarily understand them. Not only is it a really interesting medical "mystery", so to speak, but I thought it was very well written.

I really liked this passage. Even though I'm not a doctor, my mom taught me these things, too:

I'm sure my mother never suspected she was raising a doctor. Female doctors were rare in her world. She taught me the things she believed I would need in my life: how to sew a bias-cut tie as a gift for my father one Christmas -- a wide garishly flowered thing he wore once out of courtesy; how to separate the white from the yolk when making meringues, slithering the contents of the raw egg from half shell to half shell until the golden center swam naked in its clear membrane; how to pluck my eyebrows, put on a bra and pull sheer stockings up my legs without snagging the interlaced filaments.

I like the way the author periodically reminds us that Marie is a doctor. Not overtly, and it doesn't seem forced -- it's just the way the doctor's mind sees the world versus how the rest of the world sees itself. Things like this: "Lia crouches in the way of little girls, heels flat against the ground, knees accordioned against her chest, a flexibility granted before the pelvis wings open for childbearing." We know exactly what Lia is doing, and any one of us could have written the first two phrases. Only a medical professional would have even thought to write the rest. Another example: "As he leans forward to take a bite I watch the throb of his temporal artery snaking across his brow and wonder what his blood pressure is." I've often wondered if medical professionals see things like that ... and now I know they do!

I was going to say that part of why this book is so well written is the inter-weaving of the sister relationship, but then I was thinking that what I wanted to quote next was actually good life advice, and I just liked the way it was written. Anyway, I liked this passage Lori is asking her sister about the men in her life:

I raise my head up. "Do I have to pay for this analysis? Come on, I'm not that bad. I'm just busy. I have a great home, good income. No dirty socks or underwear to pick up."

"Picking up dirty socks and underwear gives you humility, a fine attribute and a valuable tool for personal growth, I find. Besides men can learn to pick up socks if you're patient with them."

And then there's a mini-reconciliation between father and daughter. I think this is just beautiful. "And being able to share such an honest fact relaxes some of the strain between us. My mother's love for both of us still has power." (emphasis mine)

I don't want to say much else for fear of spoilers, but this book wasn't what I expected, and it was much more than I expected. I recommend it to anyone, regardless of interest in things medical. Certainly it revolves around that, but it's so much more, and so well written that I think most readers will be pleasantly surprised by how good it is.

Also, it was brilliant to have the advice Marie gave to her niece come full circle. Even better? The author didn't point out to us what she had done. She just wrote it. If you caught it, you caught it. If not, oh well. Either way, I loved it.(less)

1 like · like · see review

May 30, 2012 bonny rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

I consider myself lucky to have stumbled upon this book in the very tiny library near our vacation spot in Lincoln, MT. The rainy, snowy, cold weather wasn't very conducive to the vacation I had imagined, but it certainly provided a lot of reading time, and Oxygen was the best of the bunch. Carol Cassella combined everything I love in a good novel - an interesting story about a compelling main character, accurate and informative biologic and medical information, along with lyrically lovely writi...more

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Sep 05, 2010 Diane rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: general-fiction

This book had me hooked from the first several pages. The author begins with a really beautiful description of the fragility of life as a patient lies on the operating table, and the fine line an aesthesiology walks to keep the patient alive. The description was chilling, and thought provoking.

A doctor who has devoted her life to her career, and truly cares about her patients, is devastated when an 8 year old girl dies on her operating table, and her role in it comes under scrutiny. She is consu...more

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About Carol Cassella

Carol Cassella, M.D. is a practicing physician and national bestselling author of two novels, Oxygen (2008) and Healer (2010), both published by Simon & Schuster and translated into more than a dozen languages. She majored in English Literature at Duke University and attended Baylor College of Medicine. Carol is board certified in both internal medicine and anesthesiology, and practiced primar...more

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“Some things don't ever get settled. You just make a place for them. Learn to let them sit there with you, side by side with the good. (244)” — 4 people liked it

“Tears of grief are unique. They contain chemicals that aren't found in the more mundane droplets of moisture that bathe the eyes, as if our tears wash us free of some noxious cause of sorrow.” — 3 people liked it

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