Cutting Out: The Making and Unmaking of a Surgeon

by James K. Weber M.D.

It takes a lot of courage to walk away from a successful surgical career to become a yoga teacher. Especially after all the years of highly competitive schooling, followed by the mental, emotional, and physical stresses of surgical training.

James K. Weber, however, took that huge leap—and along the way, he scored a third chance to make it right with the love of his life.

It wasn’t until after several heart attacks that a plan to leave the profession took hold.

He came to think of his heart attacks as the key to improved health—something that would propel him to strike off on a new path.

In this memoir, he recalls how he made such a huge decision. As you read his story, you won’t be able to help but reflect on the critical decisions that you’ve made or deferred at the crossroads of your own life.

Eminently readable and filled with anecdotes, reflections, pathos, and humor, this is an autobiography unlike any other—a testimony to the hardiness of the human spirit.

334 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 17, 2023

Reviews

[Santina Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cutting Out

Thoroughly enjoyable read of the wonderful doctor I know. Read it in two sittings with laughter and tears. An incredible transformation in a life from stress and activity to joy, peace, and love. Thank you for sharing.

[The DO]

For many of us of a certain age and specialty, a seminal book in our development was William Nolen’s, “The Making of a Surgeon,” published in 1970. I read it in high school, and if I said it didn’t ultimately influence my career choice, I’d be lying. So, Dr. Weber had me at the subtitle.

Reading this book was a bit of a crossover event for me—kind of like those intertwined TV shows like Chicago Med/Fire/PD or Law & Order episodes. I learned about the book from Dr. Weber himself after he read a repost of one of my retirement columns in The DO. But this isn’t really a book about surgery or retirement or, in my opinion, about an unmaking. It’s a story about the remaking of an accomplished practitioner by his own choice and by his own hand.

Read our entire review and see more book club selections on The DO!

[Phillip · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 / 5.0

Raises a lot of questions.

Witty and conversational