This book is actually two in one, and the two are very different, tied together with a common thread of life itself. Book 1 is a harrowing tale of survival, from the introspective and humble POV of the author, whose story clearly takes him from his previous young incarnation and transports him to a new life in a crazily terrible way. Book 2 is a doctor-on-his-rounds subjective and aggrandizing testimonial from the POV of his patients in his new incarnation. I appreciate both genres separately, and it's interesting to have them fused together. I took certain things out of the combined book, and others will have their reactions as well. The first half of the book spoke more to me, however, but I suspect others will have their own experience comparing the halves. It's all worth it, however, for page 137, when his father learns he's alive. It had powerful Jacob-meets-Joseph human drama overtones. Obviously, I now must read Alive.