Reviews

 Book launch: Life, Death and Love in a Hospital

The complexities of life in a crumbling hospital have been captured in Admissions; Tales of life, death and love in a hospital not far from here, the first work of fiction by former obstetrician gynaecologist Dr Mira Harrison.

The book – which charts the stories of eight women who work as doctors, nurses, cooks and cleaners to keep a struggling institution operational – was launched at Dunedin Public Hospital’s Barnett lecture theatre in December.

Dr Harrison says she drew on her own experiences working in hospitals in the UK and New Zealand to create these fictional tales, and early reviews by friends and colleagues suggested she had hit upon some important themes.

“A nurse - who had worked as a theatre sister for thirty years - said she felt she knew every character in Admissions; a pathologist commented that she knew these intimate stories were truthful; and others told me their own personal stories reflected the experiences of the eight women in this book.”

New Zealand Child and Youth Epidemiology Service Director Dr Mavis Duncanson introduced the book at the launch, and commended Dr Harrison on identifying how, though only part of the healthcare system, hospitals are places characterised by complex “interactive interpersonal system[s].”

“Mira’s work clearly articulates how important women are to the functioning of this complex organism. A key theme is the way women are constantly required to negotiate and juggle the ever present, and ever changing, balance between professional and private lives. Mira brings to this work her astute observational skills and knowledge of our common humanity and shared experiences, as women and as health professionals.

“I was enthralled at the way Admissions captured the breadth and depth of life within and around the institution of a hospital,” she said.

While she has written two medical books (Medicines for Women and An Introduction to Pharmacovigilance) Dr Harrison says she loves writing fiction best and has plans to write more stories in future.

 Pulse Magazine, University of Otago, January/February 2019