Katrina Firlik is a neurosurgeon, one of only two hundred or so women among the alpha males who dominate this high-pressure, high-prestige profession. She is also a superbly gifted writer--witty, insightful, at once deeply humane and refreshingly wry. Dr. Firlik draws on this rare combination to create a unique memoir of her compelling experiences.From OR theatrics to thorny ethical questions, from the surprisingly primitive tools in a neurosurgeon's kit to glimpses of future techniques like the "brainlift," Firlik cracks open medicine's most distinguished and secretive specialty. Candid, smart, clear-eyed, and showcasing vivid portrayals of Firlik's most memorable cases, Another Day in the Frontal Lobe is a mesmerizing glimpse into a world of incredible competition and incalculable rewards.

Katrina Firlik is a neurosurgeon, one of only two hundred or so women among the alpha males who dominate this high-pressure, high-prestige medical specialty. She is also a superbly gifted writer–witty, insightful, at once deeply humane and refreshingly wry. In Another Day in the Frontal Lobe, Dr. Firlik draws on this rare combination to create a neurosurgeon's Kitchen Confidential–a unique insider's memoir of a fascinating profession.

Neurosurgeons are renowned for their big egos and aggressive self-confidence, and Dr. Firlik confirms that timidity is indeed rare in the field. “They're the kids who never lost at musical chairs,” she writes. A brain surgeon is not only a highly trained scientist and clinician but also a mechanic who of necessity develops an intimate, hands-on familiarity with the gray matter inside our skulls. It's the balance between cutting-edge medical technology and manual dexterity, between instinct and expertise, that Firlik finds so appealing–and so difficult to master.

Firlik recounts how her background as a surgeon's daughter with a strong stomach and a keen interest in the brain led her to this rarefied specialty, and she describes her challenging, atypical trek from medical student to fully qualified surgeon. Among Firlik's more memorable cases: a young roofer who walked into the hospital with a three-inch-long barbed nail driven into his forehead, the result of an accident with his partner's nail gun, and a sweet little seven-year-old boy whose untreated earache had become a raging, potentially fatal infection of the brain lining.

From OR theatrics to thorny ethical questions, from the surprisingly primitive tools in a neurosurgeon's kit to glimpses of future techniques like the “brain lift,” Firlik cracks open medicine's most prestigious and secretive specialty. Candid, smart, clear-eyed, and unfailingly engaging, Another Day in the Frontal Lobe is a mesmerizing behind-the-scenes glimpse into a world of incredible competition and incalculable rewards.

1.Scientist and Mechanic

2.Small World

3.Influences

4.Acceptance

5.Cuhure

6.Routine

7.Evolution Through Blood

8.Tools

9.Risk

10.Emotion

11.Disturbing Deviations

12.Slices

13.Fragments

14.Controlled Trauma

15.Traces of Thought

16.FoCUS

17.Chief Concerns

18.Endings

19.Confronting Age

20.Brainlifts

Acknowledgments

Notes