Comfort Always: Healing in the Age of Technology - Hardcover

by Alan R. MD Cohen (Author)

A pediatric neurosurgeon's affecting memoir about celebrating life, postponing death, and resurrecting the forgotten art of healing.

Advance Praise for Comfort Always

"An inspirational medical memoir about the forgotten art of healing. Comfort Always will make you laugh, cry and marvel at the resilience of families facing the crisis of their lives." --Sanjay Gupta, MD, CNN chief medical correspondent

"Extraordinary stories about one of the most demanding fields of medicine--and much wisdom." --Dr. Henry Marsh, CBE, FRCS British neurosurgeon and bestselling author of Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death and Brain Surgery

"A marvelous picture of the life of a pediatric neurosurgeon, his patients, and their families." --Jerome Groopman, MD, Recanati professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and bestselling author of How Doctors Think

"Cohen's stories describing both medical miracles and tragedies are so engaging, and his humanity shines through each one of them." --David Sandberg, MD, emeritus professor and chief of pediatric neurosurgery at McGovern Medical School and bestselling author of Brain and Heart: The Triumphs and Struggles of a Pediatric Neurosurgeon

"With authenticity and humility, one of the country's most prominent surgeons opens a world that few have the fortitude to tread." --Allan H. Ropper, MD, professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School and bestselling author of Reaching Down the Rabbit Hole and How the Brain Lost Its Mind

"Sprinkling each story with humor, history, and a deep reverence for his patients and their parents, Big Al allows us a glimpse into a lifetime of lifesaving, and the massive heart of a man who is a treasure in our field." --Jay Wellons, MD, professor of neurological surgery at Vanderbilt University and author of All That Moves Us: A Pediatric Neurosurgeon, His Young Patients, and Their Stories of Grace and Resilience

Author Biography

Alan R. Cohen, MD, graduated summa cum laude from Harvard University, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He obtained his medical degree from Cornell Medical College and currently serves as chief of pediatric neurosurgery and professor of neurosurgery, oncology and pediatrics at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Previously, he was neurosurgeon-in-chief and chairman of the department of neurosurgery at Boston Children's Hospital and the Franc D. Ingraham professor of neurological surgery at Harvard Medical School.

He was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society, gave the Great Teachers Lecture on "The Art of Neurosurgery" at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and served as honored guest at the 2017 Annual Meeting of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons.

His bibliography includes over 260 journals, chapters, book publications, and over 350 national and international presentations.

His non-medical interests include music and sleight of hand. In 1974, he enjoyed an apprenticeship with The Great Slydini in New York City.