The Measure of Our DaysJerome Groopman. New York: Viking, 1997. 238 pp. $23.95. ISBN 0-670-87570-8

Extract

The Measure of Our Days is a series of eight case histories about patients with cancer or AIDS written from the viewpoint of a laboratory scientist, Jerome Groopman, who spent a small but important segment of his time caring for the seriously ill. Groopman developed caring relationships with his patients by listening to their stories. His passionate caring emanated from a well-nurtured soul, tenderly cultivated by loving parents and energized by a highly intelligent and creative spirit.

But The Measure of Our Days is as much about the author as his patients. It is most vivid and most touching when it describes his own illness and the illnesses of his parents, his close friend, and his research associate. Indeed, the other stories, which stress clinical detail, do not add substantially to his otherwise powerful message about the value of shared contributions to a caring relationship.

I could not be certain what audience he intended to reach. He used metaphors that seemed to be intended for a lay readership, such as the attribution of emotions, endeavors, and attitudes to organisms and cells. But some of the clinical details, although eloquently described, were at a level more likely to be of interest to a much narrower readership.