I’ve seen the end of you, by W. Lee Warren, M.D. is a stirring narrative, somewhat morbid yet very engaging. In this memoir book, Dr Warren tells us of some of his glioblastoma patients, which is in and of itself quite an emotionally demanding read. Alongside (or, rather, underneath) these stories, is the narrative of how he managed to re-engage with his faith despite all the pain he encounters.
Dr Warren has to face an intrinsic dilemma: how can he believe in the power of prayer, how can he have faith, when he has to face the irreversible death sentence of a brain tumour diagnosis? As he introduces each case, creating a window into the lives of these people on the brink of destruction, he presents repeated instances of spiritual struggle. How can God be merciful, how can he claim to be listening, if all those good people have no hope of survival?
Eventually, as he has to deal with personal loss, will he remain strong in his faith, or will he succumb to the anguish?
The author is unapologetic in his agenda, clearly stating what this tome is about from the onset, and dedicating a whole section at the end to expound on it: what Christian faith is, how the power of prayer works, and why they are valuable to our lives.

Who would enjoy this
This is a book for many types of readers.
If you are a reader who is struggling with the role of faith in your life, this might be useful to you. This is also a work for those who are interested in the more humane aspects of medical care. Above all, this is a book for mature readers, who will be able to understand and identify the different life struggles and stages the stories bring forth.

Who should give this a pass
If you are a reader who gets very emotionally invested in the story, this memoir might be a bit too demanding for you. Similarly, if you have recently suffered a bereavement, I would let a while pass before taking up this book. Most of all, if you don’t like being preached to, give this work a wide berth. As I explained above, the author makes a concerted effort to openly explore his Christian agenda.

Conclusions and suggestions
I found Dr Warren’s tales engaging and easy to read, as far as the narrative goes. On the other hand, the whole process was also quite hard, as it brought back all sorts of hidden personal demons. I must admit, it also made me feel slightly conflicted, as I stood morbidly observing the pain in others’ lives, like some sort of literary vulture. Still, it was engaging and I would have enjoyed reading about more cases, all of which were caringly presented.
It consequently left me uncertain how to approach the critique of this book, as well as somewhat guilty for not caring half as much for the religious aspect of the whole endeavour as I did for the stories of the patients. It became somewhat of a ‘broken record’ when the soul searching popped up, case after case. In fact, it left me quite jaded for the final section of the book, when Dr Warren explores in a more pseudo-theological fashion the presence of faith in life. Somehow, despite the whole build up to his epiphany, it felt rushed, as though an appendix to the book.
I applaud the work for its conviction, as it’s never easy to really explore one’s beliefs when one fears to find them lacking. I also admire the author’s self-awareness of his skill and need for a goal beyond prurient storytelling. Sadly, I could not find a strong sense of enlightenment in Dr Warren’s work.

This book is about a neurosurgeon's struggle with faith while dealing with brain cancer patients who have a short life expectancy. While learning more about aggressive forms of brain cancer, you get a look at how medical staff try to reconcile their science/ just the facts side with a belief in things they cannot explain and acceptance of limited control on life.

If you want pat answers, smug affirmations, and “oh, it’s just God’s plan”, don’t read this book. But, if you want to be challenged to dig deeper and think about your life, purpose, and faith then this book by W. Lee Warren, M.D. is the BEST. Plus, it’s an all-around great read with plenty of medical mysteries, ER nightmares, and the patients and families who see their lives upended.

The book is subtitled “A Neurosurgeon’s Look at Faith, Doubt, and the Things We Think We Know”. And that sums it up for all of, doesn’t it? Why do bad things happen to us- we’re good! Why pray if your disease is close to 100% terminal? Why would God let a child suffer and die?

Part of the book focuses on Dr. Warren’s neurosurgical practice, and in particular his patients with brain cancer. That’s where the title of his book comes in. We meet a variety of patients- among them, several young Christian men with families, a young man who most would consider a failure, a young woman who must make an impossible decision, and an older woman who has known much pain and suffering. The medical part of the book is clear, exciting and compelling.

According to his Amazon bio, the author loves to make connections between faith, science, and the realities of life. Dr. Warren likes to dig deep and he had to reconsider everything after a personal tragedy in his own family. This book will encourage you to examine your own purpose and plan. What resonated with me were his discussions about God’s promises- either all His promises are true, or none of them are. I also liked his thinking about life being a Hobson’s choice- either you accept life with all its beauty and pain, or you don’t accept life at all. I’m sure as you read this book, you will be doing a lot of thinking yourself! And you will want to discuss it with others!

I’ve been recommending this book to all my friends. Thanks to NetGalley and WaterBrook & Multnomah for a digital advanced review copy. This is my honest review.

A fascinatingly sad yet thought provoking book. The book jumped between the medical cases of the author, a brilliant neurosurgeon who specializes in glioblastoma tumors, and his personal relationship with his family and god. The author is amazingly humble and reflective given his expertise. Often I found the writing of non literary professionals, who write on the side, to be lacking, but I found this author’s writing style strong and he has the special knack to be able to make complex medical terminology understandable for non-medical readers. It’s a sad book and it would be very difficult to read if you have lost a love one to this horrible disease. This book is a combination of medical and Christian literature; as much about faith as medicine.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

A fascinating book written by a neurosurgeon. How to survive the unthinkable, how to make sense of tragedy when science and faith may pull us in opposite directions. Thoroughly enjoyable read, highly recommend.

Although I am not a religious person this memoir gave me lots to think about which I think would please Dr Warren. The stories demonstrate that how we deal with the worst possible news can enhance or destroy not only the rest of our lives but also that of our family and friends and that we have the ability to choose our reactions wisely.

A very thought provoking book and one I would recommend to all - tragedy can and does strike everyone at some time and while we may not all have faith in God, we all can have faith in ourselves to deal with what can seem insurmountable.

"I've Seen the End of You" is a story of a neurosurgeon (who is also a former combat surgeon) and his doubts, and faith. He is not just a surgeon that deals with minor issues, he has to face one of the worst types of cancer - glioblastoma multiforme. This beast has no cure, today doctors do not know what causes it, there is no trend or path, or pattern of causes, it just happens. Doctors see only an extremely small percent of people surviving it long term, and even then they do not have any influence over it. No wonder that Dr.Warren had such strong doubts and questions about his faith. He shares some of his patients' stories with us, and only one of them survived. I am glad that at least one patient made it, and this book has at least a ray of hope.

This book is very refreshingly raw, it gives a glimpse of what goes through a doctor's mind when he speaks with patients, what he feels when things do not go as expected, and when something really bad happens in their own life. There is no sugar coating, rehearsed phrases, plastic smiles for a change, there is the life the way it is. It would be helpful not only to those who go through hard times, but also for everyone to be aware, educated, and sensitive to others.

This is a book about a Christian neurosurgeon and his battle with his faith. I am not at all a religious person, but in spite of that this book was very impactful. I will not forget it for a long time.

Why do bad things happen to good people? That is one of the main themes of this book. With many stories of his patients (made-up names, of course) and the horrible things they and their families have to go through, I finished this book feeling very grateful for my own and my family's health, but also a little bit terrified of glioblastoma. I had to make myself better by researching glioblastoma rates and finding that they are indeed very low (3 in 100,000).

Then the author has his own terrible personal tragedy, one of the many, many times I cried while reading this book.

* Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a free ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Amazing read, written by someone in the medical field and a must read for medical professionals. Really enjoyed this book!

“I’ve Seen the End of You: A Neurosurgeon’s Look at Faith, Doubt, and the Things We Think We Know,” by W. Lee Warren M.D. is a heart-rending book. Part, memoir, part odyssey, “I’ve Seen the End of You,” follows the lives and deaths of Dr. Warren’s patients. Dr. Warren shares the deep struggle he has faced countless times as a man of science and a man of deep faith. Why do we pray for people who, medically speaking, don’t have a chance? How do we continue to worship God, when our lives are falling apart and we are in the depths of grief?

For me, reading “I’ve Seen the End of You,” was difficult, yet essential. Many times, I set it down to cry and ponder the honesty of Dr. Warren’s questions. The answers to his questions came to him over time; hard-earned wisdom accrued by great personal loss. He doesn’t give platitudes that are of no use to anyone. He gives the raw truth and with it he gives hope. One question that was posed to Dr. Warren stopped me cold. “You think your prayers are only valid if the outcome is what you want?” Wow! That’s a perspective changer!

Although this book is non-fiction, it has been written with the skill of a fiction writer, pulling you through the tapestry on the thread of Dr. Warren’s life and work. It is amazing how the lives of his patients affected him, personally, and how he changed their lives.

I also found the behind the scenes peek into a doctor’s life in, “I’ve Seen the End of You,” fascinating. My husband had stage IV lung cancer for 6 ½ years before he died and we often wondered how doctors do it. How do they shut it all off when they go home at night? Do they think about the patient they have just diagnosed with a terminal illness? I often wonder about the first doctor who looked at me and said, “I can’t tell you exactly what it is, but I can tell you that it’s serious.”

I recommend “I’ve Seen the End of You” to anyone. It will especially appeal to people living with cancer, people in grief, and those who grapple with issues of faith. Right now it’s available for preorder. Grab your copy now! It will be released on January 7, 2020.

I give “I’ve Seen the End of You” 5 big Stars!

Thank you to WaterBrook & Multnomah and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this “I’ve Seen the End of You” in exchange for an honest review.”

A book by a brain surgeon which I found interesting but also sometimes longwinded. When my ‘editor’ hat interfered with my reading of it, I felt less engaged and started to skim.

Although I would have enjoyed it had it been more condensed, I still appreciated this doctor’s look at faith and questions and doubt amid the amazing work he does as a brain surgeon. Has he really ‘seen the end of’ the patients whom he has to diagnose with a glioblastoma?

Worth reading with my proviso above.

An outstanding and unforgettable book. A book on hope, loss of hope, faith, life and death. It is such an honest and raw memoir of Doctor W. Lee Warren, a neurosurgeon, that will take your breath away . I highly suggest it for people in grief especially if they are in the stage where they question their faith in God. Although the whole book is very powerful, the last chapters are remarkable.

A personal note to the author's wife, Lisa: Thank you for insisting that he should write this book. Your journey as individuals and as couple through the darkness of grief towards the light has given me the courage to face my crisis in my faith as no other book has done until now.

I had the privilege of reviewing this as an Advanced Review Copy.

I've Seen the End of You is a memoir-esque book by Dr. W. Lee Warren. Warren is an accomplished neurosurgeon who also spent time in Iraq as a combat surgeon. Through the stories of patients like Samuel and Joey, Warren tells the story of his struggle with faith as he fights to help patients battle one of the deadliest forms of brain cancer.

Since Warren's characters are likely both stories of individuals and composites of a variety of patients, I was truly impressed by his character development. I'm sure that some of the stories are truly just snippets of their actual lives and some is a composite of the lives of a few people from similar instances. Warren developed stories of a rich set of individuals who helped you see this disease from a variety of different angles. He does a great job of describing the individuals in his world in a way that makes it possible to picture and visualize them.

The book is not a light read in a few ways - and please know that I characterize books I both love and hate as heavy reads and I'd say I'm much more in the like this book camp. First, because the individuals do develop a depth and reality to them and you know that they represent the lives of real people there is heartbreak throughout the book. Second, the book does not have a clear throughline. This is probably my strongest critique of the writing. The book does have a throughline but it is a bit rambling and lacks a tightness to the writing that I prefer.

This book is a good book for people in grief who are sick of hearing the pat answers and responses that many Christians give in grief. I also truly appreciate how this book characterizes grief as something we, as a society, do not give people time for. I grew a great deal in my own thought process about grief and grieving as a result of reading this book.

The book throws little surprises that keep it even more captivating. The real life struggle Dr. Warren shares is life altering and life improving. The medical jargon can be a bit intense but does not detract from the real meaning of what is applicable to the bottom line about life with faith in the world of Science.
It is an engaging read and read it in two days easily due to the application of what Dr. Warren shares and yet spaces of reading are needed to internalize the lessons and how that may be a change of prism you see your world. Excellent read.

Thank you to the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

'The most important surgery I would ever perform would be the stitching together of my faith, my doubt, and the things I thought I knew.'

'I have learned that doubt is not the enemy of faith. The enemy of faith is often the things we think we know.'

I found this memoir (for want of a better category) compelling, fascinating, and moving. Warren first takes us into the world of neurosurgery and brain tumours with clarity and honesty, and then begins to unravel how working with patients of incurable cancers has affected his faith.

The brutal honesty with which he explains his doubts and frustrations in his faith journey was extremely refreshing, although I imagine a good number of those reading this who don't have a religious faith will find this part of the narrative difficult to grasp.

I tore through it, however, and was particularly moved by the story of Rupert Chang. It could easily join the core list of grief reading for Christians but the clinical side of the book is also fascinating to a layperson.

It feels wrong to use a word like 'enjoy' about so serious a topic, but I was really engaged by the subject matter, writing style, and genuine compassion of the writer.

Echoing the beautiful and heart-wrenching sentiment of Paul Kalanithi’s When Breath Becomes Air, I’ve Seen the End of You by W. Lee Warren digs deep into faith, hope, doubt, and life’s most harrowing struggles of loss. Inspiring, eye-opening and a promising testimony to truly live well in the midst of life’s most anguishing moments.

I LOVED this book. I found the author's writing quite compelling and the book and a good pace with a mix of self reflection and stories of patients. While the author went through some truly awful life experiences I found it encouraging how they shaped his faith. I will also say I picked this up as someone who is not religious in the traditional sense and found the references to Christianity weren't off putting at all. For me I was able to find the comparisons towards my own questioning of the universe (if not got) and making sense of things that seem wholy unfair. Would recommend!