This book was exactly what I needed to read as I made a change in my medical career. The authors prose and her reflections I found to be spot on and I enjoyed this collection!

This book wasn't what I expected it to be at all. I normally love reading medical memoirs so jumped at the chance to read this one but found it to be very bland. It felt very middle class, middle age, and uninspired. There were some good parts, namely the stories about the patients she had worked with but they were dragged down by the author's reminiscent ramblings about herself and was quite repetitive.
Unfortunately I just didn't enjoy this book as much as I was hoping to.

Letter to a Young Female Physician by Suzanne Koven is a memoir of her life as a wife, mother, doctors and so many different hats that women wear throughout their life. It is a bold description of what life is like from hardships to humor that happens to us as we evolve throughout life. I would recommend this book as it is powerful rendition of what life is like.
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book for an honest review of this book.

I had high expectations for this memoir about the experiences of a female doctor. I'd best describe it as uneven. Some of Koven's descriptions regarding patient care and her family situations were excellent and engaging. Others, however, got bogged down in too much superfluous detail. I think my enjoyment was hampered by the non linear timeline. Though she generally wrote sequentially she sometimes jumped back and forth. Some of her points, especially her stories of her aging parents, seemed repetitive. I thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book, unfortunately I wasn’t able to get to it before it was archived but will review in full when I do.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

In 2017, Dr. Suzanne Koven published an essay describing the challenges faced by female physicians, including her own personal struggle with "imposter syndrome"—a long-held secret belief that she was not smart enough or good enough to be a “real” doctor. Accessed by thousands of readers around the world, Koven’s “Letter to a Young Female Physician” has evolved into a deeply felt reflection on her career in medicine.

Koven tells candid and illuminating stories about her pregnancy during a grueling residency in the AIDS era; the illnesses of her child and aging parents during which her roles as a doctor, mother, and daughter converged, and sometimes collided; the sexism, pay inequity, and harassment that women in medicine encounter; and the twilight of her career during the COVID-19 pandemic. As she traces the arc of her life, Koven finds inspiration in literature and faces the near-universal challenges of burnout, body image, and balancing work with marriage and parenthood.



This was a beautifully written, personal essay that highlighted some critical issues in the medical field. As a Psychologist I can relate to some of what is being discussed and felt that Koven went about this in a sensitive and thoughtful way. Memoir’s are not something that I am typically interested in, however, was drawn to this one and found it unexpectedly delightful. For me, this highlighted the human behind the physician and led me to reflect on my experiences with my own doctors. I would highly recommend this book.



As always a massive thank you to #netgalley and #WWNorton&Company for providing me with a review copy of this beautiful book

As an aspiring female physician myself, this book gave me the strength to continue my aspiration. Koven is the ideal role model for all young female medics, and I encourage everyone interested in medicine to read this book. She offers a holistic view of patient care and embodies the "treat the patient, not the chart" philosophy.

This was a very thoughtful examination of the events and pressures in a female doctor's life as she progressed through medical school, residency and family and career, and how the rest of her life with her parents, husband and children intersected with her career as a doctor. It was well written and an enjoyable read.
Thanks to NetGalley for this advance review copy.

My thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to review this book.
The memoir itself wasn’t so much about her role as a physician but the journey taken. It would be a advantageous read for anyone thinking about a career in medicine because it highlights that for many it doesn’t matter how far you have progressed the feeling of inadequacy isn’t far behind.
She see’s her patients as people not as medical models and like the majority of those of us working in a medical role finds time spent with the patient is sadly lacking.
This added to her own personal story it was a worthwhile read. It may be a little tedious in parts with medical quotes and references but that may only benefit those who are perhaps using this book as a study aid.

“Your training and sense of purpose will serve you well. Your humanity will serve your patients even better.”

Although each essay in this book can be read separately, together they paint a picture of Suzanne Koven’s life, from her childhood recollections of her father’s orthopedic practice and always choosing to be the doctor during childhood games of Careers to her own residency and eventually her work as a doctor. Throughout, the reader witnesses Suzanne struggling to maintain a work-life balance, parenting her children, caring for her ageing parents and figuring out how to be the best doctor she can be for her patients.

“I find my patients much more interesting than their diseases.”

Although I was introduced to a number of the author’s patients, albeit de-identified and with some details changed, there were times I was holding out for a resolution that failed to come. I wanted to know what became of these people whose stories I was just becoming invested in.

For some reason I also became invested in the story of the white pine trees, where the infection of one may result in the infection of its neighbours. My biggest frustration with this book was not learning whether the two pine trees survived or not. Why do I care so much about this? Perhaps it was because of what those trees symbolised to the author. Regardless, I felt cheated by not knowing their fate.

My favourite parts of this book involved the author’s relationship with her mother and how it changed throughout her life.

The reflections on what it is that makes a good doctor would be particularly valuable for newly trained doctors, who are finding their feet in a world where having empathy for their patients can prove just as important as knowledge of their medical conditions.

“Students worry about knowing enough. Patients worry about them caring enough.”

Content warnings include ableism, attempted suicide, eating disorders, racism, sexism and sexual harassment.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and W. W. Norton & Company for granting my wish to read this book. I’m rounding up from 3.5 stars.

Book Review for Letter to a Young Female Physician by Suzanne Koven
Full review for this title will be posted at: @cattleboobooks on Instagram!

I have conflicting feelings about this book and some of it doesn't sit well with me.

I’ve worked in the medical field alongside many specialists, general practitioners and their patients to know the issues surrounding medical care. Some of these issues do include sexism, racism, and ableism which were issues briefly raised in this book but were quickly dismissed because they didn’t apply to the experience of Koven directly as an upper-middle class white woman. Ultimately, this was her personal story written in a series of essays around the fact that she was a medical professional who also had other hats to wear throughout her life.

This book was indeed relatable from a female perspective. This was a story about a woman juggling her career in medicine whilst becoming a mother of three, a daughter providing end of life care to ill & aging parents, all while experiencing Imposter Syndrome which left her wondering if she was good enough or smart enough for any of these roles.

The key take away from this book in regards to physicians applies to all physicians and not just females and that would be the importance of empathy. “See in the face of every patient the face of someone you love,” instead of becoming disassociated from patients during their 15 minute appointments. Patients want their doctors to care about their wellbeing. Many of the "problematic" patients get evaded and they just want doctors to listen and care about them.

This book was not what I thought it was going to be. I thought there would be more insight for the future of females in medicine as this was addressed specifically to young female physicians. I thought there would be more to offer the next generation of physicians or at least address the problematic areas within the medical field more thoroughly.

It was an interesting read but I don’t think I would recommend this one.

Thank you to NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Essays about being a doctor, a mother and daughter set generally in the background of medicine. Suzanne Koven writes of her initial ambivalence to become a doctor, imposter syndrome and how much she loves her work.

My daughter is currently studying medicine so I was interested to read this book from a female doctors point of view. I really enjoyed her perspective on all the ups and downs of life as a practicing doctor whilst holding down a family and the way in which her loyalties were so divided between caring for her family versus caring for her patients. A must read for anyone considering entering the profession.

I really-really, truly enjoyed this book. I’m kind of a closet medical or psychological narrative junkie. I did not do well in the sciences growing up, and reading about them in delightfully crafted narrative style books brings me great joy, likely in the way some read about Hollywood stars or dramatic cultural celebrations.
I feel, somewhere in my mind, that these people have the answers.
But the joke’s on me because I do realize these people are just that: people. Author Dr. Koven is just a person, and she has collected delightful observations about her training, patient-doctor interactions, and the medical community as a whole.
My favorite part was that, when surveyed, most patients only truly desire that their doctor listen to them. Listening is all that’s needed, but sadly most doctors only get fifteen minutes with each patient. I think this helped me realize the demands that are placed on doctors’ time and psychological well being. They cannot possibly have the time to truly meet patients’ needs by listening, but yet they know that’s what they most want, more do even than being healed.
“It occurs to me that I can no more divide myself neatly into doctor and person than I can divide my patients into patients and people. That I always feel I do my best work when I play the boundary, when I bring myself as a person to the patient as a person. When I go off the charts a little.”
While this may be a “letter” to young female physicians, I definitely learned a lot not being in the medical profession.
This book was provided to me as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I am not a doctor, nor am I even American, but so much in this book connected with me - and I would recommend it to anyone.

As you might expect from the "Letter" in the title, the book isn't anything like a chronological narrative; more a series of essays, many of which have interconnecting themes. Koven is an absolutely superb writer, her prose meditative and careful, reminiscent of the tone of Natalie Goldberg. There were so many lines I wanted to earmark and remember forever.

It is always fascinating to peer backstage into medical school, training, and hospital life. There was much less focus on "problems with the body" in this book compared to many other I've read by medical writers (Do No Harm, Fragile Lives, Adventures in Human Being, etc.), although there was enough of it to keep my medical/scientific curiosity satisfied. Koven, however, focuses much more on the people behind the illnesses, and what it means to relate to other people as a human and a doctor. The most prevalent theme is that of her own family, and the ends of her parents' lives, which she writes about with frankness and beauty. So often I thought while reading, "yes, that is exactly it".

I hope I will remember all the lessons that Koven imparted in this book, and that there are more books to come.

(With thanks to W. W. Norton & Company and NetGalley for this ebook in exchange for an honest review)

An interesting read into the life of a female physician. I found this a hard book to get into but persevered and found it both moving and insightful. It not only offered an honest look into the world of a doctor and the evolving relationship between the doctor and the patient but it highlighted some of the author’s personal challenges and the the complexities involved with balancing a career and a family.

I received an advance copy of, Letter to a Young Female Physician by, Suzanne Koven. I thought this would be a great book, but I found it really boring.

Letter to a Young Female Physician is a compelling, beautifully written memoir. It could also be titled Letter to a Young Female as author Suzanne Koven describes universal situations faced by women. She deals with insecurity about her appearance and her weight, has conflicts with her mother and husband, and has to balance her children and her career as a physician. However, this is not a “how to” book. It’s a brutally honest look at a woman’s life.

Her parents were successful professionals, her father an orthopedic surgeon and her mother a lawyer although she was a stay-at-home mother during Suzanne’s childhood. She observed that her father “wore the pants and made the money. I wanted that.” She married in med school and had three children, all the while coping with the strenuous demands of her career in internal medicine. Koven describes the feeling of not being good enough, the “imposter syndrome”, but also a deep set reaction to her troubled relationship with her mother. Koven has had a life long battle with weight, as did her parents. She tries every diet, nothing works, so she finally consults a psychologist and confides that when she overeats, she has argues with herself. The therapist asks her whom she is really arguing with and she realizes it is her mother.

There are many moments like this in Letter to a Young Female Physician. There is also a description of racism in hospitals with a startling look at the way doctors reacted to it. This is a powerful book, sometimes difficult to read because Koven is so emotional and vulnerable. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, W. W. Norton & Company and Suzanne Koven for this ARC.

Not sure what I was expecting from this one, but it just didn't quite hit the mark. It wasn't detailed enough to compare with other medical memoirs nor dispassionate enough to explore themes or cultural ideas, interesting but not memorable for me