And Finally: Matters of Life and Death

"For the most part, Marsh does not pretend to answer metaphysical questions about the mind, or even assume that they can be answered by the likes of us ..."

"Marsh interweaves tender moments from his personal life, including storytimes with his granddaughters, with discussions of gene editing and other medical topics."

"It is these sorts of insights — exploring his fallibility, his shortcomings and even his complicity in an uncaring system — that make Marsh's writing so powerful and that allow him to transcend the usual pathography."

"As Marsh is at pains to explain, doctors do not know as much as their patients want them to, and can only predict in terms of statistical probabilities."

"Marsh excels in describing the powerlessness felt by most patients — he knows the medical system inside and out, and from his new perspective as a patient, he grasps the pain and uncertainty of his former patients ..."

"And Finally offers a tender, at times apologetic account of a doctor-turned-patient whose chronic disease and awareness of the inevitability of death are compellingly navigated: first denial and anxiety, then acceptance and coping, ultimately gratitude for every moment gifted."

"This is a very British book: in the US such a compendium of self-deprecation would doom any literary and elder-statesman ambitions ..."

"Philosophical and scientific conundrums about brain surgery permeate the book ..."

"Another masterful memoir from Marsh."

"Advice is offered on how doctors and surgeons should avoid his mistakes, especially regarding communication and empathy, which he believes, like exercise, is hard work."