David Weill
New Orleans, LA
Former Director of the Center for Advanced Lung Disease and Lung and Heart-Lung Transplant Program at Stanford University Medical Center, Principal of the Weill Consulting Group which focuses on improving the delivery of pulmonary, ICU, and transplant care
BOOK COVER
BOOK DETAILS
Pub Date: June 11, 2024
Genre: Fiction, Medical Drama
Publisher: Rare Bird
Page Count: 383
Format, ISBN, Price: Hardcover, 978-1644284353, $28.00
ABOUT THE BOOK
Joe Bosco is an arrogant, hard-charging transplant surgeon whose ambition knows no bounds. He pursues his job with a “take no prisoners” approach and saving patients is not just his job, or even his passion—it’s his religion. After doing his surgical residency, he passes on a job offer from Stanford, instead taking a position at a private hospital in San Francisco which pays Joe an exorbitant salary and where the bottom line is… the bottom line. Joe leaves behind academic medicine, much to the chagrin of his father— a German Jewish Holocaust survivor who is a world-renowned neuroscientist and Nobel Prize winner—and his girlfriend, Kate, who sees Joe turning into a different man than the one she met at Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Bosco makes it to the top as a star in the transplant world but soon realizes that the new world he inhabits is fraught with moral and ethical transgressions, some his partners commit and, eventually, some he commits. When the hospital administration sides against Joe in an operating room catastrophe, he is isolated, left with a career in shambles, a girlfriend who wants nothing to do with him, and a father who can’t hide his disappointment.
It is not until his life spins out of control that Joe must come to terms with his own failings and find his true purpose in life… in the most unlikely of places.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
David Weill is the former Director of the Center for Advanced Lung Disease and Lung and Heart-Lung Transplant Program at Stanford University Medical Center. He is currently the Principal of the Weill Consulting Group which focuses on improving the delivery of pulmonary, ICU, and transplant care.
David’s writing has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Newsweek, the Chicago Tribune, the Washington Post, The Hill, and the Los Angeles Times. He also has appeared on Fox, CNN, the New York Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, and the Wall Street Journal. David’s memoir Exhale: Hope, Healing, and A Life in Transplant was published in May of 2021. All That Really Matters is his debut novel.
David divides his time between New Orleans and Alys Beach, FL, with his wife, Jackie, two daughters, Hannah and Ava, and their dogs, Lucy and Frannie.
TIMELY TIE-INS
September
- National Recovery Month
Read a Book Day – 6 - International Literacy Day – 8
- International Read an eBook Day – 18
October
- National Book Month
- National Substance Abuse Prevention Month
PRAISE
“David Weill combines his gifts as a world-class transplant physician and literary flair to deliver a rare novel that exposes the humanity and challenges behind high-stakes medicine in a page-turning read. The sharply crafted result makes notable first fiction with characters and details that spring to life with honesty and vulnerability. It’s a must-read for those wondering if their physician has a conscience.”
—David Magee, bestselling author of Dear William: A Father’s Memoir of Addiction, Recovery, Love and Loss
“In his stunning debut novel, David Weill, who has experienced the ebbs and flows and the burdens of helping people, shares a captivating story about sacrifice, love, loss, and redemption…in other words, all that really matters.”
—Terence Blanchard, seven-time Grammy winning, two-time Oscar nominee, and executive artistic director of SFJAZZ
—Amanda Steinberg, Author of Worth It and President of CareerScope
“What a fantastic read! I had a hard time putting it down once I got started. Not only does the reader become fully immersed in the intense joys and heartbreaking lows of transplant surgery, but the story reveals a protagonist who, despite all his training and accolades, is human – a human on a journey who finally figures out that he, like all of us, is in need of forgiveness and redemption. I highly recommend David Weill’s new book and am eager to read more of his phenomenal work in the future!”
—Jay Wellons, MD, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, author of All That Moves Us
“This book is a poignant and thought-provoking reminder of the power of the human heart. It is infused with intelligence, empathy, and the bravery it takes to challenge our own social conditioning and the status quo. Not only is it a testament to the power of courage and storytelling to inspire positive change, but it is also a delicious read that you can get lost in for hours!”
—Robyn O’Brien, bestselling author of Seeding Innovation, and partner at Montcalm
SUGGESTED INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
- You have a lot of fans of your memoir, Exhale. After reading All That Really Matters, how similar are you to Joe, the main character?
- This is a fascinating look behind the curtain of the very demanding job of a transplant surgeon. Tell us about the process of creating Joe’s character and walking this path with him.
- How did making Joe a fictional character allow you to address issues in the medical profession, such as profit vs. care and inequities in the transplant waiting list process, differently than you did in Exhale?
- How do novels help tell the truth about complicated issues, like relationships, healthcare, and outsized expectations?
- Joe’s arrogance – or self-confidence – is on display through much of All That Really Matters. Is it possible to do that job without that arrogance?
- A major conflict in All That Really Matters is between Joe, who pursues a lucrative career as a transplant surgeon in a profitable urban hospital, and his fiancee, who puts her medical degree to use at a remote clinic in Uganda. Is one a higher calling than the other?
- Joe’s father is portrayed as a Holocaust survivor. How is that important to the story?
- By the end of the book, do you think Joe figures out what really matters? Can different people (or different medical professionals) come to different conclusions about what matters?
BOOK DETAILS
Pub Date: May 17, 2022
Genre: Memoir / Christian Inspirational
Publisher: She Writes Press
Page Count: 304
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 978-1647429003
Price: $15.99
