How Do You Feel?

One Doctor's Search for Humanity in Medicine

By: Jessi Gold

Narrated by: Keylor Leigh

A poignant and thought-provoking memoir following one psychiatrist and four of her patients as they deal with the unspoken mental and physical costs of caring for others—perfect for fans of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone and The In-Between.

For Dr. Jessi Gold, everything was absolutely fine—until it suddenly wasn’t. As an assistant professor, practicing psychiatrist, university wellness leader, regular media expert, and dedicated friend and family member, Jessi was used to being constantly busy. After all, people—her patients, colleagues, and loved ones—needed her, so who was she to say no to any opportunity to help, be that an extra therapy session, corporate wellness talk, or favor for a friend. She was a doctor, trained to serve, to put the needs of others before her own. But when Jessi is so mentally overwhelmed that she commits an unthinkable error during a patient session, she’s forced to reevaluate everything that the medical system has taught her.

While reassessing her own complex relationship to the health-care industry, Jessi begins to examine it through the eyes of some of her healthcare worker patients—a thirty-something resident with OCD, a pregnant nurse suffering from PTSD, an aspiring medical student with crippling test anxiety, and an experienced ER physician who feels completely overwhelmed. In their discussions of burnout, perfectionism, empathy, and the emotional burden of working in health care, and through her own personal therapy sessions, Jessi recognizes that she is not alone in struggling to maintain her humanity, in a field that she chose because of its humanity in the first place.

Expertly weaving research expertise with unforgettable stories and raw emotion, How Do You Feel? demonstrates the unbridled capacity that we as humans have for connecting, learning, and growing. At once deeply personal, but also utterly universal, it reminds us all that when caring for others, we first have to remember to care for ourselves.

©2024 Jessi Gold (P)2024 Simon & Schuster Audio

Answer the question!

Dr. Gold shares a side of medicine that not everyone knows exists… unless you’ve lived it. It’s honest, funny, thought provoking, introspective, and refreshing. Highly recommend. It will encourage all to the answer the question the title poses.

Reminder that we are all human

Powerful. I deeply resonated with Dr Gold’s personal journey of self-discovery that culminated into her decision to become a physician that cares deeply for the humanity of others. Dr Gold is a blessing to our field, reminder that we physicians too are also human and that every human is (mostly) doing their best.

Beautifully written

An amazing POV of healthcare workers’ mental health struggles during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Their vulnerability is inspiring. Listening to them grow throughout the book was even better. Kudos to Dr. Gold! I’m proud of you :)

Relatable

I enjoyed that the author shared real life personal experiences. As a mental health professional it's refreshing to read the relatable stories and lessons learned.

Listen to or read this book, ASAP!

It’s written thoughtfully and beautifully! Each chapter left me reflecting on my own experiences. Recommending it to everyone!

This book will save lives

Powerful, vulnerable story. This book will change culture and save lives. Dr Gold writes in a way that is both wise and so relatable and makes this crucial information so welcome

disappointing

I was expecting something completely different and this is a millennial mememe memoirs of her work either patients that teaches very little and is just not interesting at all.