The Soul of Care

The Moral Education of a Husband and a Doctor

By: Arthur Kleinman

Narrated by: Arthur Morey

A moving memoir and an extraordinary love story that shows how an expert physician became a family caregiver and learned why care is so central to all our lives and yet is at risk in today's world.

When Dr. Arthur Kleinman, an eminent Harvard psychiatrist and social anthropologist, began caring for his wife, Joan, after she was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease, he found just how far the act of caregiving extended beyond the boundaries of medicine. In The Soul of Care: The Moral Education of a Husband and a Doctor, Kleinman delivers a deeply humane and inspiring story of his life in medicine and his marriage to Joan, and he describes the practical, emotional and moral aspects of caretaking. He also writes about the problems our society faces as medical technology advances and the cost of health care soars but caring for patients no longer seems important.

Caregiving is long, hard, unglamorous work - at moments joyous, more often tedious, sometimes agonizing, but it is always rich in meaning. In the face of our current political indifference and the challenge to the health care system, he emphasizes how we must ask uncomfortable questions of ourselves, and of our doctors. To give care, to be "present" for someone who needs us, and to feel and show kindness are deep emotional and moral experiences, enactments of our core values. The practice of caregiving teaches us what is most important in life, and reveals the very heart of what it is to be human.

©2019 Arthur Kleinman (P)2019 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“Deeply affecting... The Soul of Care is a testament to the human capacity to draw sustenancefrom the memories of love, even as those memories are disappearingin the person loved. It is an important book.” (Kay Redfield Jamison, author of An Unquiet Mind)

“At once a manifesto for decent health care and a brave exposing of an inner life, The Soul of Care gives language for what we all crave - effective, generous health care that nourishes those who give and those who receive until they recognize their oneness.” (Rita Charon, Columbia Narrative Medicine)

"A personal and professional memoir like no other, how the founder of the field of medical anthropology learned that caring meant listening, and how at the peak of his career, when personal tragedy struck, Kleinman learned the deepest meanings of care." (Ellen Winner, Professor of Psychology, Boston College, author of How Art Works)

Thank you!

Thank you for the book about kindness… and connection… and meaning… Very needed story, voice, message in our crazy times.

The Agony and the Ecstasy of Caring for Humans

Arthur Kleinman's spectacular and intimate memoir of the life he built and created as a physician and psychiatrist, cultural anthropologist, husband, father, and listener of souls had so many levels of detail and delicate nuances - not only beautifully read, but also beautifully and articulately written. As someone who has been steeped in intimate caregiving for three people at different times - my husband for four years (2006-2010) and my parents: my dad for one year in 1997 and my mom, who is 99, for the last several years - it is a challenging job by itself and is usually compounded and intensified by guilt, shame, greed, exhaustion, frustration, distraction, denial, and cravings for normalcy - as well as bringing you deep joy for the divine moments of intimacy, conversation, and connection. This homage to his late wife Joan and the incredible life they built together changed the way he related to the world, to himself, to people, to the institution of socialized medicine and elevated his sense of purpose to always strive to dig deeper - giving resonance and meaning to the hardest of jobs - being present to listen, to see what's underneath a person's illness/mental state and to have compassion for everyone's perspective. Truly life-changing. I can't recommend it highly enough. It should be required reading if you are in the medical/social services professions, but also if you are a human who exists in our current culture and want to connect and care with your own soul.

Amazing book

Intelligent, loving and deeply moving. The story of Arthur’s care for his brilliant and beautiful wife as she declined due to Alzheimer’s opened my eyes to view love in a whole other dimension. I’m grateful he took the time to share their journey so beautifully.