"Gifted Hands" by Ben Carson, M.D.

  I read "Gifted Hands" for my Bookclub in March.  I am so glad to whoever suggested this book.  It is an autobiography by Ben Carson who grew up in the 60's.  His Mom was a poor single mother with a third grade education, working a lot of hours to provide for her two sons.  She was very strict about her boys getting a good education and their study habits which is comical at times.  The book first follows Ben throughout elementary, middle and high school and deals with things such as the prejudice he faced, his terrible temper, and his family's lack of money.  It then moves to college, med school, his courtship with his wife, Candy and finally his "calling" as a neurosurgeon.  

  I think that this book is so aptly named-'Gifted Hands'.  He really and truly does have a gift that he fortunately discovered and then through education, hard work and dedication has been able to help so many people.  The last parts of the book are little stories of different patients he's worked with, highlighting a set of conjoined twins that he and a team of other health care professionals worked for hours on to separate.  As a parent, I appreciated the emotion, the empathy and compassion he has for all of his patients and for the family praying in the waiting room.  This is definitely a man that I would love to meet and shake hands with.  In a world where good, solid, strong role models can be hard to find-Ben Carson stands out as a shining example of faith, commitment, and caring.

  One of my favorite "lessons" found in this book is that life is about decisions and that every decision has a consequence.  When he was a teenager, Ben admits having a horrible temper.  He pulls a knife on his friend and stabs him because of an altercation he had with him.  Fortunately, for both of them, the friend had on a heavy belt buckle and the knife didn't harm him.  He goes home and spends hours crying and then eventually praying and reading the Bible.  He asks God to take away his temper.  He says that he has never had a problem with it since!  This was the ultimate "turning point" in his life.  He could have hurt or even killed his friend in that momentary moment of rage.  He could have gone to jail, become bitter, turned to more crimes, drugs or other harmful behaviors.  It is a powerful example of how in a split second our lives can be changed-for good or bad.

Stars:  5

Prude Police:  squeaky clean!