No Apparent Distress: A Doctor’s Coming of Age on the Front Lines of American Medicine

Although she does not like the battle metaphor often used when describing the fight against cancer, Pearson accepts that her grandmother Olive fought as hard as she could. She had been a soldier’s wife and had never been able to turn down a fight. When cancer finally overcame her, she did not want tranquilizers, although she wanted to be kept alive by machines as long as possible. Her family refused: “It was terrifying to see someone die who was so very lucid, so angry, and who refused to accept that she was dying” (178). 

Pearson does a three-month rotation in internal medicine. She works with a medical assistant named Sara who immediately tells her that Dr. Houston will give her a free Brazilian wax if she asks. The complications in private practice are simpler than what Pearson is used to—“high blood pressure, low thyroid, flu” (181). It’s a relief to be in a place where everyone is well tended and can afford the best care.

On her second morning, a woman in her 50s tells Pearson that she would rather not speak with a medical student. This happens almost every day in Dr.