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If it does nothing else, allows one the opportunity to make prolonged observations about one’s fellow travelers.

Abraham Verghese

When I wake to the gift of yet another sunrise my first thought is to rouse him and say, I owe you the sight of morning.
ABRAHAM VERGHESE

Another Gift Morning Sight Sunrise Wake
It was all I had, all I’ve ever had, the only currency, the only proof that I was alive. Memory.
ABRAHAM VERGHESE

Alive Currency Memories Memory Proof Stories
Empathy can be replaced by cynicism.
ABRAHAM VERGHESE

Cynicism Empathy Lesson Real Replaced
We come unbidden into this life, and if we are lucky we find a purpose beyond starvation, misery, and early death which, lest we forget, is the common lot.
ABRAHAM VERGHESE

Beyond Common Death Early Lucky Purpose Unbidden
The rituals we use for marriage, baptism or inaugurating a president are as elaborate as they are because we associate the ritual with a major life passage, the crossing of a critical threshold, or in other words, with transformation.
ABRAHAM VERGHESE

Associate Baptism Elaborate Inauguration Marriage President Ritual
There is a point when grief exceeds the human capacity to emote, and as a result one is strangely composed-
ABRAHAM VERGHESE

Capacity Composed Emote Grief Human Result Strangely
The crookedness of the serpent is still straight enough to slide through the snake hole.
ABRAHAM VERGHESE

Crookedness Enough Serpent Slide Snake
A discourse that begins at a book club in a living room, but then spreads. That is meaningful to me.
ABRAHAM VERGHESE

Begin Boo Club Discourse Living Meaningful Room Spread
The world turns on our every action, and our every omission, whether we know it or not.
ABRAHAM VERGHESE

Action Know Omission Turn Whether World
I think America is really in denial about the degree to which residents, particularly foreign medical graduates, man the county hospitals of this country, and but for their services, I’m not sure how exactly we could manage.
ABRAHAM VERGHESE

Country Foreign Graduate Man Medical Men Resident Thinking
The bottom line: health care reform is about the patient, not about the physician.
ABRAHAM VERGHESE

Bottom Care Health Line Patient Physician Reform
I was taking care of people my age who were dying. The constant feeling, hearing from them, was that life is transient and can end very quickly, so don’t postpone your dreams.
ABRAHAM VERGHESE

Age Care Constant Dream Dying Feeling Hearing People Taking Transient
In writing, as in medicine, there are no short cuts. You need stamina.
ABRAHAM VERGHESE

Cutting Medicine Short Cut Stamina Writing
My sense is that the wonderful technology that we have to visualize the inside of the body often leaves physicians feeling that the exam is a waste of time and so they may shortchange the ritual.
ABRAHAM VERGHESE

Body Feeling Leave Physician Sense Technology Visualize Wonderful
The flip side of suicide is that it leaves a lingering question in the minds of the people who survived. Its like a cancer thats metastasized. The suicide is the cancer and the metastasis is all these people saying, Why? Why? Why?
ABRAHAM VERGHESE

Cancer Flip Leave Mind People Side Suicide
Life, too, is like that. You live it forward, but understand it backward. It is only when you stop and look to the rear that you see the corpse caught under your wheel.
ABRAHAM VERGHESE

Backward Caught Forward Life Look Near Stop Understand Wheel

If it does nothing else, allows one the opportunity to make prolonged observations about one’s fellow travelers.

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If it does nothing else, allows one the opportunity to make prolonged observations about one’s fellow travelers.

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Popular Authors

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