Doc: Memories from a Life in Public Service

By Otis R. Bowen and William Du Bois Jr.

Book Overview

Being governor is like no other job although it has similarities to being a country doctor. Like a physician, a governor is on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, asleep, awake, eating, in the shower, traveling in a car, or at a meeting. There are emergencies, so he lives with unpredictability. As earlier noted, many state government activities involve health and medical questions, areas in which I have expertise. There, the similarities end. There is nothing like being governor, not even being a member of a president's Cabinet."-from Doc

No Indiana governor in the 20th century has been more popular or successful than Otis R. Bowen. In his long-awaited autobiography, "Doc" writes in rich detail about the hard work and persistence that got him into and through medical school. His commitment to serving people made him a beloved family physician in Bremen, a respected state legislator and legislative leader, and one of the most esteemed governors in Indiana history.

Otis Bowen grew up poor in Fulton County, but was rich in the things that matter. With the support of his parents, siblings, teachers and friends, he pursued a dream of becoming a family physician, making many sacrifices to finance his way through medical school

As a newly minted doctor, Bowen first practiced medicine in the Army. He describes his experience on the field of combat in the Pacific during the last major battle of World War II, and tells of his life after coming home from the war to serve the medical needs of a small northern Indiana community. We learn, too, of his personal life, about his own family and his first two wives, Beth Bowen and Rose Bowen, the loneliness and emptiness he endured after they died painfully of cancer, and how his third wife, Carol, has filled that void.

An almost accidental entry into politics and public life led Bowen to the capitals of Indiana and the nation. Drafted as a candidate for Marshall County coroner in 1952, Bowen moved up

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0253337674
• ISBN13: 9780253337672
• Release Date: September 2000
• Publisher: Indiana University Press
• Length: 248 Pages
• Weight: 4.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.4" x 9.5"
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

A True Hoosier Hero

This is a must read for every Hoosier, Most physicans would also enjoy reading about this country doctor who did things the rest of us could only dream of doing. The book is warm hearted, entertaining, and well written. After reading the book, I felt as if I had sat by a fireplace sharing a very pleasant conversation with Doc Bowen. He is one of the few politicians I ever heard of who never was involved in any scandal, remained true to his principles, and remained loved by the folks of his constituency. As a fellow family doctor, I felt proud to have someone of my own profession rise to governor and later cabinet secretary on the administration of President Reagan.