Raising Lazarus

By Robert Pensack

Book Overview

Raising Lazarus is Dr. Robert Pensack's personal memoir of his battle to maintain his sanity in the face of extraordinary suffering. Dr. Pensack's story chronicles his near life-long struggle with a... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0399140018
• ISBN13: 9780399140013
• Release Date: September 1994
• Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
• Length: 317 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.5" x 1.3" x 6.0"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 12 and higher

Customer Reviews

Marvelous!!

I read this book as part of Reader's Digest Today's Best and it was just an amazing story of courage, love, and self-determination. I encourage anyone to go and get this book ASAP. It is an wonderful account of the live of Robert Pensack and how he was able to deal with his illness and become a successful doctor. Remarkable reading.

very educational

In September 2004, I was diagnosed with IHSS. By July 2005, I had to have open heart surgery to cut away some of the thickened septum of my heart. I was 48 years old. It happened so fast that I did not have time to find out very much about the disease. I was very blessed. This book has shown be just how blessed I am. Dr.Pensack has written a very personal yet very educational account of what it is like to have this disease. In my case, no one in my family had it and so far my two children do not, although my cardiologist wants to see them frequently to make sure it doesn't develop later in their life, as it did mine. This book is a touching memoir of a man determined to save his life. I cannot put into words what it feels like to think you are out of shape or being called lazy when you were too tired to breathe and not knowing what was wrong. Or to have doctors tell you to EXERCISE!!!! and being thankful you couldn't take their advice because you could have dropped dead from the effort. I guess this book justified me. His life story is amazing. He worked on the very treatment that helped so many to survive transplants. Thank you, Dr. Pensack for sharing with us. This book is not just for heart patients, but for anyone who enjoys stories of victory and overcoming.

Poignant, Unpretentious, and Moving

I stumbled across this book in a used book store and read it because I had nothing else on hand. It gripped me from the first page, where the author describes his four year old son, Max, staring down at the author on the floor as he suffers a heart attack. Before this book, I knew little about heart diseaseof any sort. I've learned a lot about heart disease, but also about courage and determination. This book will appeal to a broad range of readers. It is beautifully written, often amusing, and always gripping. I barely survived his heart transplant, and have a new awe for anybody who contemplates undergoing this procedure.

"Raising Lazarus"

Being an HCM victim myself, I found this book highly informative, educational, moving, emotional, and inspiring. I could relate to his suffering, his motivation, and his tenacity. It's a miracle that he survived to share his experiences. This book gave me the determination to educate myself, and motivate myself to live with and survive this condition, Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. A great read for everyone; highly recommend!

Very informative! Hard to put down!

Having a 8 year old son with IHSS/HCM I found this book the most informative of the hundreds of articles I have read. This book gives the details patients,(or in this case parents of the patient)want to know. I have read it three times and will read it again. I like the in depth discussions about being a heart patient,both the physical and emotional affects.