Henry Marsh's "And Finally" is a powerful memoir that goes beyond the typical doctor-confronts-death narrative. While the blurb mentions his advanced cancer diagnosis, the book is much more than a chronicle of his illness.

Dr. Marsh, a retired neurosurgeon and author of the bestselling "Do No Harm," uses his own experience to explore profound questions about life, death, and what truly matters. The transition from healer to patient is a fascinating one, and Marsh doesn't shy away from the frustrations and anxieties that come with it.

There's a touch of regret as he reflects on past cases and lost opportunities. He also grapples with unresolved issues and projects left unfinished. However, these introspective moments are balanced by his continued fascination with science and the human brain.

"And Finally" isn't all seriousness, though. Marsh's wit and observational humor shine through, particularly in his descriptions of the absurdities of the healthcare system.

The real strength of the book lies in Dr. Marsh's reflections on life and his love for his family and the natural world. The blurb mentions the book is "not so much about death," and I wholeheartedly agree. It's a celebration of life's beauty and a reminder to cherish the moments we have.

If you're looking for a thought-provoking and deeply personal memoir, "And Finally" is a must-read. It's a book that will make you laugh, cry, and reflect on your own priorities.

This book focuses on how the doctor becomes a patient himself with advanced stage prostate cancer. In general, most medical professionals make the worst patients and I can make this declaration as a medical professional myself. There always a struggle with the vulnerability of being the patient after years of helping others. It's easier to see the struggles in others probably more so to avoid acknowledging our own issues.

I understand Dr Marsh's mindset of thinking like a doctor after retirement and then as a patient. It's not just an occupation but a part of your identity. I don't think it necessary for me to read his other books to understand that this one is deeply reflective on his unique and unexpected position in life as a cancer patient. There are many advances in medicine over the years and being a patient allows a perspective that one might not otherwise imagine. Denial is a powerful coping mechanism which ultimately fails us in the end. Although, I found his writing to be overanalytical I respect his dedication and need to share his life experience. I have read many books about the transformation that can occur when a doctor, particularly a surgeon, becomes a cancer patient. There is a tremendous amount of humility knowing that we all share the same destiny.

I know my review is rather critical but I did say that medical professionals make the worst patients as well as critical thinkers.

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for allowing me access to this digital book for review. I provide an honest and unbiased review. All opinions are expressly my own.

As a retired neurosurgeon, Henry Marsh understands the complexities of medicine, but is still unprepared when he is diagnosed with advanced cancer. And Finally: Matters of Life and Death is his memoir. Marsh contemplates his life as a whole and takes the reader through his struggles to come to terms with his diagnosis.

Overall, And Finally has some good insight into illness, but rambles along quite a bit. Its lack of cohesiveness is its downfall, as Dr. Marsh goes back and forth between his past and present. He touches on some timely topics, COVID among them, so I did find it interesting to get the perspective of a physician. My biggest takeaway from the novel is that doctors struggle with the same thoughts and feelings as non-medical people when it comes to personal illness. Wanting to like the memoir more but, as I struggled to finish the book, I would be hesitant to recommend it to other readers.

Disclaimer: I was given an Advanced Reader's Copy by NetGalley and the publisher. The decision to read and review this book was entirely my own.

Absolutely loved this book. Henry Marsh's memoir is powerful and thought provoking. It is really interesting to me how we all approach the idea of death differently. Highly recommend for those that have a morbid curiosity like me.

I loved reading this retired neurosurgeon's perspective on getting older. Along with his perspective on the patient-doctor experience / relationship (or lack thereof) and of death. Being older, his observations and comments were straightforward and direct. It could be be construed as hard, but it was truth and I appreciated it. Looking forward to reading his other books now!

They say Doctors make the worst patients and it seems like Henry Marsh, isn’t shy to admit it. He has been a prominent Neurosurgeon, who has just retired and is now facing an advanced diagnosis of Prostate Cancer. He ignored the symptoms.. focusing on life and his retirement. He tells a wonderful story of how when faced with your own death.. things aren’t as easy as they seem. He struggles with his limitations, his treatment and his new lifestyle. I loved how he spoke about his younger days as a surgeon who volunteers around the world. I enjoyed how he spoke of the work family balance. Most of all I like his honesty. Overall this story was good. I have a 3 stars but it is probably more a 3.5 read. I want to thank Netgalley, Harold Marsh & St. Martin’s Press for my copy for an honest review. It was my pleasure reading and reviewing this book. Enjoy..

This is a candid reflection by a retired physician on his own mortality. He is facing a diagnosis of cancer as well as the challenges that come with aging. What makes this so poignant is not only his own story but the insights he gains as a patient himself. He often reflects back on his own patients and imagines them visiting him as reproachful ghosts - was he empathetic and compassionate enough? He feels he would have been a better doctor if he started again now that he has lived in their "shoes." He also explains the science between MRI's mixed in here (which I appreciated learning about) but the emphasis is on his story more than the practice of medicine. I recommend this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for a free advance copy and I voluntarily wrote this review.

*2.5 stars*

A reflective memoir…

Henry Marsh was/is a neurosurgeon who suddenly found himself on the other side of the doctor’s chair. He was not only aging but was now facing a disease that could cut even more into the time he had left. A sobering proposition for anyone…

This book was a reflection on that diagnosis and his thoughts and feelings and musings of all that meant. He shared his feelings and perspective on so many things we, who are not young, are thinking about, in a style that was open and unstilted. He was scared, who wouldn’t be…

I found myself drifting in a few places that didn’t capture my attention but it didn't lessen the impact of what he shared. To open yourself up like that, as you face one of life’s hardest obstacle must be so hard – even if the telling was not as clear as I'd hoped...

Overall, a heartfelt reflection on life and, whether by age or disease, the near ending of it.

This book chronicles Marsh’s life after retirement as a neurosurgeon. He reflects on aging and his ongoing battle with prostate cancer.
I felt that a lot of book was rambling. Not really sure where he was going with everything. Much of it not related to his cancer battle or former surgeon’s life at all.
I did appreciate his candor and honest reflections about mortality. There were certainly moving and beautiful passages. Depending on what you are looking for this book can be a worthwhile read. Just don’t expect it to be on the level as his previous works.

𝑵𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒐𝒐 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒂 𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒊𝒕, 𝒎𝒚 𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒐𝒕. 𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒐𝒕. 𝑰𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒍, 𝒂 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆.
My interest in neuroscience happened when I found out my son was on the autism spectrum many years ago, add to that my own meningioma diagnosis as well as mental health issues throughout the family line. It is interesting to me reading a memoir about a retired neurosurgeon having to face his own diagnosis and looming death. Henry Marsh was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer, the difference is with his vast knowledge of medicine, he knows too well the reality of his disease. It’s hard to convince yourself to look on the brightside when you’ve been privy to the tragic decline of many patients’ health. The aging process alone is disturbing, particularly when your career goes beyond the wrinkles and straight to the damage internally. There is no denying the evidence, but even with his own advanced cancer, he was in denial and took a lot of time before seeking help. Now that the doctor has become the patient, he recalls former patients who faced the same anxieties and fears, how callously he sometimes behaved. How different one’s perspective becomes when it is you who are facing the advanced stages of illness, and yet detachment is sometimes a necessary evil. It doesn’t bode well to let your emotions overtake you when a life is in your hands, and you must keep your head on straight. Doctors, they say, make the worst patients, they are not used to being the one in the bed, on the table looking for certainties about what is coming.

Marsh’s memoir isn’t solely about his advanced prostate cancer, he shares insights into the medical field and how it has changed through the years, dealing with patients with far more empathy than decades ago, he shares fascinating research about the brain including the science of sleep, writes about his youth, the madness of his own behavior, the memories of patients he has treated admitting that some were left with severe damage, such as facial paralysis. He is refreshingly honest about his journey as a neurosurgeon, the mistakes he made, the evolution of his career and skills. It reminds me that doctors are humans, not gods we wish could cure us. He has had a full life, likely outlived many patients he has treated, and yet there never seems to be enough time for all the things we want to do. He writes about his dear friend, a talented, world class potter, who was diagnosed with a malignant glioma two months before his own bad news, and it drives home the truth of how uncertainty so often takes over our lives. His ‘bravado’ is truly, he confides, denial that he doesn’t want to die. Despite having accomplished many things he set out to do, succeeding in his career, being born in circumstances far more fortunate than much of the world, he isn’t ready to confront the agony, the waiting, the monitoring of his health, the end of his days wrapped up in this disease. Who really is? Yes, he knows all too well death comes to us all, but it’s not much comfort when you feel your body is nearing its expiration date and you don’t have the haze of ignorance to soothe your fears.

It’s a beautiful read, informative too. When you are young and, if you’re lucky, healthy you don’t spend much time thinking about the aging process. It seems so far away, until it isn’t. This memoir is both educational and entertaining, and like Marsh I fear being decrepit whether it is natural or not! I too fear losing my brain function, more so now that I am monitored for my benign (so far) meningioma. He somehow fits philosophy in with science and it makes for an engaging read. Covid made many people worldwide all too aware of their fragility, mortality, hence this book should be easy for anyone to relate to. Yes, read it!

Published January 17, 2023

St. Martin’s Press

Henry Marsh is a well-known and respected neurosurgeon and author of DO NO HARM: Stories of Life, Death, and Brain Surgery for which he has received many rave reviews and accolades. His recent book focuses on the end of his career and his diagnosis of advanced prostate cancer. He has to stop and see himself as the patient and not the doctor while facing the reality of death in the possibly imminent future at the age of 70.

"As I was discovering myself, false hope – denial by another name – is better than no hope at all, but it is always very difficult for the doctor to know how to balance hope against truth when talking to patients with diseases such as mine."

I typically love reading medical memoirs and find the inside look at the medical field fascinating even though I know that I could never be in a surgical ward or the ER. But, I have sat with patients and families as they have taken their final journey and those experiences have been humbling and something I will never forget. I was hoping this reflection of life as a surgeon while looking death in the face might be compelling and emotional, unfortunately, it was not.

"And when I became a patient myself, I was too shocked and confused to ask much about what lay ahead of me."

If I wouldn’t have been reading this for review purposes, I would have quit reading pretty early, but I chose to follow it through to the end with a lot of skimming. Without reading Marsh’s other books, but reading the praise for them, I have to think this book is not his typical writing. This book lacked focus, rambled, and seemed like a last-ditch effort for Marsh to impart his wisdom as quickly as possible. Were there some beneficial qualities to this book? Yes, which is what kept me reading. Overall, I couldn’t quite give you the gist of what he wanted you to know except that he was a world-renowned surgeon who can no longer practice medicine, he has strong feelings about assisted deaths, he likes to do woodworking, he has advanced prostate cancer, and likes to make up stories and tell them to his grandchildren on Facetime.

I pray Henry Marsh has many more years to enjoy time with his grandchildren and spend time in his lovely cottage and that he is able to die in the way he wishes.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review!

Overall, I liked this book. I tend to enjoy reading reflections on life and the difficulties of death and this was no exception. I think Henry Marsh gives us a vulnerable look into his inner thoughts. At times, I did wish that the book felt less like a science lecture and focused more on his feelings during certain situations. I would have liked more expansion on some of his aversions to treatment as a doctor, which I got a general sense of why but I would've liked a deeper dive.

I must confess I skimmed a large portion of the book when it seemed he was meandering. I do understand this is a lot of his journaling pieced together to relinquish him of his ups, downs, misgivings and mistakes made as both a physician and a human. I feel sure he felt every page but somehow it just didn't click for me, even as a retired RN. Seemed to me a little bit of heartfelt was probably deleted as I think these incidents probably affected him more than is conveyed in the message. Great book for any healthcare personnel or those dealing with cancel or a brain neurological issue. A lot of technical detail for the average person unless they have experience with these issues in their life. I was provided an advanced reader copy but was under no obligation to provide a review. The opinions expressed are my own. Thanks to the author (& I wish you well on your journey) publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book.

I slogged through this one. Some parts are very good, like when he talks about his denial of his illness since “doctors don’t get sick, their patients do” is how he has always thought
And it is interesting to hear about how he begins to appreciate his past more since he does not know how long his future is.
But there is a lot of meandering here. He will start on one topic, only to finish on another. I don’t know if this was deliberate or what.
Some of the book and discussions are really geared towards fellow doctors and this may put some people off.
I do thank the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me this ARC.

A candid and well-written memoir about a surgeon's confrontation with his own mortality through his own cancer diagnosis and treatment. This would be a good book for anyone going through a recent cancer diagnosis. Uplifting and down to earth. Totally immersive.

Henry Marsh’s new memoir, “And Finally: The Matter of Living and Dying” (St. Martin’s Press, 2023) dives headfirst into his cancer diagnosis, prognosis, and pending death. As a world-renown neurosurgeon with documentaries and other tomes under his belt, including the 2015 “Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death, and Brain Surgery,” Marsh shines as an academic, thoughtful writer, and esoteric thinker. However, he did not fare as well as a patient facing his own mortality, though his philosophizing and reflections post-diagnosis and initial treatments reflect a lifetime of care, concern, and compassion.

Marsh’s acknowledgment that compartmentalizing his patients from their surgeries throughout his career was a way for him to succeed and survive in a job as delicate and dichotomously dangerous as brain surgery is the type of reverence and humility that all patients, and educators like me who work directly with older adults, so rarely have the benefit to experience.

I’m a fan of memoirs, health, aging, and multitudinous non-fiction titles. But readers who enjoyed “When Breath Becomes Air,” “The Bright Hour,” “The Checklist Manifesto” and other Atul Gawande books, as well as “The Beauty of Breaking” by Michelle Harper might also want to check out Henry Marsh’s “And Finally.”

Thank you to Henry Marsh, St. Martin’s Press, and Netgalley for providing me with the advance eARC.

2 random stars.
“Hope is one of the most precious drugs doctors have at their disposal.”

Even though my father had advanced prostate cancer, and I had breast cancer twice and regularly read ‘cancer stories’, Marsh’s narrative did not grab me. Here’s what I would have titled some of the chapters: Ch. 2 – Brain stuff (interesting, but not new to me as an educator.) Ch. 3 – Early covid shutdown. Ch. 4 – Random rambling and musings about former patients. Ch. 5 – Altitude, sleep, and sleep apnea. (At 20% through, I wish he’d move one.) Ch 6 – His home and junk. Ch. 7 – Ukraine, a sniper, a former patient. (My response good grief, the book is one third over, nothing happened and there is no focus.) Ch. 9 – Diagnosis, hospital environment, book picks up a tiny bit. Ch. 10 – Waiting. Ch. 11- Litany of aging symptoms and chemical castration. Ch. 12 – Evolution and sciency stuff. Ch. 13 – Consciousness and other things you might not want explained. Ch. 15 – Poop and pee (IMHO – TMI!). Ch. 16 – Assisted dying. Ch. 18 – A Derivative fairytale Marsh creates for his granddaughters (Me – really, why? The editor thought this was a good idea? You needed this much filler?)

A quote: “The storage space became completely filled with redundant possessions.” My response: I don’t care.

I give Marsh credit for sharing a very personal story and reading his own narrative. Sometimes there are dribbles of humor. “It had become increasingly difficult to deny that my body was past its Best Before date.”


In the Acknowledgements Dr. Marsh thanks his editor for “sorting out the muddle with which I presented her.” “I am fascinated by how much of my past I have forgotten, as well as how boring is much of what I have written.” (Why would the editor keep this sentence in?!) And Finally is a book that rambles along the towpath he mentions several times. I wish the editor would have enlivened it or the publisher would have said “No thanks.” This book needed more hope and less dreariness.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Reading Henry Marsh’s reflections on his life, philosophy, and current events felt like having a long chat with a dear, introspective friend. I have not read anything else by this author but I adored his writing style and look forward to reading more by him.

*Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

When the Doctor Becomes the Patient

Harry Marsh, a retired neurosurgeon, believed like many physicians that doctors don’t get sick, especially not terminally ill. They ignore their symptoms and then are shocked by the diagnosis. Harry Marsh had two shocks. He participated in a study requiring a brain scan. At seventy, he thought his brain was in excellent shape, but was surprised to see the withered, aging brain he possessed.

Marsh’s second shock came when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Now he was facing the prospect of his mortality. He reacted as most patients with a terminal diagnosis do going through the classical stages of grief. The book is almost written as a journal. The author expresses his deepest thought and fears, but often in a somewhat disjointed way that jumps around.

For me, one of the most interesting parts of the book was the discussion of the doctor-patient relationship seen from the perspective of someone who is experiencing both and can express his ideas and feelings in an open way. This book also looks at medical care and aging. It’s not a comprehensive look, but it does highlight many of the problems with elder care.

The book is relatively short and easy to read. I recommend it, particularly if you or a loved one is dealing with serious life-threatening illness.

I received this book from St. Martin’s Press for this review.

Henry Marsh has led a full and storied life. His legacies beyond his life will live on, far after he is gone from this Earth. In this, a memoir about him finding out he has cancer, and his treatment and how he was treated by doctors, really touches on so many things that are relevant to us all.

I found this book to be worth the read, but definitely not for everyone. This book borders on depressing, at times, as Henry talks about his former patients, many of them dead, and his own treatment for cancer. We are all so fragile, and this book reminds me of humanities fragility, as well as my own.

Overall, I found the book to be very scattered, with many random stories intertwined within the story. Although I enjoyed the stories that were told, often I wanted to hear more about a particular event, and other events that I was less interested in were elaborated on more than I would have preferred. Such is the issue that I have with most memoirs.

I would recommend this to people who have recovered from cancer, or possibly who have an interest in Henry Marsh's profession of neurosurgery.