Anesthesia: The Gift of Oblivion and the Mystery of Consciousness Paperback – December 11, 2018

Anesthesia: The Gift of Oblivion and the Mystery of Consciousness 1st Edition is a groundbreaking book by Kate Cole Adams. A must read for patients’ anesthesiologists and, most importantly, surgeons. Kate Cole Adams has done an important service for patients. That is, she has taken a complex and politically charged topic and broken it down into simple, understandable terms.This book covers the topic of patients inadvertently waking up under anesthesia with a writing style that reflects her diverse background as novelist, journalist and patient.Her focus on the individual patient’s experience gives the reader a very accurate understanding of what it is like to experience this complication during surgery and the devastating impact it has on their lives for decades after the complication.As an anesthesiologist who experienced this anesthetic complication of awareness as a child and became an expert, myself, over the course of my 25-year career in anesthesia, I was absolutely overwhelmed by the breadth of her research and the emotional impact that her writing style had on me as I read her excellent book.I have advocated within my field over most of my career in anesthesiology for changes in standard anesthetic practice that is a largely responsible for this complication, that is, the routine use of neuromuscular blocking agents, more commonly referred to as muscle relaxants.Kate Cole Adam’s book has allowed me to feel comfortable in my decision to, finally, retire from this advocacy because her book covers the topic in a manner that I feel is sufficient for patients, anesthesiologists and surgeons to begin the process of reexamining ways to adjust anesthetic and surgical practice that will make this complication of historical interest only.

This is a brilliant, moving, comprehensive exploration of what consciousness (and unconscious states) encompass. It is a complex personal exploration as well as one which includes many variations of scientific (and not so scientific) studies in the history of anesthesia. The author bravely reveals herself with great depth and beauty. Much of the book is given over to the inherent problems of anesthetics, including possible awareness and resultant suffering during surgery. There are no final answers here on the most profound level, as the nature of consciousness is a philosophical consideration at this point, and I suspect, may always be that. I will keep the book as one of my most treasured ones.

This book explores many different aspects of anesthesia and follows along the author's personal journey intertwined with research. She seeks out many professionals and tries to discover more truths about how anesthesia works and what it is doing to patients while they are under. There were a lot of interesting tidbits, including historical and philosophical references and interviews with many people. I think the book could have been a little shorter and still been as effective. The author did go into great depth with her own personal story and emotional state at various times which was interesting but a little drawn out at times. Overall, I'm glad that I read it.

The cover was folded over when receiving the book.

If this was a psychotherapists way for Cole-Adams to "face her fears" this book should never have been published let alone sold. After the first chapters, I was truly bored with her fears and how can mommy and daddy take care of me...whew! Snowflake on a binge. !

This book manages to be both a history of the art and science of anesthesia and a memoir about the author's own experiences waiting for and experiencing surgery. It's a fascinating read on the philosophy of anesthesia, questions about whether patients really remember what happens while they're under anesthesia, and so on. I definitely recommend this book!

This is a fascinating combination of journalism and memoir. As an anesthesiologist I found the interviews with leading researchers fascinating and was impressed with Kate Cole-Adams' ability to explain complex science for the lay readers. I also found Kate's exploration of her own experience with surgery to be very moving and beautifully written. A must-read for anyone interested in the intersection between science and art!

Way too much about what patients may feel like they remember from anesthesia. The surgery is now being done so much better that 100 years ago. Nothing is going to be perfect.