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I think if you're going to write a book that's intended to be instructive to other people, you need to first establish your own reason for having knowledge within that subject. By detailing her personal experiences, she let the readers know exactly how "qualified" she was to tell them about the healthcare industry. It adds more weight to the information she does share, and at the same time it allows readers to learn from her experience instead of just the things she tells them.

The author shared information about the long line of physicians in her family. I think she wanted to showcase her knowledge within the healthcare system and all the changes she had witnessed. The photos of her dad's office and the stories about his practice remind us how much our contact with doctors has changed in just one generation. It was interesting that - even with all that history and knowledge - she still hesitated to see a doctor when the spots appeared on her face and arm. She needed her husband's navigation to get her health needs remedied.

I don't think that adding her background information has in any way prevented the inclusion of important information. I personally enjoyed reading about her history, and it built my trust in her experience as a medical personnel.

Putting helpful information, as with healthcare, in the context of personal experience, provides a realistic foundation to the advice offered by the author. I thought that she provided exceptional service to her readers by including her personal story. In this way, the author doesn't come across simply as a talking head, but as someone with the type of experience to support her recommendations.

Kiran Kanwar wrote: ↑15 Jun 2021, 02:32 When somebody provides information about something, readers want to know that from what experience/authority is the person giving this information and if this information is trustworthy. So, the memoir parts are necessary. But at the same time, there should be a balance between the author's own experiences and actual information. Otherwise, the purpose of the book is defeated.

I agree with this. The author blended well her personal experience with the actual information giving the readers a better view of her concept.

Namitha Iyer wrote: ↑14 Jun 2021, 23:04 Given that the first several chapters talk about the author's personal experiences within healthcare and her struggles with the same, do you think that this foundation was necessary to build her arguments surrounding other topics later on in the book? Or do you believe that in the process of penning down her own experiences, other important information that could have been provided to the reader was lost?

I think when someone write a story, they build their story based on personal experiences whether their own or someone else's. I don't think there is any information lost in the course of the author penning down her personal experiences.

I find that I take advice more readily when it is dished out by somebody who has personal experience on the matter. I therefore feel that her background is an important part of the topics covered in this book.

I think author's personal experience helps you understand the situations much better and it made the book interesting . And that is why I think the foundation was nccessary.

I think her background and personal experience were important to the book. Readers need to know that she is speaking with authority on the subject because she has lived it herself. I felt she had a good balance between her own personal experiences and the need-to-know information that she presented.

The memoirs were very necessary. They act as premises, giving the reader a comprehensive idea of the author's experience. This makes the write up complete.

I found that her backstory helped me absorb the information in the book better. The author is someone who has seen others struggle with their healthcare needs, and was then thrown into a similar situation. The backstory gave her strong credibility, in my opinion.

I believe it served two purposes. Although a memoir, drawing from her experience is informative. Knowing the authors history helps readers to also be able to relate and derive the best meanings.

Emily_Jen wrote: ↑17 Jun 2021, 13:38 I think it is important to know where the author is coming from. Only then would you be able to see things from their perspective. As a result, I think the foundation was necessary to build her arguments surrounding other topics later on in the book.

I agree. Especially when it comes to such complicated topics. The more we know about the source the more it builds credibility. Otherwise, it will be hefty to keep checking if the information is correct or not.

I think including the background of the author also helps to make the book more compelling. Even if it's only meant to be instructive and not a story! Little bits of personal insight always helps to keep me reading, even in non-fiction. And also it shows the background the author is writing from. Which can be very important to put in context the arguments she makes

I think there is a great balance between the author sharing her personal experiences and also adding important details that could help people interested in the book.