Review of The Long Tale of Tears and Smiles

[Standor5865]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Long Tale of Tears and Smiles" by Rana Bitar.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Growing up in Damascus, Syria, a passionate and intelligent Rana Bitar would harbor dreams of becoming a doctor while exploring her creative or artistic side. These dreams would see her attend medical school in Syria after the disappointment of not being able to do so in the United States as she had planed earlier. Nevertheless, she would move to the U.S. for her residency and fellowship in 1990 and become an oncologist in 1998. Her vast experiences with her patients are what her book, The Long Tale of Tears and Smiles: An Oncologist's Journey, revolves around.

Rana Bitar's impact on her patients is evident, and their impact on her is even more striking. In this book, we are brought to the forefront of the encounters people have with death. At these points, just like the author, we are left to question how a brush with death can change our views, how we can handle it, and the things we are going to try out, even if they are normally against our values. The author's ability to raise several thought-provoking questions through From the story of Candace, who had an oral tumor, and how her stuttering reminded the author of her struggles with settling into America in the summer of 1990 since she wasn't fluent in English to the story of Irene, who didn't adhere to her prescriptions due to the fact that she couldn't read, which the author would learn about much later, the book was filled with emotional stories that not only touched me but also thought me life lessons just as the author learned from them. One prominent lesson I learned was having the patience to see things from another person's perspective.

Rana Bitar also speaks with an experienced and compassionate tone while she reflects on her journey, her fears, and her losses and draws comparisons between her patients' lives and hers. The author's impeccable use of imagery in narrating all sides of these unique stories is admirable as well. Her infectious sense of humor is also a prominent feature of the stories, especially with how helpful it was in helping patients, enforcing the belief that laughter is indeed the best medicine.

Furthermore, there are also other engaging aspects of the author's personal life included in the book, including her children's impact on her life, especially with her first child influencing the release of this book, and her experience with being a female oncologist since 1998. Some of these experiences will be relatable to a lot of female readers.

In summary, the stories in The Long Tale of Tears and Smiles will touch you, teach you, shake you, and push you to certain realizations. The book is flawlessly edited, as I did not find any errors. I also cannot think of any aspect of the book I do not like. Therefore, I rate this book four out of four stars. Readers who enjoy memoirs will thoroughly enjoy this read.

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The Long Tale of Tears and Smiles
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

[Chijindu Ifedigbo]

The impact of Rana Bitar's on her patients is evident, and their impact on her is even more striking. I love this review

[Harsh Soni 3]

To know how can patient and doctor change the life of each other seems interesting to me. Thanks for the review.

[Review Writer]

This book promised a relaxing and educative read considering its over theme. Thanks for sharing this review.

[Balebi Alexis]

The long tale of tears and smile by Rana. It narrates about author's journey from Syria to USA.

[kittykat6132]

This memoir seems heartfelt and motivating. Am intrigued by the story the author tells.

[Shilisia]

Rana Bitar sounds like a compassionate woman. I admire her zeal to fulfil her dreams and her impact on her patients. Thank you for a beautiful review.

[Akaraiwe]

This review is complex for me to understand. The only thing I can bring out from it is certain character having cancer of the mouth which effected her speech.