Author Interview – Wolf Pascoe @WolfPascoe

When did you first know you could be a writer?

This is hard to say. For me there came a moment when the answer to the question, “What do you do?” changed from “I want to be a writer” to “I’m a writer.” It was well after my first book found a publisher. I needed to learn that unpublished writing could be as good as published writing—that in fact a lot of published writing wasn’t any good at all, and had more to do with knowing the right people rather than meriting attention.

Are you reading any interesting books at the moment?

I’m re-reading Anna Karenina—listening, rather, to the audiobook. I read it in high school for fun, and appreciated it as much as I was capable of at that time. Recently I saw the movie—the Keira Knightley-Jude Law version. I was entranced—I found the theatrical metaphor breathtaking—and watched it twice again. Then I wanted to re-visit the book. The version narrated by David Horovitchis the one to get. I listen to a lot of audiobooks. This is one of the best-narrated ever. I wondered if our face-paced Internet world had spoiled me for such a long novel, and that I wouldn’t have the patience for Tolstoy’s leisurely narrative. I needn’t have worried. Every moment is wonderful.

What was the inspiration for Breathing for Two?

For the longest time, I felt that my day job (anesthesiology) immersed me in this strange, difficult, hidden world. I wanted to tell people about it. Medicine can be very dramatic. But almost all of what has been written or filmed about operating rooms concerns surgery. Mention anesthesia and most people draw a blank. But in many ways it’s more dramatic than surgery. I wanted to convey what happens in a manner that was non-technical and (I hope) intriguing. Breathing is only one aspect, of course, but by keeping a narrow focus, I could go deep.

How have other doctors responded to Breathing for Two?

I wrote the book under a pen name (Wolf Pascoe) for confidentiality. My favorite response was from a colleague and friend who read an excerpt of the book that was published in an anesthesia journal. He didn’t know I had written it. “Did you read that excerpt?” I asked him. “Yes.” “What did you think of it?” I asked him. “Good.” “What about the author?” I said. “Just a guy like you or me,” he said.

Do you want to write more about medicine?

Yes, but no more first-person essays like Breathing for Two. I’ve been writing in the first person for two or three years now in my blog Just Add Father, which chronicles experiences with my son. I really want to get back to fiction, and to write in the third person. I’m tired (he said) of the first person singular pronoun.

What will your next book be?

In the prologue to Breathing for Two, I describe the experience of undergoing anesthesia as a night-sea journey. I’m very taken with this metaphor. I want to explore it all the way back to its mythological roots, which lie in Greece in the temples of Asclepius, the god of medicine.

What do you think the essence of writing is?

The essence of writing is voice, and a big part of voice is rhythm. Finding a voice in writing is like finding a character as an actor.

What’s the purpose of writing?

To make the words disappear.

PRAISE FOR BREATHING FOR TWO:

“In this page-turner, veteran anesthesiologist Pascoe offers a riveting portrait of surgery’s most harrowing relationship and a breathtaking (pun intended!) account of what it means to hold another person’s life in one’s hands.”  – Amazon reader

“What I most enjoyed about this very personal journey is that Pascoe reveals in an unflinching way his mistakes, narrow brushes with disaster, as well as his victories, and how it all has changed him during his thirty years of anesthesia practice.” — Amazon reader

“It’s the kind of book that makes you deeply interested in things you never thought about before.” — Amazon reader

OVERVIEW:

Ever wonder why giving anesthesia is described as hours of boredom, moments of panic? With gentle precision, anesthesiologist Wolf Pascoe teases apart an overlooked world and unveils the eggshell dance that takes place at the head of an operating table.

MORE PRAISE . . .

“As Atul Gawande gives readers the surgeon’s perspective, so Wolf Pascoe lets us know what it’s like to be at the other end of the table. – Amazon reader

“I’m a doctor and I thought that this book would be only mildly interesting, but I found that I was captivated and in suspense wanting to see how his difficult cases turned out.” — Amazon reader

“Pascoe’s honest prose reminds us that we’re all human – flawed, fragile, and doing our best to navigate the unpredictable with the tools we have at hand. Beautifully written, easy to read.”   — Amazon reader

Intrigued or spooked by what happens in an operating theatre? Breathing for Two is a seat on the stage, a short book that will change the way you think about life, and breath.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Non-fiction / Memoir

Rating – G

More details about the author and the book

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Website http://wolfpascoe.com