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Biography & Autobiography. Health & Fitness. Medical. Nonfiction. HTML:"A stirring, beautiful memoir that is alternately hilarious and heartbreaking, and ultimately a triumph" from the Wall Street Journal�??bestselling author (Publishers Weekly, starred review). Carolyn Jourdan, an attorney on Capitol Hill, thought she had it made. But when her mother has a heart attack, she returns home to the Tennessee mountains, where her father is a country doctor and her mother works as his receptionist. Jourdan offers to fill in for her mother until she gets better. But days turn into weeks as she trades her suits for scrubs and finds herself following hazmat regulations for cleaning up bodily fluids; maintaining composure when confronted with a splinter the size of a steak knife; and tending to the loquacious Miss Hiawatha, whose daily doctor visits are never billed. Most important, though, she comes to understand what her caring and patient father means to her close-knit community. With great humor and great tenderness, Heart in the Right Place shows that some of our biggest heroes are the ones living right beside us. "This is a wonderful book. I would have enjoyed it even if Carolyn wasn't a neighbor of mine in East Tennessee. She is a great writer." �??Dolly Parton "With lavish affection, genuine respect, and exuberant humor, Jourdan offers a zestfully compassionate portrait of a poor community rich in the ways of true humanity." �??Booklist "A beautiful memoir . . . Making a difference can be as simple as getting up in the morning and helping those around you." �??Family… (more)
User reviews
And btw, though the prologue that explains the title seemed to portray Dad playing a joke on Carolyn, it's likely quite true. ?áDextrocardia is believed to occur in approximately 1 in 12,000 people." acc. to wikipedia.
Oh, and the cover is irrelevant eye-candy. ?áWell, relevant in the sense it caught my eye, but otherwise not anything significant to the story, imo."
Carolyn's father, Dr. Jourdan, was one of a rapidly disappearing breed of rural family medicine practitioners who owned their own practice, made hospital calls, etc. Her father didn't schedule appointments. His patients showed up at his office when they had a medical problem, and they sat in the waiting room until it was their turn. Dr. Jourdan sounded very much like my old family doctor, who ran a similar practice almost within spitting distance. They probably knew each other from local medical association meetings.
I knew this book was special from the first chapter, when the author described her first day of temping for her mother. The first patients that day were three ladies in their 90s. Carolyn thought it would be easier for them if she let them wait in one of the exam rooms instead of the waiting room, so she left them alone in a room with a hydraulic table. It seemed like a good idea at the time...
This book is perfect for readers who like James Herriot's veterinary stories or Patrick Taylor's Irish Country Doctor books. It might also be a good companion read for J.D. Vance's Hillbilly Elegy.
The story opens as Carolyn, the accomplished, independently successful attorney receives a phone call from her
At first she was completely out of her element, feeling inadequate and ineffective. She had always believed that by being an attorney she could make a difference, on the national level, which in turn would help large numbers of people. Now, after months of being immersed in this simple, country community, interacting with the patients on a personal level, she began to see her parents selfless devotion to these people in a new light.
Far from the hustle and bustle of high powered politicians and law makers, is where you find the folks who are making a difference, every day…changing the world with one selfless act of kindness at a time. Carolyn Jourdan’s memoir is an honest look into the heart of a young woman that discovers she is and has always been, her parents daughter. Chock-full of sweet southern charm, quaint characters that will have you laughing out loud one minute and reaching for a tissue the next, this is a wonderful story. Delightful, insightful and inspirational, Heart In The Right Place is a beautifully written novel that challenges us to rethink our goals, values and perceptions. Life is unpredictable and it’s human nature to search for your purpose and to want to make a difference, which is very personal and quite difficult. And yet, Carolyn Jourdan shares her intimate journey through the tough questions, self-doubt and ultimately the choice to make sweeping changes in her life. A world away from the high-powered, black-tie gatherings where wheeling and dealing is the name of the game, she found her calling in a country doctor’s small office.
Don’t miss this one-of-a-kind memoir, Jourdan’s words will stay with you long after the book has been snugly tucked away on the shelf.
Carolyn Jourdan was a high profile attorney who worked on Capitol Hill. She drove a Mercedes, and had a high profile circle of friends. She
A family emergency sent her back to the hills of Tennessee, for a few days. It wasn't easy. She missed her place in DC from almost the first moment she was away. Her best friend was there. Her life and work were there. She was somebody there...or was she.
As the days and then weeks passed, far longer than she had expected or planned, Carolyn began to see things just a little differently. She had always wanted to help others, but had seen it more as a grand scheme. Helping many at one time. Making a difference . But is is more important to make a difference to many people at one time than it is to do so one by one. That was a conundrum she had trouble solving.
I loved each and every one of the people I met in this book. There were tears in my eyes more than once. A story filled with compassion, love and faith that will have a firm place on my small self of books that are to be read again and again.
However, her seventy-two-year-old mother didn’t recuperate as quickly as she had anticipated and her seventy-two-year-old father had no one else who could perform the many duties necessary to run the office: complete the claim forms for insurance payments, greet the patients and answer the phones, order supplies, etc. The days expanded into weeks, then into months, then a year. During that time, she kept in touch with her DC job, planning to go back as soon as possible.
HEART IN THE RIGHT PLACE is a welll-written memoir of that year. She writes about her experiences going to see patients with her father as she was growing up. Living in a small, rural community, everyone knew everyone else. Her father was the only doctor around and treated many people who, in a city, would have gone to a specialist instead. (He does refer some patients to specialist after his initial consultation.) His patients (they are never treated as diseases or cases) suffer from a wide variety of illnesses and accidents. Many of them cannot afford to pay for their treatments. All are treated with compassion and respect.
While the patients’ medical situations provide the background for most of the book (the most explicit is Chapter 24 where she witnesses and describes a heart bypass operation. Read about what happens when someone smokes before surgery.), she makes the reader experience the lives of the community from her perspective with warmth, love, and humor.
Her father’s best friend, Fletcher teaches her what it’s like when a doctor can’t save a patient from: “The pitiful truth is that sometimes the best thing, the only thing, we can do for another person is just show up....And that takes guts.”
Among her areas of concentration in DC was nuclear science. When the US government was looking for a place for a nuclear warhead dump, the only place that wanted it was near her home. The single industry in town, a maximum security prison, had closed and the residents saw the dump as a source of revenue and jobs. When people for and against the dump sites from all over the country came to testify before Congress, the dressed in new clothes and brought their families to watch. Sadly, the media wasn’t interested and since there were no cameras present, the senators didn’t stay around either. She ended up running the meeting, giving the people the respect she thought they deserved. As well as showing what makes a politician respond, the chapter has a wonderful explanation of the etymology of the word “testimony” and why women couldn’t testify in court or have legal rights.
Carolyn wrestles about whether she should go back to the high life in DC or stay in Tennessee; what are the advantages and disadvantages of each way of life. Where will she find fulfillment. The woman at the end of the book is not the same person as the one at the beginning.