Hundreds of Interlaced Fingers by Vanessa Grubbs

In the sure hands of Vanessa Grubbs, it is a story told beautifully, courageously, and honestly. “ Hundreds of Interlaced Fingers is a love story-love for a man, love for the profession of medicine, love for humanity, love for life. It’s a must-read for anyone who is or who knows anyone having kidney issues, on dialysis, or considering transplant.” - Victoria Sweet, MD, award-winning author of God’s Hotel: A Doctor, a Hospital, and a Pilgrimage to the Heart of Medicine Vanessa Grubbs, one of the few black female kidney doctors in the country, has written an intense, ambitious, and fascinating book. Her book is a wonderful guide for people facing kidney disease, complete with information on how to navigate the health care system.” - Angelo Volandes, Harvard physician and author of The Conversation Grubbs’s beautifully written book will connect with your heart and soul.

If you loved Jessica Zitter’s Extreme Measures or Atul Gawande’s Being Mortal, Dr. Vanessa Grubbs has written an unforgettable journey of the way love, health, and illness affect us all-doctors and patients. This gripping, heartfelt memoir is a deeply insightful look at health care in America as experienced by doctor and patient.” - Abraham Verghese, author of Cutting for Stone Not only did she train as a kidney specialist because of the man she loves, but also gave him one of her kidneys. Grubbs’ extraordinary story reminds us all of the Samaritan function of being a physician. Shaped by Vanessa’s remarkable experiences as a doctor, a woman of color, a mother, and a kidney donor, Hundreds of Interlaced Fingers is a love story, an exposé, and a clarion call for us all to consider the dualities of both loving and letting go.

Motivated by Robert’s experience and her newfound knowledge, Vanessa became a nephrologist-a kidney doctor-and discovered far more about the realities of the specialty. This life-affirming experience forged a bond that would become a pillar of Vanessa and Robert’s marriage-and the beginning of her new career. Despite their being early in their relationship, she volunteered one of her own kidneys-and discovered that she was a match. Although Vanessa was a primary care doctor, she developed a deeper understanding of the difficulties Robert faced with dialysis and in finding a donor. Robert suffered from end-stage kidney disease, which required him to endure years of debilitating dialysis to stay alive, at least until his failed organ could be replaced by a kidney transplant.

When Vanessa fell in love with Robert, she had no idea that the relationship would thoroughly transform her life. A young, hopeful doctor’s memoir-an unforgettable love story and an informative journey into the world of medicine and kidney transplantation that ultimately asks: What does it mean to let go of something that you love, even if it is life itself?

Hundreds of Interlaced Fingers by Vanessa Grubbs