When my education ended with grade school in my large Amish family, my two brothers and I immersed ourselves in self-help books and paperbacks on science and even met in a secret cave with our best friends, where we gave lectures to each other to educate ourselves.  We thrived in the outdoors, sleeping in a treehouse, and mounted overnight camping trips with our friends to Ozark peaks with only rudimentary gear and clothes.

We wrote a letter to our local newspaper protesting plans to dam the Buffalo River, that subsequently was designated a National Scenic River.  We turned from trapping predators to calling for their protection and were met with stiff resistance from the community.  We had become early converts to the environmental movement.

The Amish believe in nonresistance or pacifism and in lieu of military service I worked as a civilian at St. Anthony’s Hospital in Oklahoma City as an orderly and surgical technician. I read the anonymously published Intern by Doctor X that captures the life of an intern--insecure, sleep-deprived, learning to save lives from costly mistakes, that inspired me to apply to medical school.

On our farm I learned how to innovate and adapt with only the essentials that proved useful in the modern operating room as a neurosurgeon and on medical missions to Haiti. I write about the exhilaration I felt from saving a life from performing brain surgery or preventing paralysis by operating on the spine and the anguish I experienced from my surgical complications. I describe how I survived south Florida's litigious environment where medical malpractice lawsuits were a part of a neurosurgeon's life.

Influenced by my Amish upbringing, a lack of assertiveness plagued my early life. It wasn't until I became a prominent neurosurgeon at my hospital that I was able to confront the HR director to have my office manager restored with full benefits who had been fired under a false accusation of physical violence.

The pervasive lack of critical thinking in our society causing needless suffering and death despite unprecedented advances in science and medicine.  Our health and happiness depend on rational decisions related to healthcare, diet and the well-being of all life on our planet. Writing in the narrative form will hold the interest of my readers, and at the same time provide valuable information they otherwise might not learn.