Carol Donley and Martin Kohn believe that "physicians stand at a unique vantage point as observers of the human condition". In this text, contributors attempt to prove this assertion through their prose on topics as diverse as the clashes between forces of creation and destruction, institutional economic survival, conflicts between genders and generations, balancing of primary care with specialization, issues of race and class, cultural displacement and the influence of William Carlos Williams on doctors and writing. The stories and essays in the collection provide a deeper understanding of the complex emotions and feelings of the men and women who, every day, hold life in their hands.