Review
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Title: Physician, Heal Thyself: A Compact Collection of Contemporary Stories
Author: Chris McClelland
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Fiction – Short Story Collection
Year Published: 2024
Time: 56 minutes (Audio Book)
Binding: Audio/Paper/e-Book
ISBN:
Price: Audio: 3.46; Paper: 4.00; e-Book .99
Reviewed by Andrew Hamilton for the Association of Mormon Letters
Physician, Heal Thyself: A Compact Collection of Contemporary Stories is by award-winning author Chris McClelland. I was sent an Audible copy to review from which seems to be the default version at Amazon. It is also available as a print-on-demand paperback and as an e-book. Be careful when you look it up, Amazon links a hardback version for about seven dollars. This is a separate book with a similar title by a Ken McFarland telling the story of his having brain cancer.
Physician, Heal Thyself is comprised of six stories. The first four are unrelated, the final two are connected. All of the stories are very short. If you listen at the standard speed, the longest story is thirteen minutes long, the shortest is just under seven, and the entire collection takes just under an hour to listen to.
Story One, “Physician, Heal Thyself,“ is about an ER Physician and her husband and their experiences during the COVID pandemic. This was the oddest story for me and the only one I did not like. The story takes a definite anti-mask, anti-quarantine stance and approaches the whole outbreak as a conspiracy to take away people’s personal liberties. IF you are into that kind of thing, this might be a story for you. I am DEFINITELY NOT into that kind of thing.
Story Two, “Regret,” is the longest in the collection. It was my favorite. “Regret” is about the deep friendship between two men, one of whom is an alcoholic. Mick, the sober friend, struggles with how to help his friend Jim. The story follows his decisions and his pondering on whether he made the correct choices to help his friend. It was the most powerful story of the collection for me. I listened to it multiple times and pondered deeply each time. It left me thinking each time about life, my friends, my family, and the people I know who have struggled with various addictions and my interactions with them. Did I make the right decisions in our relationships? Was I thinking of them or myself? This is a story I will continue to revisit.
Story Three, “Veni, Vedi, Vici,” was the story that surprised me the most. It was the funest story of the collection for me. I don’t want to say too much and spoil the story. It is enjoyable and unusual.
Story Four, “The Con-Ed Man,” Is the most heartwarming and uplifting story of the collection. It is about two men who meet by chance abut make a deep connection and bless each other’s lives deeply. It is a story that will brighten your day and give you hope. It reminded me of the importance of making personal connections and how being kind to others can change their lives.
Stories Five and Six, “A Feast of Friends,” and “The End of Something” are the only related stories. They are also the two shortest stories. “Feast” tells the story of a young man who suffers a mental collapse while serving in the military. He is able to get his life back together and make it through his challenges due to the love and friendship of his fraternity brothers. At one point, the narrator states that all of his friends banded together to help him without “Judgement of my mental state.” It is a great story and provides an interesting contrast to “Regret.” It is also definitely worth repeated listens and is and good reminder of the importance of friendship and of not judging others. “The End of Something” picks up from the end of “Feast.” If the narrator did not read the story title, you would think that it was just a part of “Feast.”
“End” ponders the narrator’s experience as a man struggling with depression shows up for a rush week activity. Since he has struggled with depression, his frat brothers send him to discourage the young man from joining the frat. Because the narrator was accepted by his frat brothers despite his own struggles with mental illness, this is a tough assignment for him. These two stories provide a thought-provoking interaction.
With the exception of the first story, I enjoyed the entire collection. Each story left me pondering and thinking about experiences and people from my life. Had I made the right decisions? Was I a true friend when I needed to be? Am I leaving the world a better place? Though the stories are unrelated, they do mostly take up a theme of healing and leave you pondering on the human condition.
This collection is VERY short and VERY reasonably priced. It is very much worth your investment of less than four dollars and one hour of your time. I highly recommend it. Physician, Heal Thyself: A Compact Collection of Contemporary Stories by Chris McClelland will leave you thinking and enriched.