The Death of Maria Chavarria

It is 1963 at Memorial Hospital in Corpus Christi, Texas, as young intern John Deaton dashes madly through the corridors. Overwhelmed yet invigorated by his new challenge, Deaton soon realizes that an intern's life can be exemplary one moment-and hopeless the next. Unfortunately, Deaton has no idea that he is about to witness an event that will change his life forever.

It is a hot summer day when Maria, one of Deaton's OB/ GYN patients, slips into a coma after mysterious abdominal pain-even after she delivers a healthy baby. Exasperated after repeatedly expressing his concerns for her care to his superiors, Deaton is devastated as he watches his crucially ill patient suffer death by neglect, an unthinkable crime brazenly covered up by those in authority. As Deaton details his early life and hospital events, he highlights a shocking phenomenon present behind the White Curtain that tells a story as powerful as it is important.

This thoughtful, gripping memoir portrays an untold side of the field of medicine and relays an unforgettable message: when a doctor sacrifices everything to save a patient, the doctor is saved too.