Preview
  • Fragile

  • Beauty in Chaos, Grace in Tragedy, and the Hope That Lives in Between
  • By: Shannon Sovndal
  • Narrated by: Shannon Sovndal
  • Length: 5 hrs and 40 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (31 ratings)

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Fragile

By: Shannon Sovndal
Narrated by: Shannon Sovndal
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Publisher's summary

Life is fragile.

When Shannon Sovndal started medical school, he was confident and motivated and felt invincible. He thought he was going in with his eyes wide open. Really, he had no clue. Nothing could prepare him for the harsh reality of being a compassionate human and working as an ER doctor.

In his emotionally charged memoir, Sovndal examines the tenuous balance between trying to compartmentalize the trauma of tragedy while also preserving his own humanity. With candor and humility, Fragile pulls back the curtain on the ER, a place where Sovndal has learned that universal truths about the human condition can be discovered...if you pause long enough to take a breath.

At turns heartbreaking and heartwarming, serious and funny, Sovndal’s memoir is about trying to reconcile the beautiful and horrific tension that makes life so fragile, and how accepting that hard truth opens us up to appreciate life’s most precious moments - which are often the ones most filled with connection, hope, and love.

©2020 Shannon Sovndal (P)2020 Shannon Sovndal
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What listeners say about Fragile

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Finally!

As a retired RN, and someone who was also an EMT-P, this is a book that really put words to so many of my own experiences, thoughts and feelings.

I love reading about the roads travelled by others in their journey through medicine, but this is by far the most honest and real. Thanks!

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Awesome book

It is a great book that grabs you from the beginning and takes you through the story as if you were witnessing the events in the moment. I'll recommend it to all my friends!

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

My Life

A story of the author’s personal life and pastimes. Very little about patients or being a doctor. Mildly interesting but not exceptional.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent

Loved the book. Dr. Sovndal uses excellent real life experiences not just as an ER doctor but from his personal life. I highly recommend this book.

Dr. Sovndal thank you for being on the Frontline now during COVID-19.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Fascinating look into what it means to be an emergency medicine doctor

Sovndal shares his personal experiences in an engaging and vulnerable way. And in his own voice you can hear and feel the emotions.
Those who choose this way to serve others can seem aloof in person but hearing this story the humanity shines through.

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I was mesmerized by this book

First, I'm a big fan of books read by the author...it seems more personable. This book was so raw and real and riveting. It's the kind of book that makes me want to dive right in again, and I probably will. The author claims writing is not his gift, but I beg to differ. Another reviewer was right...it's a lot more than accounts of ER crises and difficult cases. Five stars

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anyone can come up with a book like this

only 2 or 3 stories about medicine. the rest is a boring autobiography of an ordinary life. big waste of a credit

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2 people found this helpful