In Lydialyle Gibson’s absorbing narrative about the practice of wilderness medicine, Harvard physician Stuart Harris recalls a season he spent caring for ill and injured patients on the slopes of Denali National Park in Alaska. Using a stripped-down set of instruments and medications, Harris treated climbers’ heart attacks and broken bones, and afterward sat by their bedsides, sometimes for hours, talking and listening as they waited for the rescue helicopter to arrive.
From the Judges
Superior writing, organization, structure. Great balance of contextual details and first-person narrative. Compelling through-line focusing on the importance and value of listening to patients. Excellent character development, historical context. A vital sense of humanity, wilderness and relational connection pulses through this feature.
