Five Days at Memorial

Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital

By: Sheri Fink

Narrated by: Kirsten Potter

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The award-winning book that inspired an Apple Original series from Apple TV+ • A landmark investigation of patient deaths at a New Orleans hospital ravaged by Hurricane Katrina—and the suspenseful portrayal of the quest for truth and justice—from a Pulitzer Prize–winning physician and reporter

“An amazing tale, as inexorable as a Greek tragedy and as gripping as a whodunit.”—Dallas Morning News

After Hurricane Katrina struck and power failed, amid rising floodwaters and heat, exhausted staff at Memorial Medical Center designated certain patients last for rescue. Months later, a doctor and two nurses were arrested and accused of injecting some of those patients with life-ending drugs.

Five Days at Memorial, the culmination of six years of reporting by Pulitzer Prize winner Sheri Fink, unspools the mystery, bringing us inside a hospital fighting for its life and into the most charged questions in health care: which patients should be prioritized, and can health care professionals ever be excused for hastening death?

Transforming our understanding of human nature in crisis, Five Days at Memorial exposes the hidden dilemmas of end-of-life care and reveals how ill-prepared we are for large-scale disasters—and how we can do better.

ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New York Times Book Review • ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Chicago Tribune, Seattle Times, Entertainment Weekly, Christian Science Monitor, Kansas City Star

WINNER: National Book Critics Circle Award, J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize, PEN/John Kenneth Galbraith Award, Los Angeles Times Book Prize, Ridenhour Book Prize, American Medical Writers Association Medical Book Award, National Association of Science Writers Science in Society Award

©2013 Sheri Fink (P)2013 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

2014, Carnegie Medal, Short-listed

2013, Los Angeles Times Book Prizes—Current Interest—Winner

2014, National Book Critics Circle Awards, Winner

2015, PEN/John Kenneth Galbraith Award for Nonfiction, Winner

2014, Ron Ridenhour Book Award, Winner

“The journalist and doctor Sheri Fink published a meticulous investigation of these deaths in the New York Times Magazine and on the Web site of ProPublica, in 2009. Her work won a Pulitzer Prize. And now comes the book. In Five Days at Memorial, the contours of the story remain the same, yet Fink imbues them with far more narrative richness, making the doctors seem both more sympathetic and more culpable. Fink also expands on the ethical conundrums, which have festered over time and seem to gain fresh urgency.” (The New Yorker)

"“That so many people, starkly divided over the question of whether crimes had been committed, come off as decent and appealing makes this book an absorbing read. Dr. Fink brings a shimmering intelligence to its many narrative cul-de-sacs, which consider medical, legal and ethical issues. . . . By reporting the depth of those gruesome hours in Memorial before the helicopters came, and giving weight to medical ethics as grounded in the law, Sheri Fink has written an unforgettable story. Five Days at Memorial is social reporting of the first rank.” (Jason Berry, The New York Times)

Haunting

Any additional comments?

"Five Days at Memorial" is balanced, thought provoking and unexpectedly shocking. I still wonder "what would I have done" under the same horrific circumstances. Was the outcome just? Was truth and justice really served? Why wasn't the situation different? I'm still haunted.

It's an excellent piece of investigative journalism.

So much detail!

Would you try another book from Sheri Fink and/or Kirsten Potter?

As a curious person, I often tackle books outside my experience base. However, I was interested in what happened at Memorial Hospital in New Orleans immediately following Hurricane Katrina. 5 Days at Memorial (5-Days) is an excellent book for anyone associated with providing medical treatment. Sheri Fink completes a step-by-step analysis into each facet of the tragedy that occurred following Katrina. Fink is an exceptional writer and her ability deconstruct this tragic story is amazing. As a professional not involved in the medical world, I soon became burdened by the relentless detail described in 5-Days. There were so many patients, nurses, doctors, medicines, and government officials that I soon lost track of the story. 5-Days has a heavy and serious tone that is constantly present. Overall, this is an excellent book for lawyers, doctors, nurses, ethicists, and hospital professional. As a curious reader I lost focus about halfway in.

Not great but important to hear

Narration distracting from numerous mispronunciations of both common words, place names and terminology . Author likely biased but the underlying lessons of this event are necessary reading for all health professionals.

Pronunciation Problems

It would have been helpful for the narrator to take a trip down to New Orleans to learn how some of the words are pronounced locally. There nothing necessarily wrong, it’s just that it is distracting if you know how it should sound.

Important, Thought provoking Book

Worth listening to for anyone in health care or disaster preparedness. Very thought provoking-What would you do when caring for seriously ill patients during severe circumstances with little to no outside support? Why were the outcomes at this hospital so different from other New Orleans hospitals during Hurricane Katrina. I did have some trouble keeping people's names straight - not sure if that is because I listened in smaller chunks, or due to the writing or narration.

Intense story of medical & political ethics

Most everyone knows where they were when Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005. We heard of many rescue successes and tragedies. Sheri Fink takes you through the hell that one particular hospital endured - and the after affects of medical decisions.

A must read

This should be mandatory reading for anyone who works in a healthcare facility. It is simultaneously terrifying and thought-provoking. Even if you think you know the story, read this book. It will really make you examine how you think you might respond in a similar situation. As an audiobook, it was extremely well read, pleasant to listen to, and engaging. Made my drive go by so quickly. I would highly recommend this to anyone.

Excellent!

This is a fascinating look at what happened at one hospital during and after Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. Outstanding research, writing and compassion make this a truly amazing project. We have a lot to learn from this author’s insights.

Interesting, broad look at Katrina's devastation

Would you listen to Five Days at Memorial again? Why?

Interesting history about the city, it's engineering, it's political shortcomings and federal abandonment. More interesting was the moral decisions that the medical professionals were called to make amidst ever-changing information. Fascinating to hear how the patient's survival potential was coded for the purposes of evacuation - people became numbers. Doctors chose who lived, who evacuated, who was deserving of euthanasia, including the doctor's and nurses pets who sheltered at the same hospital! Learned a lot about medicines and life support, and how the close-to-dying are cared for in hospitals.

What did you like best about this story?

The euthanasia debate. Was it murder? Or euthanasia? Is a catastrophic event like Katrina equivalent to war-time rules of survival?

What three words best describe Kirsten Potter’s performance?

newscaster court reporter

What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?

The differences in each area hospital's experience. Some were hopeful and only 1-2 people died. Others were bleak and many many died.

Any additional comments?

Can't wait to find more stories about Katrina.

Conflicted

At times the story flowed. Other moments were questionable, as to why information was offered? What is the relationship, I often thought. The tangents were sometimes pertinent to the story, while other moments seemed to just consume time. The most distracting part, being from the region, are the endless mispronunciations. I had to rethink what was said, in order to realize, to whom or what she was referring. By the way, I am now reconsidering all DNR options!