A License to Heal

An emergency room physician recalls his eventful career in this insightful, occasionally harrowing, memoir. Despite the subtitle, debut author Bentley's reminiscences are hardly random. They have been selected to succinctly or dramatically convey the progression of a decades-long career. Leaving out personal details unless relevant to his anecdotes, Bentley emerges as a compassionate doctor who sympathizes with his patients, including those who have allowed their bodies to fall apart. He is also