Ep. 36 Books Help the Medicine Go Down with Kimmery Martin 3-11-20

“Wherever the art of medicine is loved, there is also the love of humanity”. This quote from Hippocrates, the father of medicine, is especially true when doctors imbue their experiences into artistic pursuits like today’s guest. Kimmery Martin is an emergency room physician turned author whose medical fiction features female doctors shouldering the life and death responsibilities of their profession but also dealing with questions of friendship, love, and the thorny cultural Issues of our times with a good dose of humor thrown into the mix. Her first novel Queen of Hearts, published in 2018, was praised by the New York Times and cited as a most anticipated book by Southern Living and Writers Digest. Her newest book, The Antidote for Everything, explores the friendship between a female specialist and her best friend, a male family physician who also happens to be gay. Her book explores what happens when her best friend is told by the administration of the hospital that he can no longer provide care for LGBTQ patients or risk being fired. Kimmery talks to us about her childhood growing up in Eastern Kentucky, the humorous way she chose the profession for her main character, what the storyline of her next book will look like, and why physicians have a unique perspective for writing fiction. Books and Authors Discussed in this Episode: 1- Any book by Bill Bryson 2- Queen of Hearts by Kimmery Martin 3- The Antidote for Everything by Kimmery Martin 4- Any book by Chris Bohjalian 5- Booked by Kwame Alexander 6- Emma by Jane Austen 7- The Innocents by Micheal Crummey You can find us on FB, instagram (@perksofbeingabookloverpod) and on our blog site at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com Perks airs on Forward Radio 106.5 FM and forwardradio.org every Wednesday at 6 pm, Thursdays at 6 am and 12 pm. We have purchased the rights to the theme music used.