Moments from a Life in Medicine has two themes. It records significant memories from youth to retirement as experienced in medicine. It also chronicles gains and losses in medicine over those decades and honors the essence of being a physician as recorded in this anecdote about his father and uncle, both physicians: "One time, after Christmas dinner, Russell and Clayton retired to the living room and began to talk "shop." They did not notice me taking a chair nearby. Uncle Clayton was talking about a case in which a farmer severely damaged his hand while using a farm machine. He wasn't certain he could save the thumb, but to his relief, it was okay. As he said this, his eyes sparkled and his face lit up. This was the joy of being a physician."
