Shahar Madjar, MD

“How is a poem born? Like a laugh–it starts from within, and rolls out.

How is a poem born? Like a baby–at the beginning it hurts, then it comes out and everyone is happy, and suddenly, what a wonder, it walks on his own.

How is a poem born? Like a baby.”

I love this poem by Yehonatan Gefen, an Israeli poet and song-writer (I took the liberty to translate it from Hebrew). It reminded me of how my own book was born: like a laugh–it started from within, and has just now rolled out. Like a baby–it hurt at the beginning. I just hope that some readers will be happy with it (or at least find it interesting), and that it will be able to walk on its own.

Yes. You guessed right. This article is kind of a press-release with an announcement, then a request at the end.

Here is the press release: My book, “Is Life Too Long? Essays about Life, Death, and Other Trivial Matters” is finally out. The book is a collection of 18 selected essays and tales, all of which were first published in The Mining Journal. Some of the essays were also published in The Daily Mining Gazette.

Deciding which essays to include in the book was not an easy task. As you know, I have been writing these essays, once every two weeks, for several years. In the end, I decided to include in the book the essays I loved most.

The book was a family project. My elder son, Dr. Shai Madjar, my mother-in-law, Florence Adar, and my wife, Sharon, all helped in the final editing of the essays. Daniel, my youngest, added eight beautiful ink illustrations (I am not biased at all). And Guy, my middle son, designed the book and its cover. Then Stacey Willey from Globe Printing gave the book its final look and helped to bring the book to print.

Why is my book like a laugh? Because it really started from within. I worked hard to bring to light my thoughts and reflections about patients, doctors, and medicine. And so, some of the essays draw from my own experiences as a medical student and as a physician. The essay, “A Salty Patient,” for example, is a tale about coming-of-age as a doctor. Dr. Tamara, the protagonist of the story, struggles with doubts about her ability to become a good doctor. It is only after she makes a brilliant diagnosis (yes! By tasting her salty patient) that she becomes convinced that “she could become the good doctor she so desired to be,” and that “she could interlace signs and symptoms, threads of welt and warp, and weave them into a precise story of patient and disease.”

In the namesake essay “Is Life Too Long?” I describe the pros and cons of living a (very) long life. Again, I draw from my personal experience seeing patients at the end of life. More often than not, life is too short, at times it is just too long, but how long exactly should life be? Well, you will have to read the book.

Why is this book like a baby? Because like any other book, I guess, bringing the book to print wasn’t easy (and at times it hurt). Writing is lonely (unless you vividly imagine your readers enjoying the fruit of your work). Editing is tiresome (these commas everywhere; how can one ever decide where exactly they belong?) Then comes decision time–which essays to include? At what order should they appear? How should the cover look like? And how should we name the baby? (Sorry, I meant the book).

I almost forgot, I promised an announcement and a request.

Here is the announcement: Mark your calendars! On Dec. 1, 2018, between noon -2 p.m., I will be at Snowbound Books, the bookstore in Marquette, for the international book launch of “Is Life Too Long?” I will be there to meet and greet and, of course, to sign your copy of the book. Beginning on December 1st, the book will be available in Snowbound Books. It is already available on Amazon (as a paperback and an e-book). To purchase your own copy, you may also email me at smadjar@yahoo.com.

And here is my request: Please help the baby walk on his own–help the book reach a wider audience–read it, and don’t forget to review it on Amazon.com or Goodreads.com.

Editor’s note: Dr. Shahar Madjar is a urologist working in several locations in the Upper Peninsula. Contact him at smadjar@yahoo.com or at DrMadjar.com.