Kirkus Reviews Profile

from Kirkusreviews.com

It’s interesting to see the life that your book takes on. Each one is different, and you can’t always predict how things will turn out. (Or so I’m told; after all, this is only my first book.)

My book Fallible: a memoir of a young physician’s struggle with mental illness, can be hard to read given it’s subject matter. While book sales are overall up during the COVID-19 quarantine, Fallible hasn’t sold much because it’s tough to read about such hard things when we are going through difficult times. People tend to want more comfort at such times.

There is also the matter of critical “acclaim” versus actual readers. I have received some very positive reviews from prominent outlets. Sometimes it makes me think that Fallible is more important of a book than enjoyable as a book, which shouldn’t surprise me too much. It’s a critical topic that we continue to talk about, but that doesn’t always lead to sales. That being said, I think it’s one that we all need to read. Of COURSE I would say that as the author, but the topic is so timely and needed that we all should have a greater awareness of it. I feel very strongly about that. It is well worth your time. If you don’t think so, check out some of the reader reviews (in addition to the professional reviews linked to above).

Kirkus Reviews has been great with promoting the book. They gave me a very nice review initially, and now have provided a wonderful profile on me. Please check it out!

And as always, order Fallible now and spread the good word!

Moving right along

Things are progressing nicely for Fallible. I’m excited to report that there will be a Launch Party and book signing April 10 at 7pm at Weller Bookworks in Trolley Square in Salt Lake City! Please come if you’re available.

Positive reviews keep coming in! I received the review from the distinguished Kirkus Reviews yesterday, for which I am very grateful. Check out the full review to find out more about the book.

I also had the privilege of recently chatting with Keith Carlson on the Nurse Keith podcast. We had a great discussion on the poor training and working environments of medical professionals. If you’re a reader of this blog, I think you’ll enjoy Keith and my conversation.

More exciting news to come. Remember: if you haven’t ordered your copy of Fallible yet, you can get it at Black Rose Writing, Amazon, or Barnes and Noble. Cheers!

Self-Doubt

Like so many of us, I have always struggled with self-doubt and low self-esteem. For whatever reason, I don’t typically expect others to take interest in me, or expect them to value my thoughts or feelings when shared. This doesn’t bode well when publishing a book about your innermost demons and desires! That is why this latest review from IndieReader book review absolutely made my day. Hopefully this will wet your whistle for the Fallible‘s release on April 2nd.

“Here’s an irony: the dilemmas author Kyle Bradford Jones’s explores in his skillfully-written book, FALLIBLE: A Memoir of a Young Physician’s Struggle with Mental Illness, would persuade most readers–based on the evidence in its pages–to seek him out for medical care, despite his two diagnosed psychiatric conditions: major depressive and generalized anxiety. That is because his memoir teems with wisdom, knowledge, caring and integrity–qualities that one would hope to find in a man (or woman) of medicine.

“Jones’s shorter-form writing has distinguished him as something of an expert on mental wellness issues that affect physicians. But that’s hardly all the book addresses. Jones’s review of his life and experiences as they relate to his psychiatric challenges leads him to comment knowingly on the full range of what he feels is a broken healthcare system, and–like a star juggler–he blends both his personal tales and observations with a keen professional perspective. Jones’s warm and assured (plus clear as a high-mountain-spring prose) makes FALLIBLE invitingly readable, as he takes us from his youth through college, time overseas, marriage and budding family, medical school and residency to finally practicing medicine.

“Hence when Jones drills down into medical specifics he never leaves readers feeling lost in the weeds. He draws in smart references to the likes of Camus and Dostoevsky, alongside relevant chapter-opening quotes from hip musical acts like Elvis Costello and The Smiths with equal assurance. His deep religious faith is something that could rub up against science in less gifted hands, yet he integrates his not all-that-common and oft-misunderstood Mormonism into his life and book in a blended fashion that complements both religion and his secular self and concerns.

“Jones pulls no punches when discussing his “gargoyles,” as Jones calls his disorders. And most importantly, the author displays a profoundly robust human heart and smarts, even if he is unstinting is his critical observations of himself and much else.

“From soon after the reader begins this book, FALLIBLE reads like a talk with a trusted and well-informed friend, striking a seamless blend of personal story and bigger themes and issues. It’s a journey with many benefits that never fails to engage along its complex way.

“Kyle Bradford Jones’s memoir FALLIBLE travels the many rugged mine fields of being a young physician struggling with mental illness with a winning strength and grace.”

~Rob Patterson for IndieReader