Allen Saxon is the author of the new novel Training in Charity. He also has written the novella The Climber of Pointe du Hoc. A retired general surgeon, he lives in the Chicago area.
Q: What inspired you to write Training in Charity, and how did you create your character Adam Sinclair?
A: The inspiration for Training in Charity came from my own experience attending medical school at Tulane and learning to care for patients.
The protagonist, Adam, is based on my own perspectives as a student, but I think he represents a more universal experience for all those beginning their clinical training.
Q: The novel is set at Charity Hospital in New Orleans--how important is setting to you in your writing?
A: Setting is extremely important to me in what I write and what I read. New Orleans is a unique, colorful city complete with its own music, culture and food and Charity Hospital was a legendary training ground for generations of physicians.
For the reader to truly enjoy my work I try to transport them into the setting and make the places stand out as a character in the story themselves.
Q: Did you know how the novel would end before you started writing it, or did you make many changes along the way?
A: I had many vignettes about actual patients, but when I began writing I only knew that I would cover a six-week period.
The story arc developed slowly as I realized how these fictionalized versions of actual cases fit into a broader narrative regarding the personal growth medical students undergo as they acquire skills and understanding and, most importantly, assume the responsibility and regard for those they care for.
Q: As a retired general surgeon, how do you see your medical background intersecting with your writing?
A: I could not have written this book or my previous book, a WWII novella titled The Climber of Pointe du Hoc, without my medical background. I think my medical background allows me to take a broad overview of my subject but to also hone in on the intricate details of any situation, medical or not.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I have begun a completely different story that contains some scientific detail but deals with some of the Catholic Church’s artifacts of veneration. No spoilers here.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: I think the point I would like to leave your readers with is that today’s medical education is different than the 1970s. The science is more advanced and the delivery of healthcare is more reliant on technological adjuncts than ever before.
Aspects like spending time on the computerized medical record can interfere with time spent with patients, but at its heart good care relies not only on acquiring technical expertise but in prioritizing the human dimension of patient care.
In a famous lecture given in 1922, Dr. Francis Peabody summed up what has become an enduring maxim for medical personnel: “The secret of the care of the patient is in caring for the patient.”
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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