Solving for Why: A Surgeon's Journey to Discover the Transformative Power of Purpose, Hardcover

SOLVING FOR WHY chronicles one man's journey to find the answer to the biggest of all life's questions: "Why?" Following a traumatic car accident, Dr. Shrime--the child of Lebanese immigrants fleeing a civil war, who later became a successful practicing surgeon in Boston--found himself compelled to change the course of his life, determined to find meaning and satisfaction even if it meant diverting from America's idea of "success." Featuring stories, insights, and research from his own exceptional life and work, SOLVING FOR WHY is the story of Dr. Shrime's search for--and discovery of--lifelong fulfillment.

Now a global surgeon operating on a hospital ship docked off the coast of West Africa and one of the few global experts on surgery in low- and middle-income countries, Dr. Shrime seeks to impart the wisdom of the lessons he's learned over the course of his search for a life of true contentment. In the tradition of Dr. Paul Farmer's To Repair the World, Dr. Atul Gawande's Better, and Dr. Michele Harper's The Beauty in Breaking, SOLVING FOR WHY combines personal stories with deep, thoughtful research into the challenges of working in modern medicine in the 21st century and the commodification of work in America.

A story of discovery and transformation, SOLVING FOR WHY seeks to help readers answer the "why" of their own lives and ultimately find joy outside the status quo.

About author(s):

Mark G. Shrime, MD MPH PhD FACS, is the chair of Global Surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and a lecturer in Global Health and Social Medicine at the Harvard Medical School. His academic pursuits focus on surgical delivery in low- and middle-income countries, where he has a specific interest in the intersection of health, impoverishment, and equity. Dr. Shrime graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University in 1996 with a BA in molecular biology. He received his MD from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in 2001, after taking a year to teach organic chemistry in Singapore. In 2011, he graduated with an MPH in global health from the Harvard School of Public Health, and in 2015, he received his PhD in health policy, with a concentration in decision sciences, from Harvard University. To date, he has worked and taught in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Benin, Togo, Congo, Haiti, Saudi Arabia, Cameroon, Senegal, and Madagascar. When not working, he is an avid photographer and rock climber, and he has competed on Seasons 8, 9, and 11 of American Ninja Warrior.