The critically acclaimed and nationally bestselling memoir of friendship, tennis, and one man’s battle against drug addiction, from the New York Times bestselling author of Cutting for Stone
“Heartbreaking. . . . Indelible and haunting. . . . An elegy to friendship found and an ode to a good friend lost.” —Boston Globe
 
When Abraham Verghese, a physician whose marriage is unraveling, relocates to El Paso, Texas, he hopes to make a fresh start as a staff member at the county hospital. There he meets David Smith, a medical student recovering from drug addiction, and the two men begin a tennis ritual that allows them to shed their inhibitions and find security in the sport they love. This friendship between doctor and intern grows increasingly rich and complex, yet their uncommon intimacy leaves both men vulnerable to heartbreak when the darkness of David's past emerges once again. As David spirals out of control, his breakdown will threaten everything that Abraham has come to believe in and trust, in an unforgettable, illuminating story of how men live, and how they survive.
 
Contributor Bi
 
A practicing physoician and a professor of medicine at Stanford University, Abraham Verghese is the author of My Own Country and Cutting for Stone. His writing has appeared in The New Yorker, Granta, and other publications. He lives in Palo Alto, California.