Life on a Knife’s Edge: A Brain Surgeon’s Reflections on Life, Loss and Survival

A raw and unflinching account from leading neuroscientist and neurosurgeon of the valuable lessons we can learn from patients confronted with their own mortality.

As one of the world’s leading brain surgeons, Dr Jandial is the last hope for many patients who have extreme forms of cancer - patients who can’t be saved, but deserve more time.

Life on a Knife’s Edge is his account of the resilience, courage and belief he has witnessed in his patients, and the lessons he has learned from them. Both an unflinching account of extreme surgeries and a profound, moving and introspective memoir, this book reveals the depths of a surgeon’s psyche who is pushed to his limits, day in, day out.

From keeping a gun victim’s heart pumping with his own hand, to saving a woman from paralysis and performing brain surgery while time is running out on a haemorrhaging patient, we see how making life and death decisions and facing unimaginable pressure has shaped one man’s life.

In this breathtaking memoir, Dr Jandial shares what he’s learned about human nature, from balancing the line between life and death everyday.