Becoming Dr. Q is incredible in every sense of the word: a migrant worker born in Mexico jumps the border fence to support his family and eventually becomes one of the world's leading neurosurgeons and neuroscientists. Alfredo Quinones-Hinojosa's story is a classic hero's journey--from picking produce and moving irrigation lines, to shoveling sulfur and scraping fish lard, to graduating cum laude from Harvard Medical School and starting his own groundbreaking practice and lab.
Quinones-Hinojosa is remarkably humble and appreciative of the mentors, family members and friends who support him along his journey. He transforms his experiences into inspiring lessons: "No matter how different we are from one another--black, white, yellow, Jewish, Christian, rich, poor, educated or not--our brains are all the same, the same beautiful noble gray color, the same shape and size.... I love how every single person's brain can dance just as magnificently as the next person's." His inclusion of case studies emphasizes the compassion that all truly great surgeons must possess. As a result, the reader feels honored to get to know so many of his patients.
Fortunately Quinones-Hinojosa's long list of talents includes masterful narration. Each section of Becoming Dr. Q opens with one of three near-death experiences he has undergone during his remarkable life, then flashes back and leads the reader to the harrowing moment of survival. As a result, this memoir is fast-paced and nearly impossible to put down. At the end, Dr. Q feels like a friend--and the only surgeon anyone would want operating on his or her brain. --Kristen Galles from Book Club Classics