Telltale Hearts: A Public Health Doctor, His Patients, and the Power of Story

A doctor's powerful meditation on what his patients taught him, and what they can teach us about listening, healing, and public health.

For over three decades, Dr. Dean-David Schillinger has served in one of the country’s busiest and most important public hospitals. A public health leader and primary care physician for underserved patients, Schillinger learned that high-tech tests and novel medications are often not enough to save lives. Rather, accurate diagnosis, treatment and true healing come from listening deeply to patients and their stories. 

In Telltale Hearts, Schillinger reveals what is lost when patients’ stories are ignored or overlooked, and how much is gained when these stories are actively elicited. The stories themselves, at times shocking and always revelatory, disclose secrets, prompt awe, forge unexpected connections, and even catalyze public health action. Each vignette delves into a patient's complicated life, uncovering numerous factors that influence their medical outcomes. Together, these stories provide a narrative roadmap, guiding the reader to a deeper understanding of the societal forces that shape health, disease, and recovery, and advocating for a transformative shift in medical care and public health. Telltale Hearts serves as a call to action, urging us to reshape public policy to improve the nation's health.