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Rating: 
Summary: So Many Lessons
Review: Doctor Epstein has highlighted so many lessons for life
that he learned from these children that were patients.
Any adult could really benefit from reading the lessons for
having a more fulfilled life with whatever time we have left.
It is not only moving and exciting but is also a text book
for happy living, regardless of circumstances.
Rating: 
Summary: Courage and Character
Review: During the summer or 2004, I was at a junction in my professional path where I found myself in desperate need of encouraging words. I went into the hospital bookstore and found this. The book is simple, the narrative is not as flamboyant as John Stone's "In the Country of Hearts", but it strikes a chord, confirming a fact that we already know to be true: children are much more capable of opening their hearts and minds than adults. To capture the stories of these patients requires a man of courage and character, and I get the feeling that it's exactly what makes Fred Epstein a very special man, and physician.
On a side note, this book was instrumental in finding a neurosurgeon for my niece's classmate. I had just read the book, and gave it to my mother to read. Just two weeks after she got the book, we heard that this little girl had a tumor and had been flown to see some specialists in Miami. After communicating with that family, they were able to get a consult from Dr. Epstein, and she is now recovering, although her prognosis still remains uncertain.
Rating: 
Summary: Whimsical clichés about sick children, but no real depth
Review: Fred Epstein is some sort of folk-hero of a man: Moved by righteous anger to battle against the evil cancers that threaten the lives of innocents, he performs miracles, curing "inoperable" tumours in his bespoke Neverneverland kids hospital.
Whilst parents of a sick child may find solace or interest here, this book (and I appreciate that this view will be unpopular) did nothing for me.
The narrative reads across between a religio-medical manifesto and a self-help book. For every hundred words of anecdote about a child who fought cancer, there's another hundred of pop-philosophising. There are glimpses of the children's brilliance, and one can appreciate the resilience that Epstein is trying to convey, but there is just too little detail here to do more than produce a colour-wash of feeling. It is this that fails to portray the depth of the situation, as any parent could easily empathise and little more understanding is offered by this book. Rather than giving a true insight into the life of a paediatric neurosurgeon, or any more than a superficial glimpse into the lives of his patients and their parents, this comes across as a pseudo-religious pick and mix of ideas, faith and assertions set against a candy-floss coated spiel about the courage, pluck and strength of children.
Whilst there are undoubtedly some amazing stories here - not least Epstein's own as he struggles to recover from a brain haemorrhage with the distant hope of operating again - they are glossed over and whilst any individual's story would be fascinating, these soundbite snippets and clichés form an insubstantial whole that fails to do justice to Epstein or his charges.
Epstein is clearly writing from the heart and to not enjoy his book is not to denigrate the fantastic work he has done for these children and their parents. For parents of children facing surgery, this may be a valuable support and readers who appreciate this tale might also like Albom's Tuesdays with Morrie. For other readers interested in the processes of treatment and recovery, but not fans of the self-help platform, I recommend instead McCrum's My Year Off, Diamond's C: Because Cowards Get Cancer Too and Vertosick's When the Air Hits the Brain.
dr_sasp
Rating:
Summary: Please ! don't let this one go unread.
Review: I read alot but I don't write that many reviews. This one has to have one. I was ok for the first one hundred pages but on page 108 something happened and I read the rest in tears. This is a great lesson for parents of sick children and parents of seemingly well children. After all we as parents are not given any promises. I checked this copy out from the library but I want my own copy to make notes in and keep on my own shelf. I plan on letting my friends and family in on this little gem.
Rating:
Summary: Stories of hope
Review: IF I GET TO FIVE: WHAT CHILDREN HAVE TAUGHT ME ABOUT COURAGE AND CHARACTER is more than just a biography focusing on the great accomplishments of Dr. Fred. This nonfiction is more of a vigorous lesson that when it seems all but over in the bottom of the ninth, still swing the bat of life. Dr. Fred provides anecdotals from his mentoring tutors, the many children whose lives touched his.The book also bolsters those with disabilities to achieve more than the expectations of those around them by conquering the Pygmalion Effect. Dr. Fred overcame his own childhood handicaps and a recent one as an adult due to an accident. In many ways this is an Art Linkletter bio, but the stakes are everything worthwhile. Well written and inspirational, Fred Epstein, M.D, and Joshua Horwitz provide realistic hope in the darkest moment by encouraging adults to heed the advice of their little ones who, even when death nears, show what life is all about. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: A miracle worker
Review: If you want to be moved, inspired, enlightened, and truly amazed by the human spirit, then read Dr. Epstein's book! This is a book that truly personifies what it means to be human, and Epstein should receive the Nobel Prize for this amazing account of the lessons he learned from treating children with life-threatening conditions. Epstein is also a prime example of what I call AUTHENTIC LEADERSHIP and so now I have a new hero when I speak to others! My consulting company-Creative Visions Consulting--focuses on improving the leadership skills of others and so now I have a new resource--Dr. Epstein--to point people to so the men and women in corporations don't forget what it's like to lead with their hearts and not just their bottom lines! Thank you, Dr. Fred, for one of the BEST BOOKS of 2003 and one of the greatest reads EVER!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Dr. Fred saved my daughter and my life
Review: My daughter was born while we still lived in NEW YORK....When my daughter was born, she had craniosynostosis, the fusing of the bones of her skull. At 6 months old, he took us in without and hesitation and assured us that she would be fine and there's nothing to worry about. This was on a Friday nite of the 4th of July weekend. During the years, we have emailed and i've sent photos of my daughter to him so that he may see his accomplishment. If there is a god, it is he. Thank you, Dr. Fred, and to your wonderful family. You are indeed an amazing man.
Rating: 
Summary: A Suprising Disappointment
Review: This book could have been so much more. Dr. Epstein has experienced a unique situation...he learned so much from the children he treated over the years AND he has experienced the harrowing journey of reclaiming one's identity after suffering a head injury. If only he had shared with us how what he learned from the children affected his attitude toward his own recovery. Instead, we are given superficial anecdotes about one child after another, seemingly in random order. The children and their families do not come alive as individuals. As I read the book, I got the feeling that Dr. Epstein gave a tape recounting several cases to Mr. Horwitz and said, "Here, you make this into a book." What you end up with is a book, while competently written, that lacks soul, depth or insight. By far the biggest disconnect is the unwillingness or seemingly oblivious attitude of what Dr. Epstein personally learned from these children, and how he must have needed evey one of those lessons learned from his patients to overcome his own challanges. Why does Dr. Epstein even mention the fact of his own injury if he does not plan on using himself as an example of the power that can be gleaned from the attitudes of these children? There comes a time in every person's life when they will need to "get to five", and the lessons learned from these children applied to the life of an adult could have made a book that was a tribute to both Dr. Epstein and his patients. I'm sorry, but in my opinion the mark was missed; what could have been a great book and one of enduring importance took the easy way out.
Rating:
Summary: A Suprising Disappointment
Review: This book could have been so much more. Dr. Epstein has experienced a unique situation...he learned so much from the children he treated over the years AND he has experienced the harrowing journey of reclaiming one's identity after suffering a head injury. If only he had shared with us how what he learned from the children affected his attitude toward his own recovery. Instead, we are given superficial anecdotes about one child after another, seemingly in random order. The children and their families do not come alive as individuals. As I read the book, I got the feeling that Dr. Epstein gave a tape recounting several cases to Mr. Horwitz and said, "Here, you make this into a book." What you end up with is a book, while competently written, that lacks soul, depth or insight. By far the biggest disconnect is the unwillingness or seemingly oblivious attitude of what Dr. Epstein personally learned from these children, and how he must have needed evey one of those lessons learned from his patients to overcome his own challanges. Why does Dr. Epstein even mention the fact of his own injury if he does not plan on using himself as an example of the power that can be gleaned from the attitudes of these children? There comes a time in every person's life when they will need to "get to five", and the lessons learned from these children applied to the life of an adult could have made a book that was a tribute to both Dr. Epstein and his patients. I'm sorry, but in my opinion the mark was missed; what could have been a great book and one of enduring importance took the easy way out.
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