DR. BABY: A Physician's Journey Through Grief, Medicine, and Meaning sits squarely in the realm of literary memoir, but it covers far more ground than the average reader of the genre might expect. Author Thomas Mekuria Gebre was born in Ethiopia in 1987. His early life was eventful. His mother worked in telecommunications, where she soon found herself being courted by a prominent local bureaucrat. Marriage would follow, but after her husband's sudden death, she began a relationship with a dentist: Gebre’s would-be father, who was already married at the time. Brought up in the capital city (Addis Ababa), Gebre never met his half-siblings from that marriage until later in life. But he stresses his father’s many good qualities and clearly harbors much affection for “a beautiful, complex paradox of a man.” Later comes discussion of Gebre’s successful career in medicine.
The early part of the memoir is of course interesting in precisely this way: It offers perspectives on how the people in Gebre’s life related to each other, and he to them. It is hard, however, not to wish for a little more illumination on what life in Ethiopia in the 1990s was like. Much of the book is taken up with discussion of Gebre’s younger brother, Mikky. Gebre’s affection for him is deep and heartfelt; it is wrenching to hear him describe the pair’s close bond, and then the alcoholism that would eventually result in Mikky’s death decades later.
The memoir has many good points, particularly in the way of Gebre’s attention to detail. There is one minor fault, though, which is that the opening chapter meanders somewhat. There is an approach to development that comes close to free association: anecdotes are frequently incorporated that divert from the main thrust of the narrative. Gebre is aware of it, and offers a sort of non-apology apology for it; but it does feel like an indulgence when the remainder of the memoir is so rigorously structured. That said, DR. BABY: A Physician's Journey Through Grief, Medicine, and Meaning gives much value elsewhere, and offers a unique insight into a life well-lived.
Benefiting from attention to detail and a lively style, Thomas Mekuria Gebre's DR. BABY: A Physician's Journey Through Grief, Medicine, and Meaning is an interesting and affecting addition to the genre of literary memoir.
—Craig Jones for IndieReader