All That Really Matters - by David Weill (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Joe Bosco is an arrogant, hard-charging transplant surgeon whose ambition knows no bounds. He pursues his job with a take no prisoners approach and saving patients is not just his job, or even his passion-it's his religion. After doing his surgical residency, he passes on a job offer from Stanford, instead taking a position at a private hospital in San Francisco which pays Joe an exorbitant salary and where the bottom line is...the bottom line. Joe leaves behind academic medicine, much to the chagrin of his father-- a German Jewish Holocaust survivor who is a world-renowned neuroscientist and Nobel Prize winner--and his girlfriend, Kate, who sees Joe turning into a different man than the one she met at Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Bosco makes it to the top as a star in the transplant world but soon realizes that the new world he inhabits is fraught with moral and ethical transgressions, some his partners commit and, eventually, some he commits. When the hospital administration sides against Joe in an operating room catastrophe, he is isolated, left with a career in shambles, a girlfriend who wants nothing to do with him, and a father who can't hide his disappointment.

It is not until his life spins out of control that Joe must come to terms with his own failings and find his true purpose in life...in the most unlikely of places.

Review Quotes

"David Weill combines his gifts as a world-class transplant physician and literary flair to deliver a rare novel that exposes the humanity and challenges behind high-stakes medicine in a page-turning read. The sharply crafted result makes notable first fiction with characters and details that spring to life with honesty and vulnerability. It's a must-read for those wondering if their physician has a conscience."-David Magee, bestselling author of Dear William: A Father's Memoir of Addiction, Recovery, Love and Loss

"In his stunning debut novel, David Weill, who has experienced the ebbs and flows and the burdens of helping people, shares a captivating story about sacrifice, love, loss, and redemption...in other words, all that really matters."--Terence Blanchard, seven-time Grammy winner and two-time Oscar nominee

"Weill's novel beautifully navigates themes of identity, familial obligations, inherited trauma, and the search for meaning, all while keeping me thoroughly engaged. Plus, who doesn't love a good love story to boot?!" --Amanda Steinberg, author of Worth It, President of CareerScope

About the Author

Dr. Weill is the former Director of the Center for Advanced Lung Disease and Lung and Heart-Lung Transplant Program at Stanford University Medical Center. He is currently the Principal of the Weill Consulting Group which focuses on improving the delivery of pulmonary, ICU, and transplant care. Dr. Weill's writing has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Newsweek, the Chicago Tribune, the Washington Post, The Hill, and the Los Angeles Times. He also has appeared on Fox, CNN, the New York Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, and the Wall Street Journal. Dr. Weill's memoir Exhale: Hope, Healing, and A Life in Transplant was published in May of 2021. His debut novel, All That Really Matters, will be published in June of 2024. Dr. Weill divides his time between New Orleans and Alys Beach, FL with his wife Jackie and two daughters, Hannah and Ava, and their dogs, Lucy and Frannie.