Overview

What would it really be like to have x-ray vision? Beyond diagnosing illness or injury, can images of ourselves tell us more about life? What if you could see that an accident victim will never walk again; that a young mother has breast cancer; or that a teenager is brain-dead and will be removed from life support? Can imaging help us better appreciate the complexity of existence, our strengths and vulnerabilities? Does looking into the body give insight into what it means to be human? Would it allow you, at least indirectly, to glimpse evidence of the human soul? Looking Within by Cullen Ruff, MD, is the first mainstream collection of dramatic non-fiction narratives about discoveries in patients found by medical imaging. Ruff highlights the wonder and mystery of the human body, literally and metaphorically looking inside of others. Each story describes a patient in whom a life-changing discovery is made: tumors, stroke, domestic violence, substance abuse, sterility, unexpected pregnancy, infection, surgical complications, evidence of criminal activity, mental illness, even impending death. Dr. Ruff's words, images, and insights help us see ourselves like never before.

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9781611533200

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Reviews

Looking Within is a memorable voyage into the mysteries of medicine. Radiologist Dr. Cullen Ruff offers us a vivid and personal experience as he shares his stories of patients and reveals the precision of a scientific mind, and the compassion of a true healer. What a lovely book. --Dr. Bob Rosen, CEO of Healthy Companies International and best-selling author of Conscious, Grounded, Just Enough Anxiety, Leading People, Global Literacies, and The Healthy Company In Looking Within, Dr. Cullen Ruff illuminates the breadth and power of medical imaging as a diagnostic tool--and he goes beyond that to help us experience its beauty and poignancy. Radiology plays a vital and increasingly pervasive role in modern medicine, yet its practitioners continue to reside mostly in the shadows, and their work remains hidden. By sharing his experiences, Ruff brings the field, and the reader, out of the dark. A remarkable book. --Carolyn Jourdan, five-time Wall Street Journal best-selling author of medical memoir and biography, including Medicine Men. Dr. Ruff's book is compelling and insightful, and reflects his outstanding career as a radiologist physician. I urge everyone, physicians and the public alike, to read this brilliant work. --Jim Borgstede MD, past president and chairman of the board of the American College of Radiology Radiology is among the most distant and pitiless of medical specialties, where the body is exposed to the cold eye of technology in both astonishing and terrifying ways. But in Looking Within, Dr. Cullen Ruff refuses to stop at the images on the screen, and instead sees through them to the profound human stories they tell. Compelling, compassionate, honest, and wise. --Frank Huyler MD, author of The Blood of Strangers, The Laws of Invisible Things, and Right of Thirst

Author Information

Cullen Ruff, MD is a radiologist in private practice and an associate professor of medical education at the University of Virginia campus in Fairfax, VA, where he has received awards teaching medical students. His best-selling book, Looking Within, explores human stories and insights from medical imaging. Short story chapters have appeared in several magazines and online forums, and in 2019, Ruff won a Washington, DC, Moth story slam narrating a chapter from Looking Within. Ruff has lectured at the Smithsonian Institute and the Cosmos Club in Washington, DC.

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