Ready to read? Books published by (or about) Canadian physicians in 2025
Fiction
The Ripple Effect
By Maggie North
Published by St. Martin’s Griffin (MacMillan Publishers)
Maggie North is the pen name of a physician who practices anesthesiology in Ottawa. Her second novel, The Ripple Effect, offers up another hefty dose of romance. It features a burned-out emergency physician who takes on the job of camp physician at a whitewater canoeing-based relationship therapy start-up. The camp is touchy-feely and not her scene, but the job is a financial necessity to let her stay in her beloved wilderness town. Her boss is a sunshiny psychologist whom she plans to avoid until they need to team up and fake an engagement to save the camp.
Poetry
Python Love
by Dr. Shannon Arntfield
Published by University of Alberta Press
This debut collection explores experiences of childhood abuse, birth trauma and recovery. Dr. Shannon Arntfield worked as an obstetrician/gynecologist before re-training to provide trauma-informed counselling in London, Ont.
Children’s books
T is for Terry: An ABC of Courage
By Denise Dias, illustrated by Dr. Noémie Gionet Landry
Published by: Scholastic Canada
T is for Terry celebrates Terry Fox and the Marathon of Hope, one letter of the alphabet at a time. This 32-page book is aimed at children aged three to eight. Released on Terry Fox’s birthday and marking 45 years of the Marathon of Hope, all royalties from the book go to the Terry Fox Foundation. Dr. Noémie Gionet Landry is an illustrator and rheumatologist who practices both skills in New Brunswick.
Our World: Vietnam
By Dr. Nhung N. Tran-Davies, Art by Xuan Le
Published by Barefoot Books
Dr. Nhung N. Tran-Davies practices family medicine in Alberta and writes children’s books. She was born in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam and came to Canada when her family was sponsored as refugees from the Vietnam war. Her newest board book is targeted to children aged 12 to 36 months, but it also provides a lovely introduction to Vietnamese language and culture to people of all ages. From teaching readers how to count to three in Vietnamese to showing what a day in Vietnam is like, this colourful book can serve as a stepping stone to more exploration.
Self-help or advice for physicians and patients
It Doesn’t Have To Be This Way: A Physician’s Guide To Radical Self Care (by three physicians who’ve been there)
By Dr. Robin Beardsley, Dr. Elizabeth Parsons and Dr. Risa Adams
Published by Healthible
Three family physicians provide practical advice for physician self-care based on the Internal Family Systems therapeutic model. Their book explores how human behaviour makes more sense when looking at parts of your personality, an understanding that can help with self-awareness and self-care. The authors give an overview of more than 20 common “parts” of physicians.
Prevention Over Prescription: Take Control of Your Health through Nutrition, Movement and Community
Dr. Kwadwo Kyeremanteng
Published by Lucky Book Publishing
Dr. Kwadwo Kyeremanteng is a critical care and palliative care physician in Ottawa and host of the podcast Solving Healthcare with Kwadwo Kyeremanteng. Dr. Kyeremanteng has a keen interest in preventative medicine and shares guidance in his book about how small lifestyle changes can help readers take control of their health.
Dope Advice: How to Talk to your Teens about Cannabis
By Dr. Gail Beck
Published by University of Toronto Press
This book provides a clear, evidence-based summary on the effects of cannabis on adolescents’ physical and mental health. Dr. Gail Beck is an adolescent and child psychiatrist in Ottawa and uses her clinical experience to craft a resource for parents and physicians wanting to have meaningful conversations with youth about the pros and cons of cannabis. Dr. Beck weaves the stories of four adolescent characters throughout the book to illustrate real situations that Canadian teenagers face when it comes to the drug.
You’re Unique and So Is Your Pain: A Daily Reflections Journal for Lifelong Well-Being
By Dr. Andrea Furlan
Published by Robert Rose
Dr. Andrea Furlan is a pain specialist in Toronto and the author of a book for patients on managing chronic pain, 8 Steps to Conquer Chronic Pain. This new journal is designed to help people living with chronic pain record and reflect on their pain as a tool to help manage it.
Reflections on society
What to Feel, How to Feel: Lyric Essays on Neurodivergence and Neurofatherhood
by Dr. Shane Neilson
Published by Palimpsest Press
Dr. Shane Neilson is a Cambridge, Ont., physician and father with experience living as a neurodivergent person and fathering neurodivergent children. In his book, Dr. Neilson writes about how he felt different moving through life and how society reacts to that difference. It touches on how medical culture consciously and unconsciously discriminates against neurodivergent practitioners who may not be able to see as many patients as others in a day. CBC radio’s Fresh Air Experience interviewed Dr. Neilson about the book in July.
Written in Blood: Lessons in Prevention from a Risky World
By Dr. Brodie Ramin
Published by University of Toronto Press
Dr. Brodie Ramin practices primary care, HIV care and addictions medicine in Ottawa. His latest book deals with disasters and how they can be prevented. Dr. Ramin tackles case studies of disasters, from the fire of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris to the Fukushima nuclear accident and examines the human errors, systemic failures and warming signs that lead to disaster. The result is an argument for prevention and an illustration of how layered defenses save lives. He further explores how a prevention mindset can help proactively solve problems in personal life, organizations and society.
Politics & Medicine
The Doctors We Need: Imagining a New Path for Physician Recruitment, Training, and Support
By Dr. Anthony Sanfilippo
Published by Sutherland House
Dr. Anthony Sanfilippo , a cardiologist and former associate dean of medicine at Queen’s University, writes about physician recruitment, training and support. He not only outlines the challenges for doctor-less patients navigating the current Canadian healthcare system, but proposes solutions to help solve the shortage of family physicians and other problems in the system. His ideas include changes to medical school admission, medical education and healthcare workplace environments.
My Fight for Canadian Healthcare: A thirty-year battle to put patients first
By Dr. Brian Day
Published by Sutherland House Books
Dr. Brian Day, a Vancouver-based orthopedic surgeon, chronicles his journey in opening the private Cambie Surgery Centre and living the lengthy legal battle that followed. He outlines the potential role of private care within the Canadian healthcare system and provides examples of hybrid public-private systems in other nations.
History
Nurse Fortescue and Doctor Paddon
By Dave Paddon
Published by Brack and Brine
Distributed by Memorial University Press and other booksellers
Dr. Anthony Paddon and nurse Sheila Fortescue shared stories from their life with their son, Dave Patton, who now gifts their tales to the world. Nurse Fortescue and Doctor Paddon touches on the couple’s experiences in WWII and practicing medicine in remote Labrador. Dr. Paddon also served as Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador.
The Mind Mappers: Friendship, Betrayal and the Obsessive Quest to Chart the Brain
by Eric Andrew-Gee
Published by Penguin Random House Canada
Journalist Eric Andrew-Gee shines light on the working relationship and friendship of neurosurgeons Dr. Wilder Penfield and Dr. William Cone. They established the Montreal Neurological Institute and practiced together, but the friendship faced challenges as Dr. Penfield’s fame grew.
Hearts of Freedom: Stories of Southeast Asian Refugees
By Peter Duschinsky, Colleen Lundy, Michael J. Molloy, Allan Moscovitch and Stephanie Phetsamay Stobbe
Published by McGill-Queen’s University Press
This book shares oral histories of refugees from Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos who fled oppression and made their way to Canada between 1975 and 1997. The stories were collected by young Southeast Asian-Canadians who interviewed former refugees as part of Carleton University’s Hearts of Freedom project. Among those interviewed were Dr. Nhung Tran-Davies, a family physician in Calmar, Alberta, Dr. Truong Huu Do, a family physician in Calgary and Dr. Lam Lieu Kim.
- New book by former senior editor
Food Intelligence: The Science of How Food Both Nourishes and Harms Us
By Julia Belluz and Kevin Hall
Published by Penguin Random House
Julia Belluz, a former Medical Post senior editor, and nutrition and metabolism scientist Kevin Hall dive into an evidence-based overview of nutrition and metabolism. They cover recent findings on blood glucose monitors and how our food environment shapes our eating behaviours.
