A Heart Afire

A Heart Afire is the story of a woman who battled for justice for herself and patients around the globe, saving lives and setting standards for health care as technology began to replace the doctor’s touch. A children’s heart doctor - she invented the field - Helen Brooke Taussig was a transformative figure in 20th century diagnostic medicine. First to identify and explain defective hearts and to suggest a way to fix the most common one, her observations of dying children in a humble Baltimore clinic paved the way for modern heart surgery. In the age of science, as specialized medicine exploded, she emerged as a critic of unnecessary or ill-timed surgery and other invasive treatments and played a leading role in protecting Americans from unsafe drugs. Saint to some and a holy terror to others, Helen was heralded worldwide for her unrelenting efforts to prevent unnecessary suffering and promote health care as a human right. Elegant, tough, indefatigable, she helped secure a place in medicine for women when they were least welcome.