Medical Affair (Strauss)

A Medical Affair 
Anne McCarthy Strauss, 2013
Booktrope
~350 pp.
AISN: B00FJBLSCY (Kindle)


Summary
Until the night of her first asthma attack, Heather Morrison is a successful New York City executive in the process of adopting a daughter from China. On the first night in her newly-purchased condo on the Upper West Side, she awakens in a panic, fighting for breath.

Moments later, her panic-stricken eyes meet those of Dr. Jeffrey Davis, a pulmonary specialist, in the emergency room at Lenox Hill Hospital. Jeff gets Heather's breathing under control, but their mutual attraction is undeniable. Despite the fact that he is married, Jeff Davis soon steps beyond the bounds of ethically correct behavior to pursue Heather, resulting in a late-night tryst in his office that escalates quickly into a passionate but dangerous affair.

Despite her increasing discomfort with the situation, Heather rationalizes her relationship with Jeff, hoping for a happy ending she knows deep down won't occur. Six months into it, Jeff's wife discovers his involvement with Heather, driving him to abruptly break off the affair, but not before Heather begins, with the help of friends, to understand the ethical and legal impropriety and seriousness of what has transpired. Emotionally overwrought and fragile after the breakup, Heather also struggles with an addiction to several medications Jeff prescribed while she was under his care.

With initial misgivings, she begins the process of bringing Jeff to justice, discovering to her horror after initiating legal action that by doing so, she has jeopardized her chances of adopting the daughter she has dreamed of adopting for so long. Heather's life comes crashing down around her as she sinks into the depths of humiliation and despair, only to find the strength within her, through the help of friends and compassionate professionals, to fight her way back into life. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—August 8, 1952
• Where—New York City, New York, USA
• Education—B.A., Marquette University
• Currently—lives on Long Island, New York


Anne McCarthy Strauss is a versatile writer, researcher and public relations professional.  She is also an avid supporter of victims’ rights.  She has spent the last decade educating women and men on the seldom revealed but all too frequent occurrence of affairs between doctors and their patients.  Her novel, A Medical Affair, is the story of a doctor who violates a sacred trust by having an affair with one of his patients.

Anne’s byline has appeared in Old House Journal, Waterfront Home & Design, Design Trade Magazine, Design New England, Distinction, Log Home Design Ideas and Florida Design Review.  She has been a regular contributor to Martha’s Vineyard Magazine and Vineyard Style.

The veteran of dozens of MediaBistro courses and Maui Writers Retreats, she is a staunch advocate of lifelong learning.  She is a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA), and holds a B.A. in Journalism from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

A lifelong New Yorker, Anne lives on Long Island with her husband and their two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. (From the author.)

Book Reviews
I need to warn anyone and everyone of what this book can do to your love/obsession with reading. First, I finished this book over a period of two days. I started A Medical Affair on Friday evening and finished it by Saturday night. I literally could not put this book down on Saturday to which my Kindle Fire battery needed to be recharged by mid-afternoon.

My Kindle Fire took a few hours to recharge and during that time, I tried to occupy my time until I could read again. When I wasn’t reading A Medical Affair, I was thinking about the characters and the storyline and how it would play out.

Heather meets Dr. Jeff Davis in the ER after he treats her asthma attack. Both of them feel a little attraction and sparks for one another.

Heather and Jeff’s love affair is started by Jeff. In my mind, he is a predator. He knew exactly what he was doing. He had an agenda the entire time. He knew what to say to Heather to make her go along with it. He used medicine to control her as well.

I enjoyed reading A Medical Affair. The book had everything I love about reading. There was mystery, romance, suspense, and strong characters and a great storyline. Most of all, the book kept my eyes glued to each page.
Beauty Brite (http://beautybrite.com)

Discussion Questions
1. Having read A Medical Affair, do you believe, given the imbalance of power in the doctor-patient relationship, that it is ever possible for a patient to have a consensual affair with her doctor?

2.  As you read the back story, you learn that Heather Morrison came from a dysfunctional family of origin and was sexually abused as a child.  Do you think these facts contributed to her having been unable to resist the advances of Dr. Jeffrey Davis?

3. Do you think Hope for Children Adoption Agency should have allowed Heather to adopt Lin despite what they learned about her when she went to China?

4. Heather quickly develops serious addictions to prescription drugs during her affair with Jeff.  Do you think her stay at a rehabilitation facility will enable her to overcome her dependency and move forward in her life as a single mother?

5. Heather’s friendships with Trista and Miguel are a large part of her support system.  Do you think the portrayal of these friendships was realistic?  How do they compare with your own friendships?

6. Heather showed tremendous strength when she reported Jeff to the Office of Professional Medical Conduct and initiated a law suit against him.  Would most women find the strength to go after a predator the way Heather did?  Would you?
(Questions provided courtesy of the author.)

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