Behind the Ether Screen

The surgeons' heads seemed small next to the huge dome-shaped lights. Together heads and lights zoomed in on this sick heart which looked like a wiggly red ball of flesh. Gloved fingers felt and searched for new possibilities.<p>All of a sudden there was an undeniable knowing that someday I would be a member of such a team and stand at the head of the patient to guard his or her life...<p>Bold and brilliant <i>Behind the Ether Screen</i> shares the true story of Gabriele F. Roden a woman whose attempt to break free from a childhood of relentless expectations of performance and perfection instead ended up choosing a career with similar challenges that resulted in great successes.<p>Born in post-war Germany Roden was raised with rigorous discipline and motivation to choose a career based on humanitarian principles that would outlast the demolished chaotic surroundings of her home. But it was a pivotal move to Ireland in her teens and her enrollment at University College Cork that launched her career in medicine.<p>Her early drive to excel in the specialty of anesthesiology brought her to the United States of America as a young graduate. She completed her internship in Worcester MA pursued her anesthesia residency at Yale University and after a few years in private practice at a community hospital she returned to academic medicine in Boston.<p> Spanning a career of more than thirty-seven years Dr. Roden's moving account offers insight into the behind-the-scenes struggles and rewards of her specialty.