Hi Everyone,
Today we have a guest post written by author Anne Strauss. She is here to tell us how she was inspired to write her book, A Medical Affair.
I hope you all enjoy!
~Ariesgrl
A MEDICAL AFFAIR
by Anne McCarthy Strauss
Nobody Talks About It, But Doctor/Patient Affairs Happen All the Time
What if your medical doctor wanted to have sex with you? What if he greeted you with a full frontal hug instead of a handshake when he walked into the exam room? What if his hand lingered over your breast a little longer than necessary when he listened to your heartbeat? What if he wrote his cell phone number on his prescription pad and handed it to you saying, “Call any time?”
Nobody talks about it, but it happens all the time. Over 12 percent of doctors admit to having had an affair with at least one of their patients. And most of those patients feel flattered at the attention of the highly regarded doctor. This is because the average person has absolutely no idea that a doctor having an affair with a patient violates the Medical Code of Ethics and is illegal in most states. The doctor can be prosecuted. He can – and should – lose his license to practice medicine.
One of my favorite endorsements of my book, A MEDICAL AFFAIR, was written by a nurse with over two decades of experience. Lorraine Austin, RN wrote:
As a medical professional for over 25 years, I have seen the problem of inappropriate doctor/patient relationships many times. It happens so frequently and yet it’s seldom talked about beyond office gossip. A MEDICAL AFFAIR is the first novel to explain to the reader that when he or she is approached by their personal physician as a lover, they are not being flattered, they are being victimized. Medical professionals know this, and Anne McCarthy Strauss is the first novelist to reveal the truth to those who have no inclination that they are being abused.
“They are not being flattered, they are being victimized.” My goal in writing A MEDICAL AFFAIR was to make every person – and every potential victim – in this situation aware of the truth behind the flattery. I intend to write more books in the future in novel format that portray various human issues and let the reader know how to resolve them. I feel the “story” element of a novel may be more easily absorbed by many readers than is the traditional self help book.
I was inspired to write A MEDICAL AFFAIR after hearing too many stories from women who had had the experience of having had an affair with their doctor… and ended up devastated. My goal was to write a sort of self-help book in the format of a novel…and I am pleased to see it is being reviewed as just that.
A MEDICAL AFFAIR is the fictitious tale of a woman who falls for her doctor and has an affair with him. It tells the story of a woman who falls deeply for a man she relies upon…even though the situation tells her she should run from him as fast as she can.
While telling the story of protagonist Heather Morrison’s affair with her doctor, Jeffrey Davis, MD, A MEDICAL AFFAIR at the same time shows a woman exactly how to traverse the slippery slope of disengaging herself from such an affair, and seeing that the doctor gets what he deserves for preying upon his patient. Few people realize that the doctor-patient dynamic puts the patient in the same situation as a child abused by a teacher, even though the patient is an adult.
Here’s an excerpt from A MEDICAL AFFAIR. It’s about 1/3 into the book after the protagonist, Heather Morrison, learns that Dr. Jeff Davis has had affairs with a number of his patients. She has just met with one of his previous lovers.
After Melissa left, Heather stayed behind in the restaurant. She went through the motions of taking care of the bill. Smile. Pay. Tip. She lifted the two crisp tens Melissa had left on the tray. Adding two of her own, she returned them to the gold-trimmed jade tray that held the bill. Her legs were weak and shaking, her knees grazing the bottom of the table.
She stood and left the restaurant. Instead of heading for the subway, she walked a few blocks until she saw a Rite Aid drugstore. She went inside and bought two gigantic bags of M&M’s—one plain, one peanut.
“Sweet tooth got ya, sister?” the checkout clerk asked.
“I just need chocolate,” Heather said.
“Got to be a man, then,” the clerk said, two gold front teeth centering a friendly smile.
Heather felt a bond with the woman, a bond with every woman who had ever been wronged by a man. “Isn’t it always?” she asked, not needing a reply.
One block turned into another. Barely noticing how different this part of the city was from her own, Heather trudged forward, shoveling the candy into her mouth. Shoveling, chewing, and swallowing. She felt like she was walking beside herself, an unsettling feeling at best, calmed only slightly by the chocolate.
Melissa had said her affair with Jeff had lasted over six months; Suzanne’s had lasted only three. Heather counted back the months since July. Clearly I’ve met my expiration date, too.
Surrounded by the brilliant sights and sounds of Harlem, she saw nothing and heard less. It was just her and her two gigantic bags of M&M’s shoved inside a plastic Rite Aid shopping bag. Red, yellow, green, and blue. When had they started adding blue to the mix?
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Medical-Affair/351712871626125
Twitter: https://twitter.com/annestr
Website: www.annestrauss.com
A Medical Affair on Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1bDAsx2
Amazon: http://amzn.to/15WXStu
The cover is gorgeous!
I found it very nice too! I am glad you enjoyed it!