All That Moves Us

“All That Moves Us tells the story of lives that have been shattered and reassembled. The surgical interventions in these pages are dizzying, but the fact that Jay Wellons can write as well as he can operate provides a whole other level of amazement. This is a wondrous and deeply moving book.”—Ann Patchett, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Commonwealth “As a surgeon, Jay Wellons has long healed with his hands. What this engaging and illuminating book shows us is how important the heart is in the life and work of a doctor charged with the sacred—even staggering—task of operating on the brains of children. At once reflective and searching, Wellons’s stories from the journey give us hope that light can emerge from even the darkest of hours.”—Jon Meacham, #1 New York Times bestselling author of His Truth Is Marching On: John Lewis and the Power of Hope “Reading All That Moves Us feels like watching a full season of your favorite medical drama, complete with harrowing surgical scenes and meaningful reflections within each episode. In bearing witness to some of life’s most profound moments, Jay Wellons has written an extraordinarily memorable book.”—Mary Laura Philpott, author of Bomb Shelter: Love, Time, and Other Explosives “Breathtaking … Medical memoirs don’t come much better than this.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)“A compelling look into the life of a pediatric neurosurgeon … a dramatic narrative inside and outside the operating room.” —Kirkus Reviews

Jay Wellons, MD, MSPH, is a professor in the departments of neurological surgery, pediatrics, plastic surgery, radiology, and radiological sciences at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt and the Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He holds the Cal Turner Chair, is the Chief of the Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery, and is the medical director for the Surgical Outcomes Center for Kids (SOCKs), which he co-founded. He has written op-eds for The New York Times. Jay Wellons lives in Nashville, Tennessee, with his family.