
The Human Remains
Drawing Out Compassion in Medicine
$69.03
- Paperback
256 pages
- Release Date
10 November 2026
Summary
A graphic memoir of one doctor’s journey through clinical training and his return to the human side of care.
Under the fluorescent lights of the anatomy lab, a first-year medical student makes his opening incision into a donor’s body and embarks on a profession that will ask more of him than he can imagine. The Human Remains is a graphic memoir about what medical training takes and what it might give back.
In spare, unflinching panels, Dr. Nathan A. G…
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781637791059 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 1637791054 |
| Author: | Nathan A. Gray, MD |
| Publisher: | Pennsylvania State University Press |
| Imprint: | Graphic Mundi |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Number of Pages: | 256 |
| Release Date: | 10 November 2026 |
| Weight: | 480g |
| Dimensions: | 219mm x 171mm x 18mm |
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What They're Saying
Critics Review
“What an extraordinary book! Nathan Gray’s drawings and narration convey fathoms of feelings. The Human Remains is insightful, vulnerable, and moving. Gray draws us into his life as a medical student. His artistic perspective poignantly illustrates the entwined visceral, moral, and emotional experiences of his medical training. Few physician writers have conveyed the combined angst and exhilaration of medical training as candidly and powerfully as Gray. In palliative care Gray found a salve to soften the calluses that had grown to encase his empathy and vulnerability.”
—Ira Byock, MD, palliative care physician and author of Dying Well and The Best Care Possible
“The Human Remains is a powerful and beautifully drawn graphic memoir. Nathan Gray skillfully renders our medical culture with clarity, humor and compassion. A potent reminder that by giving form to our collective experience, we also heal.”
—Dr. Rana Awdish, author of In Shock and After Shock
“An unflinching look at a life in medicine, inside out—sometimes disturbing, sometimes cynical, but compassionate and human in greater measure.”
—Kay Sohini, author of This Beautiful, Ridiculous City: A Graphic Memoir
“Gray reminds us not only that doctors are human but that patients are, too. Authoritative, insightful, compassionate, and a powerful contribution to graphic medicine.”
—Brian Fies, author of Mom’s Cancer
“Nathan Gray tells another story about the complex and confounding journey toward becoming a doctor. But his story comes alive on the pages in a new way, with compelling and beautiful graphic images that can’t be forgotten.”
—Jessica Zitter, MD, MPH, FAAHPM, FCCP, Founder Reel Medicine Media
About The Author
Nathan A. Gray, MD
Nathan A. Gray, MD, is a palliative care physician and Associate Professor of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University. He uses comics and other artwork to promote empathy, educate others, and explore the ironies of the medical world. His work has been published in the Washington Post, USA Today, the Los Angeles Times, the British Medical Journal, and the American Medical Association Journal of Ethics. Dr. Gray lives in Baltimore with his wife, Bethany; their two kids; and their steadfast standard poodle, Lily.
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